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Is there a difference between a (train / subway) station and a (train / subway) stop in the US? Is there a difference between UK and US?

E.g. what do you call it in the US and in the UK subway system:

  • The train will stop at next (stop / station). (In a train route and not underground system)

  • The next (station / stop) is e.x. "XYZ" (In underground transportation system)

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    In BrE a subway is a tunnel under the road used by pedestrians to cross from one side to the other. We do talk about stations on the London Undergound though.
    – Sarriesfan
    Commented Jan 29, 2017 at 20:24

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In Russia a subway is mostly underground and trains are on land.

In the underground there are only stations. So every stop is a station. While on train there are both stations and stops. A station is mostly a building where you can buy tickets and wait and eat and keep your luggage while a stop can be just a platform or a small house and a platform. Usually it's much smaller than a station!

The announcements however differ:

Subway: - The nest stop is station X. or The next station is X.
Train: - The next stop is X.

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    “In Russia a subway is only underground”, that’s not exactly true, since several stations of the Moscow subway (i.e. the Filyovskaya Line) were built on the surface.
    – Violette
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 9:20
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    @Violette Agreed. The same goes with Kiev and Kharkov subways too.
    – A-friend
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 10:16
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US perspective from doing a lot of train and subway travel. "Station" and "stop" refer to different things.

A station is a building where people embark and disembark, wait for trains or greet arriving passengers, possibly buy tickets, etc.

A stop is a location where people embark and/or disembark. A station would normally be a stop, but a stop isn't necessarily at a station.

As a practical matter, every underground subway stop has to be a station.

It isn't unusual for train stops to be at just a platform with little in the way of improvements beyond rain cover and benches, especially for local, above ground commuter train stops.

At one time, it was possible for someone to disembark from inter-city trains at a standard stopping point in the middle of nowhere in a rural area. I suspect that is no longer done, both for liability reasons and because you can't manage a modern train service if you allow those kinds of stops.

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  • @choster, now that you mention it, you're probably right. I'll update the answer.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 19:00
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I can only give you the Australian perspective as I've lived in Melbourne and never in the UK or the US. When I would travel on the metro/underground the announcement would say: "The next station is...". The last station on the line would be announced with "The next station is... This train will be terminating at..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKWPC6joSRI

On a tram in Melbourne you would hear "The next stop is..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBdVwjgmGPM&feature=youtu.be&t=5m50s

Possibly there is some variation between countries.

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