Doors opening on both sides

[Crossover]

Can't think of any in the UK aside from what has already been mentioned, but a few places in Munich, where I visited recently, had doors opening both sides. Namely Hbf - here they announce the side, not that it would have mattered had you not heard as you couldn't have gone against the surge of people boarding anyway :P

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Interesting thread. Did it happen in BR days, for example Yeovil Pen Mill, Templecombe?

The bay platforms at Reading (P6 and 7 in old money) had platforms both sides and the slam-door DMUs could be accessed from both sides.
The Turbos stopped all that.

 

[tsr]

The bay platforms at Reading (P6 and 7 in old money) had platforms both sides and the slam-door DMUs could be accessed from both sides.
The Turbos stopped all that.

Presumably Greenford, pre-Turbos, had a similar setup.

(Greenford also, of course, has the distinction of being the only NR station with a terminating/bay platform between through LU lines on the same level.)

 

[tom1649]

Platform 2c at Sheffield regularly saw Class 101s until 2002 which could be accessed from both sides.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

The idea of platform faces both sides of a train seemed a very Southern idea. Horsted Keynes on the Bluebell Railway has such an arrangement, and I am sure there would have been more than those already mentioned. Lewes had one too I think, but that particular bit of track has been lifted and the space infilled, but the platform edging stones can still be seen. The idea in some cases was to improve speed of boarding and alighting, but at relatively quiet or junction stations it allowed people to transfer between trains on different lines more easily.

I must admit, with no central door locking, how you safely dispatched a slam door train with 1 Guard but 2 platform faces I have no idea.

 

[Andyjs247]

Also happens on the Paris Metro. I was at Charles de Gaulle Etoile on Line 6 recently. Pax from terminating trains exit through the doors on one side then shortly after the doors open on the other side for pax to enter for the return trip. The turnaround is very quick since the train continues in the same direction around a loop.

 

[Jeni]

Something like this would be ideal on XC services at Birmingham New Street, as often the crowd of people waiting to get on the train at the platform throttles the flow of people getting off the train.

If passengers could alight onto an empty platform on one side, the train would empty quicker, then allowing passengers to get on quicker. Let's face it, it's not uncommon for XC trains to depart BHM a few minutes late because of delays loading and unloading!

Shame the infrastructure isn't in place for something like that!

 

[pinguini]

Something like this would be ideal on XC services at Birmingham New Street, as often the crowd of people waiting to get on the train at the platform throttles the flow of people getting off the train.

If passengers could alight onto an empty platform on one side, the train would empty quicker, then allowing passengers to get on quicker. Let's face it, it's not uncommon for XC trains to depart BHM a few minutes late because of delays loading and unloading!

Shame the infrastructure isn't in place for something like that!

Virgin Trains also at New Street platform 1. I notice now they've put signs on the floor with 'no entry' to certain sides of the stairs to allow flow of traffic both up and down, but not that long ago it took me over quarter of an hour from platform to concourse.

 

[dcsprior]

The driverless train between the north and south terminals at gatwick opens both sides - you enter from the side nearest the track, and exit from the other side. It has platform-edge doors, if "real" trains had these would it be easier to safely have this setup?

 

[TMLB UK]

You can't open doors both sides of the train from one guards panel on most trains anyway so by the time you went to a second panel the train would be empty. It is also true that you couldn't have a safe closing of all doors on both sides with 1 guard.

 

[tsr]

The driverless train between the north and south terminals at gatwick opens both sides - you enter from the side nearest the track, and exit from the other side. It has platform-edge doors, if "real" trains had these would it be easier to safely have this setup?

I think a more pressing issue (which might be solved at the same time as installing any such doors) would be eliminating the gap between the platform and the train, in addition to separately working on a universal method of dispatch involving the two sides (plus new control panels, if need be). Whether or not one could justify this sort of research and investment, I really couldn't say - at least, not right now!

Similar doors are installed on the Jubilee Line Extension, and whilst they appear so far to be safer (and do prevent suicides from being able to take place), I'm not sure how much better they'd make it for the doors to be opened and closed on both sides. As far as I'm aware, the real reason for their installation is to protect customers from getting too close to trains which may be travelling rather faster than they expect.

 

[jopsuk]

The driverless train between the north and south terminals at gatwick opens both sides - you enter from the side nearest the track, and exit from the other side. It has platform-edge doors, if "real" trains had these would it be easier to safely have this setup?

Possibly, but with the range of different door positions and widths, plus different carriage lengths, on the network it would be more or less impossible. A system like the Jubilee line can do it because there's a single train type. I do wonder if the DLR will ever decide to fit them- and whether the Jubilee (and others) might start to retrofit them to other stations.

But just consider a station such as Cambridge. On an everyday basis, there's

• Class 170: 2 and 3 car 23m carriages with ¼/¾ doors - cab doors need access too
• Class 365: 4 car 20m carriages, ¼/¾ doors
• Class 379: 4 car 20m carriages, ¼/¾ - but are the doors exactly the same postions as the 365?
• Class 317: 4 car 20m carriages, ⅓/⅔ doors- cab doors behind cab
• Class 321: 4 car 20m carriages, ⅓/⅔ - cab door direct from cab

there's also occasional 156 and 153s (both 23m, end doors, but doors in different positions).

Plus charters, using mark 1-3 hauled stock of various configurations. And 180s during engineering diversions.

 

[sheff'd victoria]

Platform 2c at Sheffield regularly saw Class 101s until 2002 which could be accessed from both sides.

It has been known for the guards to open both sets of doors on a 142 " Cattle Truck " on the morning peak service to let passengers out at this location

 

[The Planner]

Couldn't figure out whether this should go into the trains section or stations section, so I thought what the hell and put it here!

Sometimes, when I get the train to work, the train pulls into platform 17 at Euston. For those that don't know, platform 17 sits on its own, with platform on both sides. You can see a picture here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woolner/5096973000/

As you can see the right hand side is blocked off by a gate, which could be opened. Given that the trains are often packed, why do they not open the doors on both sides to allow people off the train quicker? Is there a safety feature on trains that only allow them to open one side at once (which would make sense) or are there places where they do open both sides?

Not ever going to happen, there is a plan to slightly extend 18 to allow 11 car Pendos in. To do that they need to kill the second side of 17 off.

 

[Tibbs]

Not ever going to happen, there is a plan to slightly extend 18 to allow 11 car Pendos in. To do that they need to kill the second side of 17 off.

Interesting - do you know why?

Would that mean people would have to get off on the currently unused side?

 

[trivran]

As far as I'm aware, the real reason for their installation is to protect customers from getting too close to trains which may be travelling rather faster than they expect.

To my knowledge they are primarily to aid ventilation (somehow).

 

[tsr]

To my knowledge they are primarily to aid ventilation (somehow).

Whereas I was always told it was due to the likelihood of problems with passengers not expecting air turbulence from the trains and thus getting clothes blown around and caught, standing too close and getting physically moved, or just getting uncomfortable with a lot of air blowing at them much of the time. Hmmmm... not sure about this one!

There is also, as I mentioned previously, a much lower risk of people/things going on the track, although it can still happen (very, very rarely).

 

[Crossover]

To my knowledge they are primarily to aid ventilation (somehow).

I think I have heard "regulate the airflow" mentioned - as tsr has said, effectively to prevent the sudden gusts of air movement...the only problem being at some times of the year, it is the only way to stay cool on the Tube!

 

[martino]

There is also, as I mentioned previously, a much lower risk of people/things going on the track, although it can still happen (very, very rarely).

On the Paris metro, platform-edge doors seem to have been installed as prerequisites to driverless operation (recently on line 1, and on line 14 since it was built). So I assumed that it was intended to prevent accidents during automatic dispatch.

 

[jopsuk]

I think I have heard "regulate the airflow" mentioned - as tsr has said, effectively to prevent the sudden gusts of air movement...the only problem being at some times of the year, it is the only way to stay cool on the Tube!

That's partly why the Jubilee hasn't seen them retrofitted to the other deep stations. With such confined platforms on the older sections, without the piston effect of the trains you'd have horrible overheating