From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Platform Screen Doors at Westminster tube station, London - Jubilee Line

Platform Screen Doors full-height, Paris - Line 14 - St. Lazare (See Paris Métro)

Platform Screen Doors half-height, Paris - Line 13 - St. Invalides, Pilot installation June 2006^[1][2]

Platform screen doors on the Kwun Tong Line at Tiu Keng Leng station.

First generation screen doors in the Dhoby Ghaut station of the Singapore MRT.

Second generation screen doors in the Serangoon station of the Singapore MRT.

A "Horizontal Lift" station in St. Petersburg.

Platform screen doors and platform edge doors at train or subway stations screen the platform from the train. They are a relatively new addition to many metro systems around the world, with some platform doors later added to the system rather than installed with the metro system itself. They are widely used in Asian and European metro systems. Cities which deploy platform screen doors in their metro systems include Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, London, Copenhagen, Paris and St. Petersburg.

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, platform screen doors are full height, total barriers between the station floor and ceiling, while platform edge doors are full height, but do not reach the ceiling and thus do not create a total barrier.

These doors help:

• Prevent suicides.
• Reduce the risk of accidents, especially from services passing through the station at speed.
• Improve climate control within the station (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are more effective when the station is physically isolated from the tunnel).
• Security - access to the tracks and tunnels is restricted.

The Jubilee Line extension project saw platform screen doors installed on its new stations. They were designed primarily to reduce the movement of air caused by the trains at they pass through the tunnels. They were also built as a barrier to prevent falling or jumping onto the tracks.

In June 2000, the MTR Corporation began a six year programme to add 2,960 pairs of platform screen doors at all 30 underground MTR stations on the Kwun Tong Line, Tsuen Wan Line, and Island Line. This was the world's first railway to retrofit Platform Screen Doors on a transit system already in operation. A prototype design was first introduced at Choi Hung station in the 3rd quarter of 2001. To help pay for the HK$2 billion programme, HK$0.10 per trip was levied on passengers. The project was completed in October 2005. The anticipated completion year was 2006.^[3]

The Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) was the first rapid transit system in the world to incorporate platform screen doors in its stations in 1987 (as according to Westinghouse Platform Screen Doors). Platform screen doors are installed at all underground MRT stations in Singapore.

There are two series of the platform screen doors in use. The first series was installed in all operating underground stations along the North South Line and the East West Line from 1987 to the completion of the initial system in 1990. The second series of platform screen doors sporting a sleeker design and incorporating more glass were installed in the Changi Airport MRT Station which opened in 2002. All stations in the fully-underground North East Line, which opened in 2003, also sport these new doors.

Considered a novelty at the time of its installation, it was introduced primarily to minimise hefty air-conditioning costs, especially since elevated stations are not air-conditioned, and hence are much more economical to run in comparison. Since then the safety aspects of these doors have become more important, as highlighted by a series of high profile incidents where individuals were injured or killed by oncoming trains since the year 2002, all occurring on elevated stations where no screen doors exist. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) reports that there have been more than 220 cases of commuters trespassing on the tracks between 1991 and 15 September 2004, of which 87% were deliberate acts of trespass. Nine fatalities were recorded during this period, of which only one was an accident. Since September 2004 there have been four fatalities occurring on elevated MRT and LRT stations.

Influenced by Hong Kong's MTR, Mainland Chinese cities have started installing platform screen doors as well. Cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen have adapted the platform screen doors while Shanghai's Metro and Beijing's Metro has begun installing the doors at most stations.

Several planned stations in the New York Subway may possibly feature platform screen doors. This includes the 7 extension, and the Second Avenue Subway.

On 15 July 2007 in Shanghai, China, platform-edge doors led to a fatal accident. A man tried to force his way onto a crowded train at the station for the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, but failed. When the doors closed, he was trapped between the platform doors and the train, leading to his death.^[4]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Platform screen doors

• Automatic platform gates

• Westinghouse website on PSDs - Includes video of doors in action, pictures, diagrams, and other info.
• Platform screen doors Metro Bits