A railway platform is a section of track, next to railroad tracks in a train station, subway station or tram stop, in which passengers can board or get off trains or trams. Almost all railway stations have some sort of platform, with larger stations having multiple platforms. The term "platform" has also gained the use as a verb among some lane drivers, as in, "The first two cars do not platform in [the station]". The term "railway platform" may also mean any type of loading platform adjacent to a lane lining for loading / unloading cargo from / to wagons.
The most basic form of the platform consists of an area at the same level as the runway, usually resulting in a fairly large height difference between the platform and the train floor. This would often not be considered a true platform. The more traditional platform is elevated relative to the track, but is often lower than that of the train, although ideally it should be at the same level. Occasionally the platform is higher than the train floor, where a train with a low floor serves a station built for trains with a high floor, for example in the Dutch stations of the DB Regionalbahn Westfalen (see Enschede). In the London Underground some stations are served by the District Line and Piccadilly Line trains, and Piccadilly Trains have lower floors.
A tram stop is often in the middle of the street; Usually it has a shelter zone of a height similar to that of the sidewalk (for example, 100 mm), and sometimes has no platform. The latter requires special care by passengers and other traffics to avoid accidents. Both types of tram stops can be seen on the tram networks of Melbourne and Toronto. Sometimes a tram stop is served by ordinary trams with lower floors and subway-like light rail vehicles with higher floors, and the tram stop has a double height platform, as in Amstelveen, Netherlands. A railway station can be served by heavy rail and light rail railways with the lower floors and has a double-height platform, as in the RijnGouweLijn in the Netherlands.