Sloping platforms - a conscious design decision or an accident?

[styles]

Good morning.

I am at Warrington Bank Quay.

I noticed the below warning on the platforms which I've never paid attention to before. It says "Sloping Platform /// Apply Brakes", with icons of luggage trolleys, pushchairs, and wheelchairs.

Also in the photo you'll see a drain strip. The slope goes from the platform edge down towards the drain. It is a very slight slope but enough that applying brakes would be essential for most wheeled users.

My question is - were the platforms designed this way to direct water to the drains, or is it an accident?

I note that the warnings appear on platforms 1/2, but looking across the tracks to platform 3, I can't see the same warnings and can't tell if it is sloped, but it does have the same long drain.

External image link because apparently it's too large a file for the forums: https://i.postimg.cc/wTBM7LQF/PXL-20251220-073546470.jpg

 

[35B]

There was an RAIB report following a buggy being hit by a train, and I suspect these markings are a reaction to those recommendations. The slope is many stations, and not always away from the track

 

[The exile]

There was an RAIB report following a buggy being hit by a train, and I suspect these markings are a reaction to those recommendations. The slope is many stations, and not always away from the track

Sounds a bit like one of those sensible ideas that get thoughtlessly applied - it makes perfect sense to warn of any slope towards the track as disaster could result from an unobservant person (would they read the signs anyway?) not reacting fast enough. However - if the slope is away from the tracks / road with a fence or wall to arrest any movement (nothing's going to build up that much velocity in the width of a railway platform) or, on an island platform, to the middle with an equivalent slope on the other face, putting up signs is merely encouraging the trend away from people taking responsibility for themselves.

 

[SargeNpton]

In the days that platforms were littered with parcel and post trolleys many of them were built with slopes down away from the platform edge so that runaways didn't end up on the tracks.

 

[bahnause]

According to existing standards, the preferred method of drainage in Switzerland is to drain rainwater into the track bed. The platforms therefore also incline towards the track.

While other variants are possible, these have particular implications for winter use and water treatment. The priority for rainwater is always infiltration into the ground, not only in the case of railway facilities. The aim is to channel rainwater directly into the ground wherever possible to feed the groundwater and support natural cycles, ideally via living soil layers. Discharge into the sewer system or into water bodies (with the appropriate permits) is only considered when infiltration and retention are not possible.

 

[Benjwri]

were the platforms designed this way to direct water to the drains, or is it an accident?

It is a design requirement of new and altered platforms that they be built with a gradient of 1:50 away from the track (1:80 to 1:40 is also acceptable). The rationale given is that a gradient encourages drainage, while having it away from the track stops wheeled items rolling onto the track.

 

[ChrisT]

My question is - were the platforms designed this way to direct water to the drains, or is it an accident?

External surfaces should always be laid to falls, and sometimes cross-falls as well, to allow rainwater to drain away and not pond. Examples are roads, footpaths, flat roofs, patios and, of course, platforms. Sometimes it doesn't work as well as it should...

 

[styles]

It is a design requirement of new and altered platforms that they be built with a gradient of 1:50 away from the track (1:80 to 1:40 is also acceptable). The rationale given is that a gradient encourages drainage, while having it away from the track stops wheeled items rolling onto the track.

1:50 surely wouldn't warrant such a warning though would it? If it would, doesn't that mean every (new or recently maintained) platform should have these warnings?

 

[Olivine]

1:50 surely wouldn't warrant such a warning though would it? If it would, doesn't that mean every (new or recently maintained) platform should have these warnings?

It’s a warning when it slopes towards the tracks, not away from the tracks - I.e as a recommendation from the RAIB report(s).

 

[styles]

It’s a warning when it slopes towards the tracks, not away from the tracks - I.e as a recommendation from the RAIB report(s).

On this platform it slopes away from the tracks.

 

[Acathater]

Preston has the same warnings at the north end of P3. I've not noticed them them anywhere else, but they may be.
Looking at the platform cynically you get the impression whoever laid the surface tarmac didn't know how to use a builders level.