Reply to: Mind the gap!

[SueEllen]

Great, so after falling through the gap the hapless passenger is chopped in half while they struggle to climb back up

For wheelchair passengers if they request in advance and someone is available they wheel out a platform which enables them to get their wheelchair on and off the train themselves, as the platform goes over the gap.

The main problem is there is not usually a staff member available to put the platform out in the evenings and it adds an extra minute or two onto the train timetable.

Therefore the woman who often gets off at the station near me with one leg normally has to hop off over the massive gap holding on to one able-bodied passenger, while another able-bodied passenger takes her wheelchair put her wheelchair on the platform for her.

[Freamon]

Great, so after falling through the gap the hapless passenger is chopped in half while they struggle to climb back up

Surely the simplest and safest system, if it could be made practical, would be a row of inverted "bellows" fixed along the top of the track side wall that could be inflated by compressed air in a couple of seconds, and deflated just as fast, to fill the gap with a cushion. You could use even the momentum of the incoming train in some way to power them while braking the train at the same time.

You're right, that does sound very simple.

[OwlHoot]

The NYC subway has automatic plates that slide out to bridge the gap between platform and train, ..

Great, so after falling through the gap the hapless passenger is chopped in half while they struggle to climb back up

Surely the simplest and safest system, if it could be made practical, would be a row of inverted "bellows" fixed along the top of the track side wall that could be inflated by compressed air in a couple of seconds, and deflated just as fast, to fill the gap with a cushion. You could use even the momentum of the incoming train in some way to power them while braking the train at the same time.

[Freamon]

Hang on, she says she measured the gap at 46 to 51cm, 18" to 20" in old money, that is huge.

A gap big enough to put a foot in is a hazard, one an adult can fall through is ridiculous. It wouldn't take much to solve this, I like the idea of the automatic plate someone mentioned.

The NYC subway has automatic plates that slide out to bridge the gap between platform and train, in at least one station where the curve of the platform is particularly steep (and therefore the gap particularly wide):

[d000hg]

I'm not an engineer so I don't appreciate all the details but I had it in my mind for some reason that because Bank station is so far below sea level it wasn't possible to do 'straight'.

But the Northern line platform is below the Central Line one, and that is straight.

The DLR platform is even further below and that is straight too.

So what is the explanation?

I imagine when they were digging the tunnels - imagine what that must have been like without our modern equipment - the extra work/digging to make the line straight at the station was not considered worth it.

[NickFitz]

I'm not an engineer so I don't appreciate all the details but I had it in my mind for some reason that because Bank station is so far below sea level it wasn't possible to do 'straight'.

But the Northern line platform is below the Central Line one, and that is straight.

The DLR platform is even further below and that is straight too.

So what is the explanation?

If you look on this map showing the actual course of the lines, you'll see that the Central line turns sharply northwards at Bank (eastbound), whereas the other lines are running pretty straight.

[Gonzo]

Bank - Central Line

One of the worst - possibly where "Mind the Gap" originated from.

The curve is so bad that if you are at one end of the platform, you can't see the other end

I'm not an engineer so I don't appreciate all the details but I had it in my mind for some reason that because Bank station is so far below sea level it wasn't possible to do 'straight'.

But the Northern line platform is below the Central Line one, and that is straight.

The DLR platform is even further below and that is straight too.

So what is the explanation?

[NickFitz]

Bank - Central Line

One of the worst - possibly where "Mind the Gap" originated from.

The curve is so bad that if you are at one end of the platform, you can't see the other end

Same with the northbound Northern Line platform at Embankment, because it used to be part of a big loop: The Northern Line tunnel – bombed and flooded in 1940 – and still sealed shut

[centurian]

Are platforms curved then? I can't think of any that I use that aren't straight.

Bank - Central Line

One of the worst - possibly where "Mind the Gap" originated from.

The curve is so bad that if you are at one end of the platform, you can't see the other end

[Spacecadet]

And 150 years ago they didn't have digital signs on the platforms giving you accurate information about the arrival time of your train.

And we still don't.

They didn't have live train times available on their mobiles either

[VectraMan]

And 150 years ago they didn't have digital signs on the platforms giving you accurate information about the arrival time of your train.

And we still don't.

[Spacecadet]

Barely usable......

The Railways have been with us for what 150 years????

150 years ago they didn't have platforms, those were invented make it easier for people to get onto the train
They also didn't have a handy foot bridge for crossing the railway, those were invented to keep squishy people away from solid and fast moving chunks of metal.
They also didn't have escalators taking people up from the platform to the bridge, those were invented to make life easier
They also didn't have a lift from the platform to the bridge, those were introduced to make the station accessible for certain groups of people and to make moving luggage around easier.

We could go back to a train station being a man in a shed selling tickets for one old pence. Or we could actually try and make things better.

[doodab]

Barely usable......

The Railways have been with us for what 150 years???? what has changed now that makes them barely useable.

Nothing has changed with the railways at all - what has changed is peoples lack of ability to take responsibility for their own actions.

Well, lets see, we have millions more people using them, different rolling stock that makes the gaps bigger, people living longer and hence more old people, and 150 years of progress so that we can actually make things better than we could back then.

Tiny amount of money ... to upgrade all stations so that the trains are level with the platforms..... add in some perspex barriers (how long before someone running for a train goes through one and tries to sue..) straigten out some platforms.....

I think we are talking much larger amounts than you may think.

But these amounts are being spent anyway with stations being refurbished, track being renewed, platforms lengthened and so on. Amortised over a period of years and millions of users the per journey cost is fairly minor. And like I say, making passenger ingress and egress easier actually increases the capacity of the rail network, which benefits everybody.

But anyway what will be will be.. have a great xmas and -- erm if you have a few beers and take the train home..

Mind the damn gap!

Yeah, merry christmas.

I'll be getting a cab though

[original PM]

I fail to see why they should put up with a barely usable service or be forced to use alternate means of transport to save you a tiny amount of money.

Barely usable......

The Railways have been with us for what 150 years???? what has changed now that makes them barely useable.

Nothing has changed with the railways at all - what has changed is peoples lack of ability to take responsibility for their own actions.

Tiny amount of money ... to upgrade all stations so that the trains are level with the platforms..... add in some perspex barriers (how long before someone running for a train goes through one and tries to sue..) straigten out some platforms.....

I think we are talking much larger amounts than you may think.


But anyway what will be will be.. have a great xmas and -- erm if you have a few beers and take the train home..

Mind the damn gap!

[doodab]

I fail to see why I should see a hike in the prices I pay to travel on the train to pander to the tiny percent of society who seem to struggle with a basic task.

I see your point about the elderly etc - but there are 'normally' porters etc at most stations who are available to assist those who need it. And hey - we can all help too - I always do where needed.

And remember you do have a choice - you do not have to take the train....

I fail to see why they should put up with a barely usable service or be forced to use alternate means of transport to save you a tiny amount of money.