New Trains too high for platforms - why?

usignuolo

Yesterday I had to travel across central London and out to Kent which involved several changes of overground train. At several stations there was work underway to provide improved facilities for wheel chair users on the concourse.

This is all very well but fails to address another major problem - the current and increasing mismatch between platform height and train door step height. The gap between train and platform is getting larger and larger, yesterday it was over 12 inches in one case. I used to travel by train on the continent when I was younger and it was always the case you had to step up into the train as there the platforms were very low, more or less at rail height - but steps were provided within the train door entrance.

This is not so in the new generation of UK commuter trains. I am not very tall (not much over 5 foot) and have a minor back problem. This means that I am not supposed to raise one leg much higher than the other or it tweaks the discs in my lower spine and they can jam.

This happened yesterday when I had to lift my leg over 12 inches off the platform in order to step onto the train. Never mind the wheelchairs, how would you cope with pushchair with baby and a toddler in tow? Even my OH who is 6ft with very long legs has commented on the increasing height of trains compared to the platforms in the south east of England. I assume it is true elsewhere as well.

Is this bad planning by the railway companies - presumably the train operating companies are not responsible for the platform heights and pay no attention to them when ordering new rolling stock?

DirectDebacle

All part of them constantly striving to raise the of level of service.

WestonDave

Largely a legacy of the mix of railway companies that built the network in the late 1800's. They all had their own standards (notably the GWR with its broad gauge!) which was fine when they only ran their own stock on it which was matched up. Now we have one network and carriages have to be able to call at any station, so its a case of designing for the highest platforms. Its also the case that where originally carriages were little more than converted horse carts with little springing, meaning that floor levels were fairly low, nowadays modern units have a lot better springing to cope with higher speeds and also often have the motor or engine under the floor as well. Wheels have stayed largely the same size so to create the space for engines and springs, floors have had to go up.

Standardisation and shifting stock around also play their part. It would cost a lot of money to get new stock approved with specific designs such as a lower floor, so everyone just buys standard designs now probably from about 2 or 3 factories world wide. Even then stock often gets moved around so that older stuff is phased out and newer second hand stuff is cascaded. Some of the old Cambrian stations in Mid Wales are so low that Network rail is having to provide little platforms on the platform at the point where the doors open because its literally too big a step for people to get into. Going around raising all the platform heights however would be massively expensive. If you are interested google Aberdovey station height problems!