It’s not random. The numbers aren’t only used for passengers, but also for train personnel, and because of that not only cover the train station, but also track

It’s not random. The numbers aren’t only used for passengers, but also for train personnel, and because of that not only cover the train station, but also tracks in the neighborhood. Tracks are numbered logically or at least start out that way, but in some stations, many tracks don’t border a passenger platform (which freight trains don’t need) If there’s a shunting yard nearby, there can be many such tracks. Looking at http://www.sporenplan.nl/html_de/sporenplan/ns/ns_65/nm.html http://www.sporenplan.nl/html_de/sporenplan/ns/ns_65/nm.html, that may be the case for Nijmegen. I don’t know what rules they use for renumbering tracks, but they must weigh the cost of redocumenting things and retraining personnel (likely the trickier part. Some of them may have known the track numbers for decades, so reassigning number to make them easier to learn can be risky. From a safety viewpoint, moving from 1,2,3… to A,B,C… may be a better option) against the training of future employees.