Talk:Railway platform height

Great start, more needed
Good start for an article. I have added this article to some suitable categories. I could supply some anecdotal evidence, but no hard sources:


 * There are two aspects to platforms, the height (above rail level), and the sideways distance from the rail to the platform. In some cases a train can overhang a platform, but if you then raise the platform you have to also move it further back to avoid the train hitting it. There is a link in the Berne gauge article to a good diagram, but the site is being re-built.
 * Units. This article is a mixture. I do not wish to start an edit war over units (there have been plenty of those already in Wiki), but more people understand metric than imperial. I suggest we do what is done in most other technical articles: mm (with imperial in brackets).
 * In the UK, London underground operates two different train sizes, requiring two different platform heights. Where both types share the same platform this can result in a step up or down. The larger size is similar to the nation British national network (second photo).
 * British platforms are higher, but also nearer the track, than those in continental Europe. The Eurostar trains operating through the Channel tunnel are narrower than standard TGV trains in order to fit in with British platforms. They have a retracting step. This is folded away when travelling and when stopped in Britain, but is needed in France to proved a step down to the lower French platforms and to avoid a gap.
 * German S-Bahn services also use a higher platform height than normal trains. Normal trains have 2 or 3 steps up from the platform, S-Bahn trains have a near level entry to speed up boarding. If you happen to be on a normal train which stops at a S-Bahn platform, you have a big step up to the platform (as happened to me last Sunday).
 * Right, however suburb trains are not always the same. Traditionally, German suburb trains used to have a floor and platform height of 96 cm. However, on the Nuremberg S-Bahn network, there are now 2 1/2 new lines being built to a platform height of 76 cm. Another half line is being converted to 76 cm while one line remains 96 cm. This is causing situations where suburb trains stop at platforms which are *higher* than the train's floor. We already have similar situations with double-decker trains, as these are mostly designed for 55cm same-level entry but most platforms are 76cm. The 55cm entry height is a compromize that was neccesary because there are a few platforms around which are still 38cm. And then, we also got 55cm platforms. -- 62.156.49.110 (talk) 19:44, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

Please expand this article, I'd love to know more details. TiffaF 13:32, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
 * The article on platforms in German Wiki mentions 55 cm height for local trains, and 76 or 96 cm for S-Bahn.


 * I moved Ireland into the EU section as it appeared that NI and RoI were not part of the EU, for some strange reason Cyberbeagle (talk) 19:02, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Expansion, cleanup
Nice start on the page. It would be nice if the longwinded sections get converted into footnotes or something. Also, if everyone would be able to add details on their own countries, like what I did with Australia, eg 'we have high / low / whatever' type info, and a numeric figure if possible. Wongm (talk) 13:59, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

UK and EU heights
removed this diff :

London Underground (the Tube): According to a Google Groups thread, the Underground uses two floor height standards, one for the larger sub-surface trains, 3 ft 3" (39 inches 990mm), and another for the smaller deep-level trains, 2 ft (24 inches 610mm). Platform heights at both sub-surface and deep-level stations are a few centimetres below this, requiring all passengers to step up to the train floor. Where the two different standard trains overlap and use the same platform, an in-between "compromise standard" also exists inferred to be 2 ft 7.5" (31.5 inches 800mm) requiring all passengers to step up or down one step to the train. This is because level entry for some and an unacceptably big 15 inch step for others was unsatisfactory. This is also the situation at stations originally constructed for surface-running trains and now served by suburban extensions to deep-level tubes. Examples of this are on the Northern, Central, and Piccadilly lines, among others. Only the Docklands Light Railway has platforms which are level with the train floor.

The dimensions stated do not correspond to data on Tubeprune and elsewhere. The dimensions would probably be for platforms, not the rollingstock itself. Work is under way in London to raise platforms at each end of some stations to improve accessibility for the disabled. For rollingstock dimensions, see http://www.trainweb.org/tubeprune/Dimensions.htm

Firstly a google groups discussion is not a suitable source, even if linked, which it isn't. Additionally the in article discussion of the whys and hows of tube platform height isn't really suitable either, nor is the discussion of contradictions, nor are statemenst qualified by "probably"..

Anyway, can anyone insert a referenced factual description, or give a reliable source for one. Thanks.Sf5xeplus (talk) 23:16, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Also - where is the height measured from? (I removed the "presumably" part)Sf5xeplus (talk) 01:26, 18 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Above top of rail is the only datum that could make sense. --agr (talk) 02:59, 18 January 2011 (UTC)
 * That's true - but is there a EU document somewhere that makes the measurement standard explicitly clear?Sf5xeplus (talk) 03:19, 18 January 2011 (UTC)
 * If you look at Annex G of 2002/735/EC, you'll see that all vertical measurements are from top of rail, called rail level or running surface in some drawings, and explicitly diagrammed in others. --agr (talk) 03:54, 18 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks- found it explicitly here http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32001H0290:EN:NOT section 6.1

big table
diff I removed it mainly for reasons of duplication, though it entirely lacks references - it may be useful to someone who wants to add to the article in prose. The term heavy rail seems odd also.Sf5xeplus (talk) 03:29, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

As the info may be useful in a web search for sources I have put the table below for ease of access Sf5xeplus (talk) 16:51, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

disabled access EU
This The decision (2008/164/EC) gives a number of permanent exceptions are listed which mostly apply for regional (not international) or city commuter transport: Denmark (S-Bahn) and France (Ile de France network, see Transilien) using 920mm, Germany (S-Bahn) and Poland; 960mm, Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland; 915mm, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia; 1100mm (+20mm, -50mm) or 200mm, Portugal; 900mm or 685mm, Spain (regional, commuter) 680mm. Sweden using 580mm or 730mm. Netherlands; 840mm.

This is actually from



Which is a directive on access of persons with reduced mobility in the trans-European conventional and high-speed rail system - and lists exceptions to defined platform height - it doesn't really define platform height in different countries - the info may be relevant - but it appears to have been taken to far - eg as a statement of country wide platform heights. It can be relevant - but I think first the article needs to establish actualities, not take exceptions as the current status.Sf5xeplus (talk) 04:47, 18 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland: 1100mm (will change to 550mm) or 200mm
 * Netherlands: 840mm (will change to 760mm)
 * Great Britain (conventional lines), Northern Ireland, Ireland: 915mm
 * Portugal (commuter): 900mm or 1100mm
 * Portugal (regional): 680mm
 * Spain (commuter): 1250mm
 * Spain (regional): 680mm
 * Portugal and Spain (conventional lines after gauge convertion to 1435mm gauge): 1250mm
 * Sweden (commuter): 730mm or 1150mm
 * Sweden (regional): 380mm or 580mm

121.102.122.122 (talk) 11:01, 20 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes but needs source - is this from the link above? - the thing is it really needs a source that says "these are the common platform heights in country X" - once we've got that we can move onto exceptions - the things are related - but not quite the same.Sf5xeplus (talk) 12:03, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

To give an example - something like this section for the United Kingdom would be ok if done similar for all countries.Sf5xeplus (talk) 14:50, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Great Britain
Great Britain won't choose 550mm platforms, unless Great Britain will install Russian gauge lines. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.138.55.55 (talk) 06:12, 31 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Nothing will happen unless Chuck Norris says so. Guidod (talk) 11:09, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

Height categories
Normal platforms are 550mm above rail. Any platforms higher than 550mm called "high platform", any platforms lower than 550mm called "low platform". 58.138.55.55 (talk) 04:25, 8 June 2011 (UTC)


 * That sounds fine, but needs a reference before adding it to the article. Tim PF (talk) 22:35, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

Germany vs. UIC Standard
Platform height difference between Germany and UIC standard: German standard are 760mm above rail. UIC standard (normal platforms) are 550mm above rail. http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/13/085/1308541.pdf 58.138.45.196 (talk) 06:35, 23 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Please be correct here - your reference says in 8b):
 * (quote:) Das UIC-Merkblatt 741 sieht ein Nennmaß von mindestens 550 mm vor, das mit vorhandenen Bahnsteighöhen von 380 mm begründeet wird.
 * or in plain English "a MINIMUM of 550mm" is the UIC standard for platforms. What is your reference of the UIC having something more narrow than a wide range ?? As far as I know the EU TSI had done so with defining 550mm and 760mm as the standard platform heights. Guidod (talk) 06:57, 23 June 2011 (UTC)


 * With reference to the section Railway_platform_height, please add the references that prove the facts if you have access to them. If there is a problem please use Template:Disputed-section or another method. Imgaril (talk) 20:23, 23 June 2011 (UTC)
 * See the embedded links of EBO, BOStrab, EU TSI. Guidod (talk) 06:53, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
 * All I found was this http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/ebo/gesamt.pdf - an inline reference including the correct page would be helpful.
 * The article BOStrab is unreferenced, but http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stra%C3%9Fenbahn-Bau-_und_Betriebsordnung is better. It has this link amongst others http://bundesrecht.juris.de/strabbo_1987/ which I guess may contain the answer. However don't know the german for "platform height"
 * With reference to the EU TSI - the text claims that Following the European TSI standard the Deutsche Bahn increases its earlier platforms to a common 760 mm height - this is the sort of thing that needs dates and verification, as well as clarification ie - what exactly is DB doing, and what time scale? Also does this make the earlier standards obsolete? Imgaril (talk) 12:28, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The EU TSI has specified two common platform heights - 550mm and 760mm. Germany had a very diverse range of platform heights and they chose 760mm of the two possibilities of the EU consensus. The time frame is the same as EU TSI - 2020. All the elements (550mm,760mm,2020) are mentioned in the paragraph at the start of the section "Europe" so the paragraph on Germany has its wording based on that.
 * As for the standard references, see the German interwiki named "Bahnsteighöhe" which is also the translation of "platform height". The section "Standardisierungen" (standardizations) has references to §13 EBO and §31 BOStrab. I admit that I had not looked at these.
 * This is because there had been a lot of discussions going on on German discussions lists whether 760mm was a good choice after all. This was even brought to the "Bundestag" parliament asking for 550mm and the government answer (see the link above as posted the IP at the start of this discussion section) has been circulated widely. So 'bout everyone knows the problem space and English section is just a very verrry short abstract of it. Guidod (talk) 13:51, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I'm familiar with the TSI standards, at least those for high speed rail ie EU decision 2002/735/EC, I wasn't aware of one for conventional speed rail, and didn't know that there is an ongoing conversion program in Germany.
 * If there's another EU decision or directive that defines platform height beyond 2002/735/EC that you know of please mention it as I should have a look at it, and could probably make use of it in the article.
 * I couldn't find Bahnsteighöhe in http://bundesrecht.juris.de/bundesrecht/strabbo_1987/gesamt.pdf
 * In section 31 "BOStrab" I found no explicit mention of platform height unfortunately - the nearest I found was (translated) " The horizontal distance between platform and vehicle floor or steps must be small ..  in the worst case ..not to exceed 0.25 meters."
 * There were matches for "Bahnsteige" - such as specifications for platform width, but I didn't find anything about height.


 * In section 13 "EBO" subsection 1 :"(1) Bei Neubauten oder umfassenden Umbauten von Personenbahnsteigen sollen in der Regel die Bahnsteigkanten auf eine Höhe von 0,76 m über Schienenoberkante gelegt werden; Höhen von unter 0,38 m und über 0,96 m sind unzulässig. Bahnsteige, an denen ausschließlich Stadtschnellbahnen halten, sollen auf eine Höhe von 0,96 m über Schienenoberkante gelegt werden. In Gleisbogen ist auf die Überhöhung Rücksicht zu nehmen." This seems to say 0.76m is the new standard and that under 0.38m and over 0.96m are not allowed. I'll add a reference for that..


 * To summarise - the big issue is fixed, thanks for your help. If you can find a source for the 300mm tram platform height please leave a message.Imgaril (talk) 17:47, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for adding the quote, I am adding that reference to the S-Bahn (Stadtschnellbahnen) as well. The ref-tag on the diversity can be fixed by linking to the railway history of Germany.
 * The ref-tag on 300mm is a lot harder - it is just that low floor trams have become standard where current models feature a floor height of 300mm-350mm (see low-floor tram). The BOStrab requires the platform height to be lower than any floor height that can stop at the station so that low floor tram platforms are built to 300mm. I am adding a note on that - however these are only new tram lines while there do exist some older tram networks that were built to a higher platform type (compare Cologne Stadtbahn that have most of the network with high floor trams and two new lines with low floor trams). Guidod (talk) 18:10, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Good. I don't know why I didn't notice the 960mm figure from the quote.
 * As to trams - I don't actually have any experience of trams in Germany - so it's not clear to me if the 300mm figure should be obvious. I see from images eg http://www.flickr.com/photos/16985740@N03/3291861313 that the figure is probably right. Should the text read ".. tram platforms are 300mm or lower" or maybe " .. approximately 300mm" or is 300mm a standard figure? (It's not that important - the main facts appear to be right).Imgaril (talk) 20:55, 24 June 2011 (UTC)


 * There are currently no trams with a floor height lower than 300mm but for the Ultra Low Floor in Vienna. That's why I chose "as low as" meaning not lower than 300mm at the moment. You can check the list of low-floor trams that their floor height is usually 350mm (with entry height at 300-330mm) with only a few being lower than that (e.g. the Combino). It does not make much sense to get lower than that as otherwise you need to mess with the same complex wheel suspension as in the Vienna ULF - so it is basically a technical limitation.
 * The Vienna ULF had been presented in multiple German towns as to replace their older tram vehicles but all of the tram network operators have refrained so far (the English article does not carry the reasons. Well, it had some technical problems all along and Vienna was the only town to buy the ULF as the development of the train had been done at Siemens Vienna - due to the market failure Siemens has stopped further development).
 * Using platforms for trams is a relatively new concept (known as Stadtbahnsystem in German and later Light Rail Transit in English). Their earliest models did use high platforms but this is quite expensive to do and you need some space for pedestrian ramps. Mostly impossible in the city centers where it would pay the most to allow fast access to the trains. With the advent of low floor trams many network operators took on the chance to transform their tram network into a light rail system - today the majority of tram stations have platforms that are high enough for level entry to the low floor trams. While some older LRT platforms are as high as 1000mm it most common now to see 300mm platforms around. Basically you can easily turn any sidewalk (100-180mm) into a LRT platform (300-350mm). Guidod (talk) 23:41, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

760mm platforms (UK HSR)
760mm platforms are compromise between 550mm (UIC standard) and 915mm (UK classic standard). 58.138.45.196 (talk) 09:47, 26 June 2011 (UTC)
 * All of the EU TSI are actually standards derived from a compromise - trains built for 550mm are okay with older 350mm platforms, and 760mm S-Bahn trains (DBAG_Class_424/425/426) in Germany are okay with its earlier 960-1000mm platforms for metro trains. Guidod (talk) 15:15, 26 June 2011 (UTC)

Proposed merge of material from High-floor
The High-floor article is somewhat of a stub/orphan, but has useful information. I proposed merging it into this article, and redirecting it here. Comments? Reify-tech (talk) 19:02, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
 * This article is titled "railway .." but the other is about buses as well rail vehicles.
 * Suggest getting rid of any WP:OR in the article, and referencing it before trying to move it anywhere.Imgaril (talk) 23:40, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I withdrew the merge proposal, since the High-floor article seems to stand well on its own, and has non-rail coverage. I added a cross-ref to both articles, so readers and editors will be aware of the related coverage.  -- Reify-tech (talk) 00:27, 7 March 2012 (UTC)

Russian metro platforms and BART platforms
101.128.177.35 (talk) 07:04, 23 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Russian metro platform height is 1100mm above rail.
 * San Francisco BART platform height is about 960mm above rail.

Platform height and train floor height by country
Platform height and train floor height by country: 101.128.177.35 (talk) 13:48, 31 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia (mainline platform): 200mm
 * India and Bangladesh (mainline platform): 200mm, 380mm and 550mm
 * South Korea (mainline platform): 550mm
 * South Korea (mainline, older platform): 380mm
 * Japan (Shinkansen, train floor): 1300mm
 * Japan (Shinkansen, current platform): 1250mm
 * Japan (Shinkansen, proposed platform): 550mm
 * Japan (most JR line train floor): 1140mm
 * Japan (JR line platform): 920mm
 * Japan (urban/suburban platform): 1100mm
 * Japan (standard gauge private railway platform): 1250mm
 * Baltic States, Finland, Ukraine and Belarus (mainline platform): 200mm, 380mm and 550mm
 * Russia (mainline platform): 200mm and 550mm
 * Russia (metro platform): 1100mm
 * Canada (mainline platform): 200mm
 * USA (mainline platform): 200mm and 380mm
 * USA (BART train floor): about 1067mm
 * USA (BART platform): about 960mm
 * Argentina and Chile (mainline platform): 200mm
 * most high-floor mainline train floor: 1300mm
 * most low-floor mainline train floor: 550mm

Compatibility
What on odd statement;

"When raised platforms are in use, the train width must also be compatible, to avoid both large gaps or mechanical interference which causes equipment damage."

Does this mean when raised platforms are not in use that train width doesn't have to be compatible? Really?

107.77.75.90 (talk) 01:13, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

Floor heights Canada/US
Railway platform height Railway platform height. The floor height of passenger cars, Amtrak, Via Rail, Agence métropolitaine de transport, etc., etc. is 51 in above the trucks and at the gangway connections regardless of what the platform height may be at any given place/location. This is NOT about to change any time soon. Peter Horn User talk 14:26, 3 September 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Repeated misinformation regarding Finnish platform heights
There have been a number of misinformed edits on Finnish platform heights. These seem to stem from the fact that the Finnish railway network track gauge (Imperial Russian Broad gauge, 1524 mm), is confusingly similar to Russian broad gauge (1520), causing the editor to erroneously apply provisions in European standards intended for networks in the former USSR to the Finnish network.

Whatever the reason, the cited Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency network statement is exhaustive on the matter and lists only two common platform heights: 550 mm, 265 mm.

The only exception on the national network is a single halt with a 400 mm tall platform, only served by a heritage railway. An editor called Atlas (talk) 22:48, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

Platform distance from track
Railway platform height. North American freight cars are 10 ft wide. These will clear a high platform the face of which is 67+1/4 in from the centerline of the track or 39 in from the gauge line of the nearest running rail by 3+1/4 in. Peter Horn User talk 00:08, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

Missing platform height for freight wagons
Please add the platform height for freight wagons (boxcars, flatcars, etc.). 2806:10A6:5:EB0F:0:0:0:2 (talk) 05:29, 9 January 2023 (UTC)