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.

"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.

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.

"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