Railway platform height
Differences between platform height and train floor height may also make boarding much more difficult, or impossible, for wheelchair-using passengers and people with other mobility impairments, increasing station dwell time as platform or staff are required to deploy ramps to assist boarding.
Tracks which are shared between freight and passenger service must have platforms which do not obstruct either type of railroad car.
When railways were first introduced in the 19th century, low platforms were widely used from the 1880s, especially in rural areas, except in the United Kingdom.
Like in China, areas adjacent to broad gauge countries/regions such as the eastern regions such as around Mashhad and Zahedan, still equipped low platforms.
[6] The Japanese National Railways (JNR) for many years used a triple-standard for its conventional (Cape gauge) lines: However, increasing electrification and the phasing-out of locomotive traction in favor of multiple units has made the distinction a matter of historical, rather than practical relevance.
As this represents a potential obstacle when boarding modern commuter trains, workarounds such as a step built into the floor of area-specific trainsets are often employed.
Nevertheless, with accessibility becoming a greater concern as Japan's population ages, raising the level of the platform itself (in tandem with other improvements such as elevators and escalators) is seen as the most practical solution.
In at least one case, with the E721 series EMU used on JR East lines in the Tohoku region, the floor of the train itself is lowered to be nearly level to existing 920 mm (36.2 in) platforms.
The European Union Commission issued a TSI (Technical Specifications for Interoperability) on 30 May 2002 (2002/735/EC) that sets out standard platform heights for passenger steps on high-speed rail.
Belgium has been using mixed type of platform heights (due to the age of the network, and the different companies running it before 1923).
[18] The sole exception on the national railway network is the Nikkilä halt which has a platform height of 400 mm (15.8 in).
[19][clarification needed] The TSI standard of 550 mm (21.7 in) height, historically common in the East, is widely used on regional lines.
European Commission decision 2002/735/EC which concerns trans-European interoperability for high-speed rail specifies that rolling stock be built for operational suitability platform height of 840 mm (33.1 in) .
[14] Dutch infrastructure maintainer ProRail has committed to upgrading all stations to 760 mm (29.9 in) platform height.
Stockholm Commuter Rail has almost always its own platforms at 730 mm (28.7 in) height which allows stepless trains of type X60.
[25] High Speed 2 is being built with a platform height of 1,115 mm (43.9 in), which does not conform to the European Union technical standards for interoperability for high-speed rail (EU Directive 96/48/EC).
[citation needed] The standard height for all platforms in France is 550 mm (21.7 in), following the european guidelines.
[30] Currently, platforms are 127 millimetres (5 in) above the top of rail, with a raised "mini-platform" which provides level boarding from one door of the train[quantify].
On the Toronto streetcar system, most stops are in mixed traffic accessed from the road surface, without raised platforms.
As a result, people using wheeled mobility aids need to use the wheelchair ramp even at stops where a raised platform exists.
New and substantially renovated stations in the United States must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires level boarding.
Most commuter rail systems in the northeastern United States have standardized on 48-inch (1,219 mm) high platforms, and is in general the floor height of single-deck trains.
This standard was used by the Pennsylvania Railroad[39] which began installing high platforms on its subsidiary the Long Island Rail Road in 1910 with the introduction of MP54 railcars.
Outside the Northeast U.S., Metra Electric District, South Shore Line, RTD, WES Commuter Rail, and SMART use 48-inch platforms.
(Gauntlet tracks, which permit wide freights to pass full-length high-level platforms, have practical issues of their own[which?].)
Double-deck commuter railcars are designed to be compatible with single-deck cars by having a third, intermediate deck above the bogies at both ends, with a matching floor height of 48 inches (1,219 mm).
The Bombardier BiLevel Coach is used on many commuter rail networks in North America, with Coaster having 22-inch (559 mm) platforms to match their floor height.
[42] A small number of systems do use low-floor single deck trains, including TEXRail and others that use Stadler FLIRT and GTW rolling stock.
Some, like the MBTA Green Line, are being converted to low-floor rolling stock, while others, like Baltimore Light Rail have permanent mini-high platforms.
[citation needed] The Gold Coast and Sydney light rail networks have low floor trams and platforms at all stops.
