Which side is the Platform ?

[martinsh]

Looking at the crowd of people standing by the doors on the wrong side of the train to get off at Crewe today, I was struck by an idea.

Now, most of us who are regular travellers I am sure know full well which side the platforms are likely to be at any station, and can anticipate changes to the norm from the approach to the station. However, for the regular public would it not be an idea to have above each door an electronic sign saying either “Platform this side” or “Platform other side”. Surely in these days where platforms can be seen well beforehand on the web, and trains have electronic onboard systems showing the next stop, this should be faily easy to achieve ?

The anticipated platform side can be programmed in, and any last minute changes could be alerted by the driver pressing a button once the signals made clear which side the platform would actually be.

What do you folks think of this idea ?

 

[150222]

not a bad idea but the driver probably would want to concentrate on stopping the train safely and they may forget anyway.

 

[Rwhunited]

Looking at the crowd of people standing by the doors on the wrong side of the train to get off at Crewe today, I was struck by an idea.

Now, most of us who are regular travellers I am sure know full well which side the platforms are likely to be at any station, and can anticipate changes to the norm from the approach to the station. However, for the regular public would it not be an idea to have above each door an electronic sign saying either “Platform this side” or “Platform other side”. Surely in these days where platforms can be seen well beforehand on the web, and trains have electronic onboard systems showing the next stop, this should be faily easy to achieve ?

The anticipated platform side can be programmed in, and any last minute changes could be alerted by the driver pressing a button once the signals made clear which side the platform would actually be.

What do you folks think of this idea ?

That would involve a lot of redesigning of currently used trains, also have you see pendolinos? Every time I get on "sorry but the seat reservation database isnt working" so it would be another thing to go wrong, also its what, 3 maybe 4 foot from one side to the other, why would you need a sign?

 

[O L Leigh]

Which side is "the other side"...?

Seriously, most people can find their way off a train unaided.

O L Leigh

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The 2009 stock on the Victoria Line announces and displays which side the doors are going to open. I suspect the S stock on the Met Line does as well.

 

[SS4]

Anyone thick enough to walk off the wrong side through locked door gets what coming to them.

Apart from main line termini isn't it obvious where the doors are going to open from the layout of the track. For example on a Northbound train at Chester Road it's clear that you get off on the left.
At major stations there is enough lag to keep the time.

 

[O L Leigh]

The 2009 stock on the Victoria Line announces and displays which side the doors are going to open. I suspect the S stock on the Met Line does as well.

*Facepalms*

You'd think the wall on one side and the fact that everyone else is heading the other way would be a big enough clue.

O L Leigh

 

[barrykas]

You'd think the wall on one side and the fact that everyone else is heading the other way would be a big enough clue.

And if you were visually impaired and didn't have a Guide Dog...?

 

[O L Leigh]

Then an electronic indicator wouldn't help much. Likewise an announcement would be of limited value, as a person's perception of which side is left and right will be affected by which way they are facing relative to the direction of travel.

O L Leigh

 

[ChrisCooper]

I expect the thinking on the Underground is that by letting people know which side the doors will open before the train arrives at the station people can get into position near the right side doors ready for the train stopping, which helps reduce dwell times on busy trains. On the Victoria particularly the door side varies quite often due to a section of right hand running, unlike other lines where in general tube platforms are on the right side, surface and subsurface platforms on the left.

 

[bb21]

I expect the thinking on the Underground is that by letting people know which side the doors will open before the train arrives at the station people can get into position near the right side doors ready for the train stopping, which helps reduce dwell times on busy trains. On the Victoria particularly the door side varies quite often due to a section of right hand running, unlike other lines where in general tube platforms are on the right side, surface and subsurface platforms on the left.

I agree. My recent overseas visit convinced me more of their relevance at times of massive passenger flows. I have witnessed for myself passengers standing at the side where the doors have opened for the last few stations yet suddenly opens on the other side when it is time for them to get off. Cue panic and lots of pushing of shoving through others hoping that they did not get left stuck on the train, which in turns causes conflicts amongst passengers.

It seems to work so much better when the announcement comes up, "The next station is XXXX. Please leave the train from the left side doors in the direction of travel." Everyone then shuffles into place and get off with less potential for conflicts just because someone's standing on the wrong side of the carriage.

I do think that it is of more importance to Metro-style operations such as LU, DLR, T&W Metro, etc, where the platform side is fixed at each station and which experiences overcrowding during rush hours. This can then have announcements built into the existing stop announcements with minimal effort.

 

[W-on-Sea]

The line maps on the trains on the Milan Metro even indicate which side the platform is on at each station (by use of dots). I think it's a good idea on a crowded tube line (like the Victoria: the Northern would be useful too), so that people can get in a position to leave the train before they get into the station - speeding up dwell times in the peaks, etc. Not sure it's really necessarily on the main line, though.

 

[bnm]

In my neck off the woods with HSTs (Bristol <->London) I use the tried and tested method of poking my head out of a left side droplight (just a little!) and looking at the platform indicator next to the final approach signal. Into PAD, odd=right, even=left. Terminators into BRI, 13=left, 15=right.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Anyone thick enough to walk off the wrong side through locked door gets what coming to them.

I should well imagine how difficult it is to walk through locked doors:roll:

 

[bAzTNM]

Ticket guys always lose the plot when you try and get off on the wrong side. One give me a grunt and said "Exit is on THAT bloody side!".

 

[jopsuk]

it's awesome watching the confusion arriving into Platform 4 at Cambridge passing a train at Platform 1- often see people "lining up" at the wrong door

 

[MadCommuter]

If any such system were automated then going on my experiences of automated on-board announcements, there is more chance of confusion than assistance.

 

[button_boxer]

Having been to Germany a couple of weeks ago, it seems to be standard practice there to announce which side the doors will be at every station although not necessarily way in advance, in some cases we were already pulling into the platform by the time of the "ausstieg fahrtrichtung rechts" announcement. I guess it helps that they have a single word for "in the direction of travel"...

 

[33056]

In Germany, the drivers on the local trains usually manage to tell you which side the platform is - even if there is an auto announcer.

Usual scenario is the auto announcer will kick in and say you are now arriving at ....... then the driver will chip in when it has finished and merely say aussteigen links or rechts.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

An announcement is no use to a deaf or hard of hearing person though.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

You always see passengers coming into Manchester Airport station getting up early and standing on both sides of the door areas, as if they think they have a 50% option of choosing the correct side.

 

[142094]

I would hate to think of how many £millions this would cost.

 

[tom1649]

When we had 101s on the Hope Valley you really could exit from both sides on arrival at Sheffield's Platform 2c. I understand now that 142s are the norm, doors are only opened on one side.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I always used to announce which side of the train the platform was going to be on at Marylebone, but then one day I realised that it was kinda pointless because the train would be rolling down a 300 yard long platform at <10mph and people would have figured out out by the time the doors release anyway.

 

[142094]

When we had 101s on the Hope Valley you really could exit from both sides on arrival at Sheffield's Platform 2c. I understand now that 142s are the norm, doors are only opened on one side.

Goes for anything using that platform, similar situation at Scarborough and a few other stations.

 

[trainophile]

At least it would give those standing by the doors with buggies or bicycles who aren't intending to get off time to move out of the way of those who do wish to.

 

[northwichcat]

Now, most of us who are regular travellers I am sure know full well which side the platforms are likely to be at any station

But it can change. For instance, one day a trespass incident at Heaton Chapel meant two London bound trains were at Stockport at the same time, so the London via Crewe service arrived at platform 2, then just before it pulled out a London via Macclesfield service arrived at platform 1. (Usually all London bound services use platform 2.)

 

[YorkshireBear]

I agree people dont know which side but think its a bit much. I can its use on underground and metro lines as it could speed up dwell times aseveryone is prepared.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Class 390s already do this of sorts. In any vestibule onboard, there are arrows which flash which side the door is open on. These are situated just above the floor next to the internal carriage connection doors.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Most trains will have an indication of which side the door is open on. The buttons light up, low level lighting kicks in, there is an audible hustle alarm (etc) but I think the question was being asked about what people would think if there was a facility to indicate to passengers which side the door would be opening on thirty seconds or so before the train came to a halt. Does this happen on 390s? I genuinely dont know, I dont think I have been on a Pendolino in five years.