Spanish solution
One speaks of the Spanish solution when a station of the U- or S-Bahn has platforms, so-called twin platforms, on both sides of a track, so that they can get on and off separately. It is believed that this principle was first used in the 1930s on the Barcelona Metro (but before that in London and New York , see below). Its aim is to get on and off via separate platforms in order to increase the capacity of the stations and to shorten the passenger switching time of the trains. The central platform is often used for boarding, the side platforms, which are narrower, for getting off (or vice versa).
Principles
The Spanish solution will not be implemented on all twin platforms.
- Spanish solution in the classic sense: with separation of boarding and disembarking, for example S-Bahn Munich , Metro Guangzhou
- Spanish solution unused, without separation of boarding and disembarking: for example Metro Barcelona, Stadtbahn Stuttgart , Hamburg (stop "U / A Norderstedt Mitte", AKN and Hamburger Hochbahn)
At provisional or definitive terminus, Spanish platforms can be different with separation of boarding and disembarking.
- Change of direction on the platform: Separation of boarding and disembarking passengers as at intermediate stops, for example Shenzhen Metro or aerial cable cars
- Change of direction in the turning system: Exit and entry to or from both platforms of the twin platforms
criticism
advantages
The Spanish solution in the classic sense with separation of entrants and exits is characterized by the following advantages with otherwise unchanged general conditions:
- Unbundling of the passenger flows of boarding and disembarking passengers; those transferring are dropouts on one route and beginners on the other route (see Metro Guangzhou )
- narrower access and exit routes to and from the platforms are possible
- shorter stopping time by accelerating the change of passengers
- During construction work on one platform, operations can take place on the other two
- There is no need for the cost-intensive barrier-free construction of the outer platforms, because both directions of travel can be reached from the middle platform. Since the majority of passengers do not benefit from lifts and the like. Ä. Dependent, the dropout flow is not significantly disturbed if individuals violate the Spanish solution.
disadvantage
- wider structural cross-section
- separate train handling on both platform sides (minimal increase in handling time)
- Those transferring on the same platform must violate the boarding or alighting rule at least once without changing the platform. However, this is only to be seen as a disadvantage to a limited extent, as the main stream continues to get off on the right, while at stations without a Spanish solution, boarding and disembarking always cross.
- For completely barrier-free entry and exit, at least one elevator system is required on each platform ; alternatively, if there is only one elevator on the central platform, the entry rule or the exit rule is violated ("please get off on the right, lift left in the direction of travel" - standard announcement in the Munich S-Bahn). However, this can also be seen as an advantage (see point 5 of the advantages).
alternative
Alternatively, the main lines in the platform area in two platform tracks lends itself to a common central platform introduce, allowing no lower retention times and no unbundling of passenger flows, but the intervals between trains shortened by alternating operation of both platform tracks. For example, this alternative is used on the Zurich S-Bahn in Zurich main station .
Consideration
The decision for or against the Spanish solution is system-specific and largely dependent on structural and operational requirements; In the case of the Munich S-Bahn , it was primarily the minimization of headway times that was decisive, while in the airport area , the separation of passenger flows under customs law is usually decisive. The separation of boarding and disembarking passengers on twin platforms can in principle be introduced or canceled at any time.
commitment
Germany
Munich
This method is used, among other things, at the Munich S-Bahn in the three most frequented tunnel stations Munich Hauptbahnhof , Karlsplatz (Stachus) and Marienplatz , where the flow of people when changing passengers is to be separated according to boarding and boarding. The passengers are asked with announcements in German and English to only get off on the right in the direction of travel. All signposts in the train station take this principle into account, as do the direction of travel of the escalators . For cost reasons, only one elevator system was built to the platform level of the S-Bahn, so that, contrary to the principle, users of the elevator have to get off on the middle platform on the left in the direction of travel (exception: Marienplatz , direction of travel towards the main train station, due to the twin platforms on top of each other).
The Spanish solution will also be used in the Passenger Transport System (PTS) in Terminal 2 at Munich Airport . Here, the procedure is used, similar to that at Frankfurt am Main Airport , to be able to transport travelers from the Schengen area and from third countries separately in one train between the satellite terminal and Terminal 2. Travelers from the Schengen area are directed via the outer platforms, travelers from countries outside the Schengen area via the middle platform.
Stuttgart
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In Stuttgart there are two light rail stations with platforms on both sides. These are the Pragsattel station in both directions and the mineral baths station towards the city center. Here, however, passengers can get on or off on both sides. This construction method was chosen to have the central platform for transfer passengers and to allow the tram to stop in right-hand traffic - which only has doors on the right. At the Pragsattel half of the former outer platform with a low platform height (due to the lower entry height of the tram) has now been replaced by an elevated platform, creating a real capacity-increasing double platform. In the past, it was not possible to change between tram lines and light rail trains without changing the platform via stairs and elevators, even if both trains stopped on the same track.
Cologne
In Cologne , too, the situation at the Ebertplatz tram stop was similar to that in Stuttgart, but only on two of the four tracks. Here, too, passengers could get on or off these tracks on both sides. The Ebertplatz station was rebuilt, with the side platforms being torn down and the outer tracks being relocated to the space of the former platforms.
Dusseldorf
At the terminus at the airport train station of the Skytrain , entry takes place via the central platform and exit to the outside. There is a corresponding bilingual announcement, the doors open with a time delay. At the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA / Messe Nord underground station, there is a Spanish solution for one track out of three. However, this is only used for arriving trains. Since the trains are the final stop, the Spanish solution is only used here for those getting off the train, who can use the doors on both sides so that the trains can commute back to the main station more quickly, where they can pick up the next spectators.
Frankfurt am Main
All stations of the airport metro " SkyLine " have a central platform and two side platforms. However, the different pages are not used for separate entry and exit. The individual platforms are either part of the public or part of the transit area (Non- Schengen ). The two-part trains can transport passengers from both groups simultaneously without contact.
Karlsruhe
At the Karlsruhe main station forecourt, the dual-system light rail cars stop on the two outer of the four tracks and use the adjacent tram platforms as a second platform. This means that passengers can step on the right platform on the left to change trains, while normal passengers use the platform on the right.
Norderstedt
In Schleswig-Holstein there is a Spanish solution in Norderstedt at the Norderstedt Mitte train station ; On the outside, the U1 trains to and from Hamburg, while the A2 diesel multiple units in the direction of Ulzburg Süd / Kaltenkirchen depart. A separation of the entry and exit directions is not made here. Construction of this project was completed in 1996.
Bavarian Zugspitzbahn
The narrow-gauge Bavarian Zugspitzbahn from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Zugspitzplatt uses the Spanish solution at several stations in order to be able to cope with the rush of passengers.
Hanover
The two endpoints Wettbergen (May 29, 1999) and Misburg (December 14, 2014) of the Hanover light rail system are each equipped with a Spanish solution on the track leading into the city.
Austria
Vienna
There were two-way boarding and disembarking options for the Vienna Electric Light Rail and the Vienna U-Bahn , but without separation of the boarding and disembarking sides .
After the complete conversion of the Wiental line to underground service, the trains on lines G and GD ended at the Meidling Hauptstraße station between 1981 and 1985, with the option of getting off on both sides at the directional platforms of the U4 line. Then the two central platforms were connected to form an extra-wide central platform that still exists today.
Between 1985 and 1989, the Gumpendorfer Strasse station in a curve was the provisional terminus for the belt line of the light rail. The track to the west was covered with a wooden platform during this time so that passengers could switch between them on both sides.
In the course of the construction work to extend the U2 line to the stadium, the same solution was chosen for the Schottenring station between 2004 and 2008 as for the Meidling Hauptstrasse station. During the single-track operation between Schottentor and Schottenring, it was possible to get off the U2 on both sides to the directional platforms of the U4 line. After the closure of this section of the route, operating rooms were built in the area of the former U2 platforms, the two U4 platforms are only connected at the northern end.
In order to enable faster passenger handling at major events, there is an arrangement with two central platforms and three tracks in the Stadion U2 station . Since the extension of the U2 to Aspernstrasse in October 2010, the middle track with the two-sided platforms is no longer used in normal operation; also before the doors were only released on one side outside of the event times.
Poland
Warsaw
In the Warsaw S-Bahn , the Warszawa Śródmieście underground station is equipped with a central platform and two side platforms. As a rule, the central platform is intended for exit here. At the western end there is a staircase exit from where you can reach the nearby Warszawa Centralna train station , from where long-distance trains depart.
China
Guangzhou
A classic twin platform tower station with a “Spanish solution” is located in the subway network of the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou at the “Gongyuanqian” station. On level -3, metro line 2, which opened in 2002, crosses metro line 1, which opened in 1999, at right angles (level -2). Both levels have twin platforms with entry on the central platform and exit on the respective side platforms; the train and platform screen doors to the side platform also open a few seconds before those to the central platform. The stairs between the two levels only lead from the side platforms (exit) of one line corresponding to the central platform (entry) of the other line, so that all Umsteigeströme full height dates are unbundled. Fixed and escalators lead to and from both platform levels to the pedestrian floor (level −1). From there there is exactly one elevator system to both platform levels, namely in the middle of both central platforms ; However, this elevator is staff-operated, so that a direct, free change between the two boarding platforms is only possible on request from the platform staff.
Shenzhen
In the case of the Shenzhen Metro , the “Spanish solution” is used at the two terminal stations Luohu and Futian Checkpoint to strictly separate boarding and disembarking passengers; At both stations, the trains change their direction of travel in the platform area.
Great Britain
London
The first platform arrangement, now known as the Spanish solution , was in King William Street Station , which was then the northern terminus of the City and South London Railway (now the Northern Line ). The station's only track had two platforms, one for getting on and the other for getting off. The station was opened in this form on November 4, 1890 and changed in 1895 to the effect that there were two tracks with a central platform for the last five years before the station was closed in 1900.
At some stations of the Docklands Light Railway there is also the possibility to get off on both sides of the trains ( station Canary Wharf ).
France
Paris
The platforms of line 6 of the Métro at the Charles de Gaulle - Étoile underground station are designed in a Spanish solution.
United States of America
new York
The first line of the New York subway in 1904 already had two platforms for one track at some stations. However, these were still used for the change of strollers to express trains. The extensions in the course of the dual contracts of 1913, however, provided for the real Spanish solution at some stations. The first representative in New York was Chambers Street Station on the BMT Nassau Street Line , which went into operation on March 14, 1913. Today there are no more platforms for the Spanish solution in operation. However, most of them have been preserved and some have been converted into storage rooms.
The Spanish solution is being used by PATH in 33rd Street Station , the World Trade Center and the Hoboken Terminal .
Further areas of application
The Spanish solution is also used primarily at airport railroad stations, such as the Aerotrain at Kuala Lumpur Airport or Hong Kong International Airport .
Similar concepts
Two-way switch
In addition to accelerating passenger changes, the Spanish solution may have the advantage of being able to change to two tracks without changing platforms, namely if both platforms are central platforms and are not separated after getting on and off. Such an improvement in the transfer comfort can also be the sole purpose of getting off on both sides, for example at the two terminus of the Alsternordbahn north of Hamburg . You can reach both end tracks of the U1 line in Norderstedt Mitte and both tracks of the A1 line in the Ulzburg Süd station at the same platform .
Luggage platform
Especially at large train stations there are sometimes platforms on both sides, but only one of them is intended for passengers. The other platform, called the luggage platform , was built to load luggage and mail. In Germany, baggage and mail loading was discontinued, and baggage platforms are now used for other operational purposes.
Platforms for different types of vehicles
At the stop Stresemannallee / Garden Route of the tram Frankfurt route Niederrad open on track - South Station, the doors on the left side of the car. There is a platform there, which enables barrier-free entry into the low-floor wagons (on the other edge of the platform for the Niederrad-Hauptbahnhof route). Since, after the construction of this platform, high-floor one-way wagons that only have doors on the right-hand side operated on Line 19, the old street-level access was still used. In the meantime, there are no more equipment trolleys in regular service. The access on the right is therefore no longer used, but is still accessible.
A permanent solution of this kind can be found at the Südpark station in Düsseldorf : Both high-floor light rail vehicles and low-floor trams stop at this stop. In order to enable barrier-free access to both vehicle types, there is a high central platform as well as two low side platforms. The tram lines that serve the Südpark stop today will in future run on the Wehrhahn Line , which is equipped for low-floor vehicles , which is why high and low-floor trams will stop at the Südpark permanently.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ R. Müller: Contribution to increasing the performance of passenger transport systems / aspects of the use, design and dimensioning of twin platforms . Cottbus 2005
- ↑ TW 6158, leaves the end point Wettbergen on June 7th, 2011. - Bahnbilder.de. Retrieved March 29, 2018 .
- ↑ Strassenbahn-Modellwelt - Opening of the Misburg route in December 2014. Accessed on March 29, 2018 .
- ^ Subterranea Britannica - King William Street Station. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved on July 25, 2016 (English): "This is the original layout of the station, with one track and two platforms (for departing passengers on the left and arrivals on the right). This was altered to two tracks and a single island platform on 22nd December 1895. "