Stations With Largest Step Down.

[Cheshire Scot]

Come to think of it, I seem to remember Manchester Piccadilly platform 13 having a big step down, especially from a 156.

I think at Piccadilly it is more about the tight curvature than the actual platform height, this plus the step on the 156 is quite high anyway means the platform is further from the train than it would be on a straight platform. Oxford Road platform 4 is also worthy of note.

Why were so many stations seemingly built with such low platforms? What's changed over the years?

Back in the 19th century many platforms were built much lower than today's standards - plenty of examples on The Highland Railway remain as quoted on here. Presumably back then these heights were ok with the coaching stock of the day but many of these - and not just very low footfall stations - have never been 'brought up to date', admittedly a potentially huge financial burden Who would pay, the TOC or Network Rail, going forward one for the in-box at Great British Railways?

Track heights will have been raised at some locations, and cant to enable higher speeds for non stopping trains add to the problem.

There seems to be a tendency for footsteps on newer stock to be set higher than was traditio0nally the case.

There are standards relating to 'stepping distances' against which all stock has to be evaluated but that does not appear to prevent some quite horrific gaps being deemed 'acceptable'.

 

[Wolfie]

Clapham Junction, East Croydon and Colwyn Bay.

Clapham Junction is pretty bad. South Croydon is a serious drop. I saw someone slip down the gap between the train and platform at Lewisham.

 

[Waldgrun]

I’m surprised Liphook on the up and Witley on the down has not been mentioned.

What about Rowlands Castle on the Up, I know this platform was rebuilt some years ago! Which lead to a ramp to/from the Booking Hall (I hope that drainage was taken care of? But I recall it was a heck of a climb into a Class 442!

 

[Tractor86]

Nearly broke my neck this afternoon at Willesden Junction coming off the Bakerloo Line. Wasn’t expecting such a step UP to the platform

 

[4COR]

Fairly sure I have mentioned this before, but Selhurst on the down fast used to be a big step up to the train. Not sure if that is still a booked call? (Used to be used a lot on Sundays for E Grinsteads)

 

[Leisurefirst]

Nearly broke my neck this afternoon at Willesden Junction coming off the Bakerloo Line. Wasn’t expecting such a step UP to the platform

Special mention seeing as we're branching out to steps UP to Ladbroke Grove LU where when the platform was rebuilt due to subsidence some years ago.
They kindly decided to rebuild higher to give level access to the 'C' stock trains.
Cue their replacement with the new 'S' stock not many years later with their step free access to all the other stations on the line and the result is quite the step up!

 

[Pigeon]

Why were so many stations seemingly built with such low platforms? What's changed over the years?

Carriages used to be a lot lower-set before they realised it was OK to put the bodies over the top of the wheels instead of having them slung in between the upper parts of the wheels (one supposed advantage of Brunel's broad gauge was that it meant that that low-slung arrangement didn't limit the width so much), but I think they got over that one pretty early on and most low platforms were built a long time after that ceased to be a factor.

Some lines were built with the intention of running their own pattern of carriages with a lower than usual boarding height, and built the platforms low to suit.

Some lines were built with low platforms just to cheap out.

First class passengers would have been used to getting into and out of horseand carriages, which was itself a rather awkward and clambery operation, and would have had some poor sod riding around on the outside of the carriage to help them up and down; with railway carriages they would either continue to bring poor sods along or expect the station staff to do it - regardless of them not being disabled, although it was considered "refined" to feign a Dalek-level absence of natural agility. As for the third class passengers, nobody gave a toss about them, and not much about second class either.

But the main thing that changed was simply that it took a while for the idea of platforms to evolve to what we think of it as today. All the pictures of stations on the very early railways show them to have either next to nothing or absolutely nothing in the way of proper platforms at all - just a bit of ground at the side of the rails with people standing on it. The idea of it being desirable to provide something better took a very long time to catch on, and another very long time to reach any kind of consensus.

@Pigeon are you the Pigeon from PH and then CTF?

'Fraid so...

 

[Egg Centric]

'Fraid so...

Heh, internet's a small place...

 

[Harold Hill]

Bristol Temple Meads I have always found very difficult in this regard

I got a train at platform 6 at TM last week, yes, the gap is yawning

 

[colchesterken]

Leyton on TFL, the problem was the station was built to BR standard, when the tube took over in 1945 it was not changed
not been there for about 10yrs so may have been sorted, seemed to me it would have been simple to bung a foot of ballast under the track when the conversion happened

 

[option]

Triple step at Dunrobin. Of all the highland stations I've visited (which is pretty extensive) Dunrobin is the one I never have a chance of doing without the steps. It's simply an enormous distance with the floor of the 158 around waist height (5ft10). The top step isn't step free either and there is still a fair number of inches between it and the 158 floor.

View attachment 101798

There's space there to build permanent steps & not affect the level around the building.

 

[Deepgreen]

Fairly sure I have mentioned this before, but Selhurst on the down fast used to be a big step up to the train. Not sure if that is still a booked call? (Used to be used a lot on Sundays for E Grinsteads)

A large part of the up fast platform is very low.

 

[Lewlew]

Wembley Central fast line platforms (at least the down platform) have a very large step up on to the train. Luckily it's not used all that often.

 

[Cheshire Rover]

Helsby platform 1. There is a hump on it now but only covers one set of doors so if you are towards the end of the train it's a fair drop.

 

[E100]

There's space there to build permanent steps & not affect the level around the building.

Granted but at what aesthetic cost on what is solely a tourist stop. I think Dunrobin castle [Sutherland Estate] would sooner remove the service (bearing in mind it's privately owned and only accounts for about 1000 visits a year).

 

[Mikey C]

It's nothing unusual, but stepping off a 350 at Berkhamsted today, I was genuinely surprised by the drop to the platform!