[reaperducer]

Which makes you wonder why some railway stations would have a IATA code.

Because you could (still can?) book a trip that way.

Just like if you try to fly from Boise to Tokyo, you'll get a ticket set from BOI → SFO → NRT.

You could book a trip from ORD → PHL → whatever the code is for Penn Station in New York.

I don't think it's done that much anymore, but it used to be pretty common.