Bay and island platforms are so named because they resemble the geographic features of the same name.
Examples of stations with bay platforms include Carlisle railway station; Nottingham railway station (pictured), which has a bay platform inset into one of its platform islands; and the San Francisco International Airport BART Station which has three bay platforms, two of which are in use. Chicago's CTA O'Hare Airport Station features a bay platform with one track on the bay and a track on each side of the platform. The Hoboken and 33 St Stations on the PATH train line have bay platforms. Ferry Avenue on the PATCO Speedline also has a bay platform. However, in the New York City Subway, such platforms are thought of as side or island platforms connected at the ends, rather than bay platforms.
Trains which use a bay platform have to reverse direction and depart in the direction from which they arrived.