Island platform
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An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single
Advantages and tradeoffs
Island platforms are necessary for any station with many through platforms. There are also advantages to building small two-track stations with a single island platform instead of two side platforms. Island platforms allow facilities such as shops, toilets and waiting rooms to be shared between both tracks rather than being duplicated or present only on one side. An island platform makes it easier for disabled travellers to change services between tracks or access facilities. If the tracks are above or below the entrance level, the station needs only one staircase and (if disabled accessibility is necessary) one elevator or ramp to allow access to the platforms. If the tracks are at the same level as the entrance, this instead creates a disadvantage; a side platform arrangement allows one platform to be adjacent to the entrance, whereas an island platform arrangement requires both tracks to be accessed by a bridge or underpass.
If an island platform is not wide enough to cope with passenger numbers, overcrowding can be a problem. Examples of stations where a narrow island platform has caused safety issues include
An island platform requires the tracks to diverge around the center platform, and extra width is required along the right-of-way on each approach to the station, especially on high-speed lines. Track centers vary for rail systems throughout the world but are normally 3 to 5 metres (9 ft 10 in to 16 ft 5 in). If the island platform is 6 metres (19 ft 8 in) wide, the tracks must slew out by the same distance. While this requirement is not a problem on a new line under construction, it makes building a new station on an existing line impossible without altering the tracks. A single island platform also makes it quite difficult to have through tracks (used by trains that do not stop at that station), which are usually between the local tracks (where the island would be).
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Four tracks and two island platforms
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A common configuration in busy locations on high speed lines is a pair of island platforms, with slower trains diverging from the main line (or using a separate level on the railway's
A rarer layout, present at
Examples
Many of the stations on the Great Central Railway in England (now almost entirely closed) were constructed in this form. This was because the line was planned to connect to a Channel Tunnel. If this happened, the lines would need to be compatible with continental loading gauge, and this would mean it would be easy to change the line to a larger gauge, by moving the track away from the platform to allow the wider bodied continental rolling stock to pass freely while leaving the platform area untouched.
Island platforms are a very normal sight on Indian railway stations. Almost all railway stations in India consist of island platforms.
Australia
In
Canada
In
In Edmonton, all 18 LRT stations on the Capital Line and Metro Line used island platforms until NAIT/Blatchford Market station opened in 2024, the only station with side platforms as of 2024. The Valley Line Southeast uses low-floor LRT technology, but uses island platforms on only one of the 12 stops, Mill Woods.
Singapore
Almost all of the elevated stations in Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system use island platforms. The exceptions are Dover MRT station and Canberra MRT station, which use side platforms as they are built on an existing rail line, also known as an infill station. Gul Circle uses a stacked island platform configuration. The same follows for underground stations, with the exception being Braddell MRT station, Bishan MRT station, Ang Mo Kio MRT station, and a few stations on the Downtown line (Stevens, Downtown, Telok Ayer, Chinatown and MacPherson) and the Thomson-East Coast line (Napier, Maxwell, Shenton Way and Marina Bay)
United States
In southern
Unused sides of island platforms
Sometimes when the track on one side of the platform is unused by passenger trains, that side may be fenced off. Examples include Hurlstone Park, Lewisham, Sydney and Yeronga, Brisbane.
In New York City's
On the
Some stations of the Glasgow Subway have one island platform and one side platform (Hillhead, Buchanan Street, and Ibrox).
In Wellington, New Zealand, unused sides can be found at two stations on the Hutt Valley Line: Waterloo and Petone. Waterloo's island platform was reconfigured to be the down side platform when the station was extensively rebuilt in the late 1980s, with the unused side now facing onto a bus bay. Petone's island platform served the up main line and the suburban loop line until the suburban loop was lifted in the early 1990s. The unused platform now faces onto the station's park-and-ride carpark.
Gallery
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Ashton-under-Lyne station, an island-platformed station in England
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Navy Yard–Ballpark station on the Washington Metro Green Line after a baseball game at Nationals Park
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Island platform at Bowling Green station on the New York City Subway with one side fenced off
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An example of a basic island platform in Japan. Ōto Station on the Narita Line.
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Island platform atGrafton station on the Western Line of Auckland's suburban rail network
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Metro Vancouver, British Columbia
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Yorkdale station, one of 29 stations on the Toronto subway with centre platforms
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Taft Avenue station, one of the few island platforms in the Manila Metro Rail Transit System Line 3
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Edmonton LRT station in Alberta.
See also
- Platform height
- Railway platform
- Side platform
- Split platform
- Spanish solution
References
- ^ "Island Platform". Railway-Technical. 2007-05-30. Archived from the original on 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ "Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), May 2004 Figure 2-4 Track Diagram, North of 55th Street" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 2004. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- ^ "JR武蔵小杉駅、横須賀線の新ホーム供用開始 – 新規改札口も設置へ" [JR Musashi-Kosugi Station, Yokosuka Line New Platform Opens – New Ticket Gates to be Installed]. Mynavi Corporation (in Japanese). 16 September 2022. Archived from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
External links
- "Stations". Railway Technical Web Pages. 30 May 2007. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007.