Platform height on Merseyrail

[shakey1961]

Apologies if there's another thread on this, I've not looked.

Platforms on Merseyrail are needing to be lowered or raised for the new rolling stock.

My question... Are the floors, and therefore the exits on the new stock, higher or lower than the present fleet?

Thanks for you time.

 

[Bletchleyite]

About 8" lower I believe, so they will be *about* right for the platforms, the work is a bit of tweaking really and will allow for wholly level boarding and alighting with no gap, so no assistance services to be required.

 

[shakey1961]

That was a quick reply - thank you. I shall have to go and take a nosey when the do my local station

 

[urbophile]

About 8" lower I believe, so they will be *about* right for the platforms, the work is a bit of tweaking really and will allow for wholly level boarding and alighting with no gap, so no assistance services to be required.

Some platforms (my local station for example) are considerably lower than that, so will definitely need raising.

 

[Concrete Loz]

Some platforms (my local station for example) are considerably lower than that, so will definitely need raising.

There's a huge variation in platform heights and offsets on the existing network. The work at Merseyrail's stations will involve track realignment and/or platform adjustments to get the platform gauge and stepping distances right for the new trains. Track realignments often extend well beyond the station platforms to achieve a compliant tie-in with the existing alignment, whilst platform adjustments need careful design to ensure that cross-fall gradients remain within allowable limits. Expect to see quite a lot of work going on at Merseyrail stations ahead of the new trains running.

 

[urbophile]

There's a huge variation in platform heights and offsets on the existing network. The work at Merseyrail's stations will involve track realignment and/or platform adjustments to get the platform gauge and stepping distances right for the new trains. Track realignments often extend well beyond the station platforms to achieve a compliant tie-in with the existing alignment, whilst platform adjustments need careful design to ensure that cross-fall gradients remain within allowable limits. Expect to see quite a lot of work going on at Merseyrail stations ahead of the new trains running.

A schedule for this has been published. How easy will it be to adapt curved platforms to the new trains?

 

[edwin_m]

A schedule for this has been published. How easy will it be to adapt curved platforms to the new trains?

They have a clever extending step that can move a different distance depending how far away the platform is. So they should be able to bridge the wider gaps at curved platforms.

 

[Llandudno]

Level access from the platform to the train will be fantastic, but which stations on the Merseyrail network have a number of steps to reach street level?
It seems a bit pointless wasting money adjusting platform heights at these stations?

 

[urbophile]

Level access from the platform to the train will be fantastic, but which stations on the Merseyrail network have a number of steps to reach street level?
It seems a bit pointless wasting money adjusting platform heights at these stations?

I hope they do all the same. Sections of line are going to be closed for about a week for the work to be done, so it would be silly not to upgrade all stations in a section. Eventually they may get lifts installed, and in any case negotiating steps to the platform, however many, can be done slowly and carefully, while mounting up to a high train is more difficult and potentially dangerous. It might even breach health and safety laws.

 

[edwin_m]

Level boarding helps with dwell times and reduces risk of platform/train accidents even if the station in question isn't accessible to wheelchair users.

 

[mwmbwls]

IMG_0168 by Mwmbwls, on Flickr

Handy bunch of pensioners demonstrating the new ramp.

They have a clever extending step that can move a different distance depending how far away the platform is. So they should be able to bridge the wider gaps at curved platforms.

A lot of work has gone into designing out the train platform gap in the new 777 fleet.
This topic was raised at the Mock Up preview for the new stock which does feature an extendable ramp to fill the gap. Much of the modification work to bring all platforms to a standard 915mm height will be as a result of adjusting the track height rather than the platform. IIUC - the mock up will be moved to Lime Street in due course.

 

[73001]

Level access from the platform to the train will be fantastic, but which stations on the Merseyrail network have a number of steps to reach street level?
It seems a bit pointless wasting money adjusting platform heights at these stations?

It appears that about 20 stations out of 67 aren't fully accessible but as upgrading access etc is a bit of a Merseytravel thing when the money is there you might as well do them all when the line is closed for the others so that when/if access gets better the track doesn't need moving.

 

[Skie]

They've created a handy A-B search tool that lists when a given journey will be disrupted, as the map was fairly confusing. Now I've used the tool, it actually makes the disruption map make more sense!
http://merseyraildisruption.glownet.uk/Home/Search

 

[Bletchleyite]

It appears that about 20 stations out of 67 aren't fully accessible but as upgrading access etc is a bit of a Merseytravel thing when the money is there you might as well do them all when the line is closed for the others so that when/if access gets better the track doesn't need moving.

I very much doubt Aughton Park will ever get lifts; if nothing else the layout of the station would make it very difficult, as there is really nowhere to put them without very major work. That said it might be feasible to replace the current combination of treacherous ramps and steps with some longer ramps.

However, disabled access is not the only benefit of the new bridged gap and level boarding - easier boarding for those who can manage steps and a reduction in PTI incidents is also a benefit, so the job will no doubt be done anyway.