Дежурная подсказала, где переход к другому перрону.

Дежурная is the feminine form of дежурный / дежурная, which means the person on duty.

In this sentence, it is being used as a noun by itself, which is very common in Russian. A fuller version might be:

• дежурная по станции = the female station attendant / the woman on duty at the station

So дежурная here does not just mean on duty as an adjective; it means the woman on duty.

Подсказала comes from подсказать, which often means:

• to prompt
• to give a hint
• to tell someone helpfully
• to point something out

In this context, it suggests that the station attendant helpfully told someone where to go.

If you used сказала, that would simply mean said/told, which is more neutral.
Подсказала often feels a little more like gave directions or helped by telling.

Because the sentence describes a completed action in the past: the attendant already gave the information.

Also, подсказала is feminine past tense, because the subject is дежурная, which is feminine.

Compare:

• дежурная подсказала = the female attendant told
• дежурный подсказал = the male attendant told

Russian often omits objects that are clear from context.

So Дежурная подсказала, где переход к другому перрону literally means something like:

• The attendant told [someone] where the passage to the other platform is

The person being told is not stated, because Russian does not always need to say it if it is obvious from the situation.

A fuller version could be:

• Дежурная подсказала мне, где переход к другому перрону = The attendant told me where the passage to the other platform was/is

Because где переход к другому перрону is a subordinate clause.

It is an embedded question, similar to:

• She told me where the passage is

Russian normally puts a comma before this kind of clause:

• Я знаю, где он
• Она сказала, когда поезд придёт
• Дежурная подсказала, где переход к другому перрону

So the comma is required.

Russian often leaves out есть and often also leaves out verbs like находится when the meaning is clear.

So:

• где переход?
• где находится переход?

both mean where is the passage?

The version without находится is shorter and very natural in everyday Russian.

So где переход к другому перрону is a normal compact way to say:

• where the passage to the other platform is

After the preposition к, Russian uses the dative case.

So:

• к
  • dative = toward / to

Here:

• другой becomes другому
• перрон becomes перрону

That is why we get:

• к другому перрону = to another platform

This phrase describes what the passage leads to.

Both patterns can exist, but they emphasize slightly different things.

• переход к другому перрону = the passage leading to the other platform
• переход на другой перрон = the crossing/way over onto the other platform

In your sentence, переход к другому перрону presents переход as a passage or route whose destination is the other platform.

So к fits the idea of a passage to somewhere.

They are related, but not always identical in nuance.

• платформа is the standard word for a railway platform
• перрон is also used for a platform area, especially in station contexts

In many situations, learners can think of перрон here simply as platform.

Depending on region and context, перрон may sound a bit more specifically like the station platform area beside the train.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible.

The sentence:

• Дежурная подсказала, где переход к другому перрону

is neutral and natural.

You could also say:

• Где переход к другому перрону, подсказала дежурная

but that sounds more marked, with extra focus on the information about the passage.

Russian often puts the main statement first and the subordinate clause after it, especially in neutral narration.

No. Inside this sentence, it is an indirect question or embedded question.

Compare:

• Где переход к другому перрону? = Where is the passage to the other platform?
  This is a direct question.

• Дежурная подсказала, где переход к другому перрону. = The attendant told us/me where the passage to the other platform is/was.
  Here it is part of a larger sentence, so it is an indirect question.

That is also why there is a comma before где and no question mark at the end.

Russian has no articles like a or the.

So words like дежурная, переход, and перрону do not show definiteness the way English does. The listener understands from context whether it means:

• the attendant or an attendant
• the passage or a passage
• the other platform or another platform

In this sentence, context strongly suggests something like:

• the station attendant told us where the passage to the other platform was

even though Russian does not mark that with articles.