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#1
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Disabled 'to sue for Tube access'
In article , Stephen Furley
writes Gap fillers, like those at South Ferry on the New York subway? For those that haven't seem them, these consist of an area of platform comprised of many parallel steel bars, running back from the edge of the platform edge for a metre or so, and wide enough to cover the width of the open doors when the train stops. The bars are in two sets, alternate ones being fixed and movable, when the train arrives the movable set moves forward to fill the gap between the train and the platform edge. There are chains at the sides of them at various hights, to prevent passengers falling off the side. Probably be banned of safety grounds here. The bars might need to be at a closer pitch than those in New York, to prevent a wheel from falling down the gap between them when extended. The New York ones are about the size of the cleats on the steps on the old 'wooden' escalators. I've used the NYC subway and the 'gap fillers' aren't wheelchair compatible. They simply stop someone falling into a void - they do not provide a smooth, slat bridge between the platform adn the carriage. -- Andrew Electronic communications can be altered and therefore the integrity of this communication can not be guaranteed. Views expressed in this communication are those of the author and not associations or companies I am involved with. |
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Disabled 'to sue for Tube access'
"Andrew P Smith" wrote in message ... In article , Stephen Furley I've used the NYC subway and the 'gap fillers' aren't wheelchair compatible. They simply stop someone falling into a void - they do not provide a smooth, slat bridge between the platform adn the carriage. This may be true of the existing ones, but I don't think it would be too difficult to design ones which were usable by passengers in wheelchairs. On systems such at the DLR and Croydon Tramlink the position of the vehicle relative the the platform edge is controlled very closely, both horizontally and vertically, and wheelchairs can easily get on and off. If track and or platform hights on other systems were adjusted to elininate the step, then a gap filler could reduce the gap which is inevitable at curved platforms to one of a centimetre or two, which a wheelchair is capable of crossing. With a bit of thought it would probably be possible to design a gap filler that could tilt as it extended to form a ramp if the platform was not quite level with the train floor. Such a system may not be ideal, but I believe it could enable passengers in wheelchairs to get on and off trains at somewhere like Bank Central line, where it is difficult to see how it could be done otherwise, other than by total reconstruction of the station, on a new site. |
#3
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Disabled 'to sue for Tube access'
In article , Stephen
Furley writes Hi Steve This may be true of the existing ones, but I don't think it would be too difficult to design ones which were usable by passengers in wheelchairs. On systems such at the DLR and Croydon Tramlink the position of the vehicle relative the the platform edge is controlled very closely, both horizontally and vertically, and wheelchairs can easily get on and off. I fail to see how a train can adjust its' position horizontally relative to the platform edge. It's on rails. To do that you would need a very clever bit of mechanics to do the movement, then go back to the standard position before the train could move off. Far easier to do what has been done on the JLE and get the platforms etc right first time. I don't doubt that the technology is available - but would it work in reality. If track and or platform hights on other systems were adjusted to elininate the step, then a gap filler could reduce the gap which is inevitable at curved platforms to one of a centimetre or two, which a wheelchair is capable of crossing. With a bit of thought it would probably be possible to design a gap filler that could tilt as it extended to form a ramp if the platform was not quite level with the train floor. Such a system may not be ideal, but I believe it could enable passengers in wheelchairs to get on and off trains at somewhere like Bank Central line, where it is difficult to see how it could be done otherwise, other than by total reconstruction of the station, on a new site. I agree with what you are saying but it would mean clever engineering and the train stopping in exactly the right place every time for the gap fillers to work properly. Far easier to get it right at the design stage rather than retro fit. Unfortunately for LU, that's 100 years late...... -- Andrew Electronic communications can be altered and therefore the integrity of this communication can not be guaranteed. Views expressed in this communication are those of the author and not associations or companies I am involved with. |
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Disabled 'to sue for Tube access'
"Andrew P Smith" wrote in message ... In article , Stephen Far easier to do what has been done on the JLE and get the platforms etc right first time. That was what I meant, that track can be positioned accurately relative to the platform edge, and prevented from moving. Given a straight platform this can bring the vehicle entrance very close to the platform edge, and a wheelchair can easily board. At existing stations which have tightly curved platforms it is not possible to avoid a gap which is too wide for a wheelchair to cross, but if the track is accurately positioned, so that the width of the gap is known, and constant, then I think that a device working on a similar principle to the New York gap filler could be designed to allow a wheelchair to board, and at a cost which would be affordable, which total reconstruction of the station, and the approach tracks leading to it, to eliminate the curved platforms would not be. If it is not possible to arrange for the vehicle floor to be exactly level with the platform surface then, as long as the difference is fairly small, known, and constant, then I think that a tilting gap filler could be designed, which would form a ramp as it extended. In an ideal world we would have anunderground system where all platforms were suitable for wheelchair access to trains, but in reality, the cost of the reconstruction which would be needed at some stations would be so high that it could never happen. In some circumstances this may be an affordable alternative. |
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Disabled 'to sue for Tube access'
In article , Stephen
Furley writes In an ideal world we would have anunderground system where all platforms were suitable for wheelchair access to trains, but in reality, the cost of the reconstruction which would be needed at some stations would be so high that it could never happen. In some circumstances this may be an affordable alternative. I agree with that. -- Andrew Electronic communications can be altered and therefore the integrity of this communication can not be guaranteed. Views expressed in this communication are those of the author and not associations or companies I am involved with. |
#6
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Disabled 'to sue for Tube access'
"Andrew P Smith" wrote in message
... I agree with what you are saying but it would mean clever engineering and the train stopping in exactly the right place every time for the gap fillers to work properly. Unless the gap fillers were fitted to the train, not the platform. -- John Rowland - Spamtrapped Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood. That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line - It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes |
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