Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Central station
If "central station" meant simply "a station that is central", as the nominator assumes, then of course there would be no reason for an article of this type. But in fact "central station" is the common name for a type of station, as is evident from http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Central+Station%2Ccentral+station%2Cmain+station%2CMain+Station%2Chauptbahnhof&year_start=1950&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share= this ngram. This usage derives from the fact that, for whatever reason, the principle station of certain cities was named in the form "Foo Central Station." But the usage is now part of the English language, independent of the formal name of any particular station. The drive to delete this article appears to stem from opposition to the practice of translating station names. |Translation is not original research! Let's not lose sight of the forest for the trees: Our purpose is to write reference material that English-speakers can read. ''http://dictionary.reverso.net/german-english/Hauptbahnhof Collins German-English Dictionary'' defines ''hauptbahnhof'' as "main or central station”. I did not make the translation up, and I don't appreciate the repeated accusations to this effect. Here is ''http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-74063.html Spiegel Online'': “Travelers at Berlin's central station faced disruptions after a series of petrol bombs were discovered along railway lines in the German capital last week.” Here we see the phrase "central station" used to refer to a type of station, a type that is understood to include the main railway station in Berlin. ''http://www.dw.de/europes-biggest-station-to-open-in-berlin-in-time-for-world-cup/a-2032338 Deutsche Welle'' has a full-length English-language article on the Berlin station which refers to it as a "central station" and as a "central railway station" several times, but not once as a "hauptbahhof." I ask those who oppose translation this question: Should the main station in Beijing be called  "北京火车站" or ''Běijīng huǒchēzhàn
— User:Kauffner, 04:19, 13 May 2013 (UTC)
Stance: keep
Cited policy: WP:TRANSCRIPTION (Wikipedia:No original research)