Railway Platforms

Railway platforms are component parts of any station. The platforms serve for various purposes. They must ensure receiving and discharging passengers, luggage, mail and different freight.

According to their assignment there may be passenger platforms, separate trucking platforms, combined platforms and transshipping platforms.

Location of passenger platforms and their size must be convenient both for passengers and the working of the station staff, ensure necessary speed and complete safety of passengers’ movement. The platforms must be arranged for day and night work. All platforms should have ramps at the ends.

Trucking platforms serve for loading and unloading of different freight.

Transshipping platforms are designed for transshipment of freight directly between cars and lorries.

Various operations may be performed on combined platforms.

According to their arrangement platforms are distinguished as single-sided and double-sided island and bay platforms.

Separate single-sided platforms are located outside the tracks, one serving the up line and one the down line.

The platforms may be located on opposite sides of the track or there may be an island platform. Island platforms are beneficial in the following ways:

a) they facilitate the quick transfer of passengers and parcels traffic between connecting trains;

b) they assist in economical use of staff;

c) they are economical in provision of buildings.

The main disadvantage arises because they are interposed between the tracks.

This may involve curvature of the track as it approaches the platform, and the imposition of speed restrictions may be necessary.

At stub stations or through stations where trains originate and terminate, bay platforms with dead-end tracks are sometimes set into the main platforms. They enable turn-round trains to be discharged without occupation of through lines.

According to their assignment passenger platforms can be divided into main platforms and intermediate platforms. Main platforms can be of two types: side platforms which are usually located as through or stub stations adjacent to the railway station building and transshipping platforms, located at stub stations perpendicularly to the platform tracks. Such platforms ensure direct connection of the railway station building with all intermediate platforms.

Passenger platforms are divided into two types: high and low. High platforms usually find application at junctions where boarding or alighting the passengers from the train takes place on a mass scale.

Those passenger stations where traffic carrying capacity is rather low and local train movement is not electrified yet are provided with low platforms. Low passenger platforms as compared to high ones require lower building expenditures, but receiving and discharging of the passengers with heavy luggage as well as passengers with children is very inconvenient.

The length of the platforms ranges from 250 m to 400 m and over. The length of the passenger platforms should correspond to the maximum length of the passenger train so as to make convenient boarding and slighting passengers from the train.

The width of the platform is also a very important item. Minimum width of the passenger platform should be not less than 6 metres. The designing of the passenger platform should account the quantity and the character of the passenger streams.

The construction on the platform some auxiliary buildings and facilities for passenger service also should be considered.