Platform Tactiles Doubling As Yellow Lines

[Deepgreen]

I haven't noticed a thread on this, but if there is one perhaps it could be merged.

It is common practice today to use tactile panels near platform edges to act as the yellow line behind which we are exhorted to stand, without a painted line. The yellow self-coloured plastic panels look bright enough when new, but I have noticed a large number of places where they have become so dirty that they now blend in with the platform surface. Two I noticed today were at Redhill (p0), where the yellow panels are now buff-coloured (nearly matching the platform), and Coulsdon South, where they are dark grey from tree deposits.

My question is; was the effective maintenance of the panels (i.e. cleaning to keep them bright yellow) built into their business case or was it a case of 'install and forget'? As things stand, announcements to stand behind the yellow line are meaningless where there is no yellow line anymore! Photo from Redhill p0.

 

[truecrimelover]

I haven't noticed a thread on this, but if there is one perhaps it could be merged.

It is common practice today to use tactile panels near platform edges to act as the yellow line behind which we are exhorted to stand, without a painted line. The yellow self-coloured plastic panels look bright enough when new, but I have noticed a large number of places where they have become so dirty that they now blend in with the platform surface. Two I noticed today were at Redhill (p0), where the yellow panels are now buff-coloured (nearly matching the platform), and Coulsdon South, where they are dark grey from tree deposits.

My question is; was the effective maintenance of the panels (i.e. cleaning to keep them bright yellow) built into their business case or was it a case of 'install and forget'? As things stand, announcements to stand behind the yellow line are meaningless where there is no yellow line anymore! Photo from Redhill p0.

View attachment 190007

I know this doesn’t really answer your question, but the station I work at as a dispatcher doesn’t have a yellow line, so generally speaking I expect passengers to stand behind the tactile panels and I’ll ask them to stand back if they’re stood on/in front of them

 

[jon0844]

My question is; was the effective maintenance of the panels (i.e. cleaning to keep them bright yellow) built into their business case or was it a case of 'install and forget'? As things stand, announcements to stand behind the yellow line are meaningless where there is no yellow line anymore! Photo from Redhill p0.

There's no maintenance you can do as it's the sun (UV light) fading the brighter yellow. Any areas that are better shaded from the sun will likely still be okay, or at least a lot less affected.

Seems like the manufacturer messed up as clearly these are exposed to all weathers, and sunlight, so to have all faded so quickly suggests poor design. They won't be easy to replace either, so I've seen some stations simply paint a new yellow line near to the tactile surfacing instead.

 

[renegademaster]

Given Redhill platform 0 is quite new I'm surprised it was allowed to be built without a yellow line.
What's the regulations around it?

 

[DelW]

The subject of damaged and broken plastic tactile tiles cropped up on these forums some years ago, though I forget which thread that was in. I commented then about the poor state of a number of those at my local station, but a few months later I noticed that the damaged ones had been replaced. So on the Portsmouth Direct at least, they seem to be monitored and maintained.

 

[swt_passenger]

Given Redhill platform 0 is quite new I'm surprised it was allowed to be built without a yellow line.
What's the regulations around it?

The regulations definitely don’t require yellow lines at all platforms. They're only explicitly required above certain speeds of passing trains, perhaps someone with access to current standards could quote the exact figures, but it’s highly likely they’re not required at Redhill.

In practice there are far more painted yellow lines than the rules require, eg terminus platforms should never get them.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Given Redhill platform 0 is quite new I'm surprised it was allowed to be built without a yellow line.
What's the regulations around it?

If I understood the OP, it was built with a yellow line (yellow tactile paving) but it has faded.

 

[sprinterguy]

There's no maintenance you can do as it's the sun (UV light) fading the brighter yellow. Any areas that are better shaded from the sun will likely still be okay, or at least a lot less affected.

In the case of the original shared image, some attention to the tactile paving from a pressure washer to remove the ingrained dirt would significantly enhance the contrast with the surrounding platform. Faded, perhaps a little, but that's mainly just manky.

 

[edwin_m]

Was this one actually yellow in the first place? It does look very like the buff tactiles which are that colour when new.

Painted yellow lines sometimes don't last too long either, but are easier to reinstate than self-coloured tiles.

 

[jon0844]

In the case of the original shared image, some attention to the tactile paving from a pressure washer to remove the ingrained dirt would significantly enhance the contrast with the surrounding platform. Faded, perhaps a little, but that's mainly just manky.

Pressure washing isn't going to bring back the vibrant yellow. It's absolutely faded from UV radiation and the brighter yellow ends up more like that standard tile colour.

 

[sprinterguy]

Pressure washing isn't going to bring back the vibrant yellow. It's absolutely faded from UV radiation and the brighter yellow ends up more like that standard tile colour.

A good clean would still make a marked difference, even though, granted, it wouldn't end up anywhere close to a shade of proper BR warning yellow.

 

[DelW]

It's noticeable in the OP's photo that the tiles on the opposite platform (P1) are much lighter / brighter than those on P0. Which is odd, since not only is P1 much older (P0 was built around 2017), but it's now a dead-end bay so has no through trains.

Maybe worth adding that yellow lines may be less necessary at Redhill than elsewhere, since most non-stopping trains avoid the station via the Quarry lines.

 

[dosxuk]

The tiles on P0 look like actual masonry tiles, whereas the ones on P1 look like the stick on plastic tiles.

I've never seen a bright yellow masonry tile on a platform. Where yellow lines have been needed, they've always been a paint addition.

 

[bleeder4]

What often confuses me is some stations have the yellow line and then, beyond that, they have the tactile paving - ie, the tactile paving is closer to the edge of the platform than the yellow line. Surely if the point of the tactile paving is to alert blind people to the fact that they cannot proceed further, then it should be on the other (non edge) side of the yellow line. Otherwise the blind person will have proceeded past the yellow line, past the point of no return, before encountering the tactile paving.

 

[scrapy]

Given Redhill platform 0 is quite new I'm surprised it was allowed to be built without a yellow line.
What's the regulations around it?

Yellow lines are only mandatory at platforms where line speed is 100mph or greater. They can also put in where a risk assessment of the PTI deems it necessary such as narrow platforms. At Redhill platform zero the absolute maximum a train can be doing is 40mph, likely a lot less though. Tactile pavements are mandatory at all new platforms (and existing platforms that dont yet have them need them asap).

 

[bengley]

It only takes a quick Google to see what the paving looked like when new:

https://anonw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/dscn9843.jpg

Clearly the intention here was for this to double as the yellow line and tactile paving, but it's not very effective anymore at the former.

Edit: having had a closer look at the photo it would seem that there's some yellow 'overspray' adjacent to the tiles so I do wonder if they are the masonry type which were sprayed yellow after installation? Perhaps it's time for another coat of paint!

 

[Deepgreen]

UV fading is, of course, an issue. The other one I saw, at Coulsdon South, is overhung by large trees and is going black. I can't imagine any tactiles being painted after installation - a painted yellow line would be far more effective and durable. I imagine that, as they are designed to assist the partially or non-sighted, yellow self-colouring was deemed sensible even if they fade. Therefore, perhaps the Couldson South blackened ones are not an issue, as the speed is below 100mph, although the platforms are not wide.

The speed of passing trains and the resultant yellow line requirements is a good point. With so many other factors such as narrowness of platform, gaps, etc., I imagine it becomes a near-lottery as to whether a painted line is applied.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Oct 2025 ==

It's noticeable in the OP's photo that the tiles on the opposite platform (P1) are much lighter / brighter than those on P0. Which is odd, since not only is P1 much older (P0 was built around 2017), but it's now a dead-end bay so has no through trains.

Maybe worth adding that yellow lines may be less necessary at Redhill than elsewhere, since most non-stopping trains avoid the station via the Quarry lines.

I suspect that is because of the amount of UV reaching each row of tiles - the p1 row will receive far less.

 

[bengley]

UV fading is, of course, an issue. The other one I saw, at Coulsdon South, is overhung by large trees and is going black. I can't imagine any tactiles being painted after installation - a painted yellow line would be far more effective and durable. I imagine that, as they are designed to assist the partially or non-sighted, yellow self-colouring was deemed sensible even if they fade. Therefore, perhaps the Couldson South blackened ones are not an issue, as the speed is below 100mph, although the platforms are not wide.

The speed of passing trains and the resultant yellow line requirements is a good point. With so many other factors such as narrowness of platform, gaps, etc., I imagine it becomes a near-lottery as to whether a painted line is applied.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Oct 2025 ==


I suspect that is because of the amount of UV reaching each row of tiles - the p1 row will receive far less.

The reason for the ones on platform 1 being more yellow will be that they are made of a plastic/composite which is yellow and are simply stuck onto the platform surface.

The ones on platform 0 are made of a different material

 

[Deepgreen]

For amusement, this was seemingly the best that could be done on Redhill p1 (during the construction of p0)!

 

[ainsworth74]

For amusement, this was seemingly the best that could be done on Redhill p1 (during the construction of p0)!
View attachment 190060

It's a line, what more do you want?! Nothing says it has to be a straight line, that costs extra!

 

[jon0844]

Exposed to sunlight versus shaded under a canopy.

Same platform but about 20 metres apart.

You can see where the original yellow line was before these were glued down.

 

[Deepgreen]

Exposed to sunlight versus shaded under a canopy.

Same platform but about 20 metres apart.

You can see where the original yellow line was before these were glued down.

View attachment 190068View attachment 190069

Another variant - only a quarter of the tile was yellow.

 

[izvor]

For amusement, this was seemingly the best that could be done on Redhill p1 (during the construction of p0)!

Ah, those happy days before the devil's spawn Platform zero!

 

[aar0]

I never thought I’d get to use this tidbit. A friend and I did a trip out behind Britannia a few years ago, down to Dartmouth and back. When we stopped at Westbury a lot of people got off the train to take photos, and a GWR HST arriving shortly after on the adjacent platform had great difficulty dispatching with such a crowd trying to get enough train into their lenses. The guard shouted to stand behind the yellow line several times, and a bloke from our train shouted back “It’s NOT a yellow line, it’s a TACTILE SURFACE FOR THE DISABLED!”. My mate and I went to him and suggested that, since was still a line and yellow on the platform, he might want to get behind it and the HST go…

 

[edwin_m]

I never thought I’d get to use this tidbit. A friend and I did a trip out behind Britannia a few years ago, down to Dartmouth and back. When we stopped at Westbury a lot of people got off the train to take photos, and a GWR HST arriving shortly after on the adjacent platform had great difficulty dispatching with such a crowd trying to get enough train into their lenses. The guard shouted to stand behind the yellow line several times, and a bloke from our train shouted back “It’s NOT a yellow line, it’s a TACTILE SURFACE FOR THE DISABLED!”. My mate and I went to him and suggested that, since was still a line and yellow on the platform, he might want to get behind it and the HST go…

This use of the yellow line, to try to create a space for staff to check the platform-train interface, is relatively recent but probably explains many of the yellow lines found on platforms that wouldn't qualify on grounds of passing train speed.