>Curved station and curved platform results in some significant gap problems.
>Two examples, both on the IRT in New York City: (1) 14th St on the East Side
>4-5-6 lines; South Ferry on the 1 line. Platforms are curved. Metal devices
>have to come out to close the gaps. (2) City Hall station/loop on the 6 line
>(not used for passenger service; it's a turnaround only, but it's very ornate
>and magnificent inside; will open soon as a Manhattan branch of the New York
>Transit Museum). Curve VERY tight. Didn't matter in 1904 when all of August
>Belmont's cars had end vestibules only; they were on the platform. Won't work
>at all with modern equipment; when special tours drop off people there to
>explore, a TA employee is stationed at the door closest to the end to assist
>people over the gap, which is 40-50 cm! You want straight platforms for
>safety (and speed) in boarding and a minimum gap.
The curved station design continues to plague Muni today. At Castro Street
Station, notches had to be cut into the inbound platform edges in order for
Breda end doors to open and close correctly. Otherwise doors can't close
properly, or, in some cases, have been torn off and fallen onto the
trackway further down the line. This is less of a problem now, because the
ATCS system stops the train at the exact location. But still we do get
door-closing problems. BTW, unlike the Belmont "end-doors" only, this was
not a problem with the Boeing "center doors only" cars.
Peter Ehrlich
F-Line Operator
Green Light Rail Division
<norcalrr@sprynet.com>