Could trains be made with automatically deployable boarding ramps like busses?

[Pdf]

To allow wheelchair access a lot of busses these days have automatically deployable boarding ramps. Could the same be done with trains to reduce the need for platform staff to be available to set up and remove boarding ramps manually?

 

[Bletchleyite]

To allow wheelchair access a lot of busses these days have automatically deployable boarding ramps. Could the same be done with trains to reduce the need for platform staff to be available to set up and remove boarding ramps manually?

Technically? Yes, it's possible.

The real fix, though, is to order trains with a lower floor and automatic gap bridges, as per recent Stadler products.

 

[pdeaves]

It's similar (not the same) as Pendolino steps.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Are the ‘automatic’ ramps on buses actually completely automatic or are they deployed by the driver when necessary?

 

[zwk500]

To allow wheelchair access a lot of busses these days have automatically deployable boarding ramps. Could the same be done with trains to reduce the need for platform staff to be available to set up and remove boarding ramps manually?

Technically possible (believe some trams in Europe do this) but would slow down dwell times significantly and would be a potential safety minefield as able-bodied passengers will be trying to board and alight as the ramps are moving, while on DOO services the driver may be rather far away from the door and only have a tiny CCTV image or even just a mirror on the platform to see if somebody needs the ramp.

 

[James H]

The DB ICE 3neo has built-in ramps

 

[Bletchleyite]

Are the ‘automatic’ ramps on buses actually completely automatic or are they deployed by the driver when necessary?

The driver presses a button to deploy it (or on simpler designs manually folds it out).

 

[Dr Hoo]

The driver presses a button to deploy it (or on simpler designs manually folds it out).

Thanks for confirming this. So, NOT ‘automatic’.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thanks for confirming this. So, NOT ‘automatic’.

Not technically, but I think the OP doesn't mean that, they simply mean something that can be deployed by the driver without leaving the cab by simply pressing a button, which is how they do work.

 

[Pdf]

Yeah, that was my intention. Alternatively it could be something that would be operated from the door controls by a guard or by station staff when necessary.

 

[SynthD]

To bridge the large height difference you’d need a big ramp. To move that, you’d need large pistons. It has to be under the floor, in a space made for it. I don’t think this could be accommodated on existing stock. If it was developed, how many countries would use it? We have few UK only trains, eg Class 713.

It would have to be guard door only, so that rules out half of services. A portion of the rest don’t reliably have guards making themselves seen. Could a driver lean out of their window and confirm the space in front of the nearest doors is clear? I don’t think so.

 

[30907]

The DB ICE 3neo has built-in ramps

I can't see any in the film, only the usual slide-out step - have I missed something?

 

[James H]

Looking at the photos here it's actually a lift rather than a ramp.

 

[30907]

Looking at the photos here it's actually a lift rather than a ramp.

Thanks, that's impressive, as historically mainland Europe has relied, rather like airlines, on platform-based lifts.

 

[DaveyJones]

Rssb did a research project into something like this

Feasibility study of a kneeling train (COF-PTI-03)

Platform heights vary widely on Britain’s rail network, making trains hard to access for some users. This project examined the technical feasibility of designing a train which can lower its suspension to reduce the gap between the train and the platform.

www.rssb.co.uk