The LIRR has been in the news lately with serious injuries and deaths resulting from passengers falling through the gap between the train and the high level platform. See: http://www.1010wins.com/pages/110033.php?contentType=4&contentId=225247 It seems the LIRR has an unusual number of gap problems.  I'm not aware of such problems on Metro North, NJT, SEPTA, Amtrak/NEC, or MetraElectric (IC). Would anyone know why the LIRR seems to have more gap problems?  Is it because they have more high level stations on curves?  Is the problem on just the electric side or is it on the new platforms on the diesel side as well?  Do other railroads have this problem?

resulting from passengers falling through the gap between the train and the high level platform. See: http://www.1010wins.com/pages/110033.php?contentType=4&contentId=225247 It seems the LIRR has an unusual number of gap problems.  I'm not aware of such problems on Metro North, NJT, SEPTA, Amtrak/NEC, or MetraElectric (IC). Would anyone know why the LIRR seems to have more gap problems?  Is it because they have more high level stations on curves?  Is the problem on just the electric side or is it on the new platforms on the diesel side as well?  Do other railroads have this problem? IMO, the 2 major variables associated with gap distance is the curvature of the track/station platform and the location of the doors on the train equipment itself. If the doors are located at the extreme ends of a car, the gap between the door and platform is minimized. The further away the door is from the end of the car, the larger the gap becomes. The gap is maximized if there is a center door on the car. LIRR appears to have a lot of equipment with 2 doors each about one fourth to one third of the way in from the respective end of the car. So their gap problem is between minimum and maximum. NJT has end doors and center door equipment. In this case, the end doors have minimum gap, the center door has maximum gap. On NJT trains at Metro Park station, center doors operate but passengers are typically warned to watch for the extended but passable gap at this station. At Princeton Jct station, the Princeton shuttle does not use the center door because the gap is excessive there due to the tight curvature of the track. Mark

< This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it wrote in message The LIRR has been in the news lately with serious injuries and deaths resulting from passengers falling through the gap between the train and the high level platform. See: http://www.1010wins.com/pages/110033.php?contentType=4&contentId=225247 It seems the LIRR has an unusual number of gap problems.  I'm not aware of such problems on Metro North, NJT, SEPTA, Amtrak/NEC, or MetraElectric (IC). Would anyone know why the LIRR seems to have more gap problems?  Is it because they have more high level stations on curves?  Is the problem on just the electric side or is it on the new platforms on the diesel side as well?  Do other railroads have this problem? IMO, the 2 major variables associated with gap distance is the curvature of the track/station platform and the location of the doors on the train equipment itself. If the doors are located at the extreme ends of a car, the gap between the door and platform is minimized. The further away the door is from the end of the car, the larger the gap becomes. The gap is maximized if there is a center door on the car. LIRR appears to have a lot of equipment with 2 doors each about one fourth to one third of the way in from the respective end of the car. So their gap problem is between minimum and maximum. NJT has end doors and center door equipment. In this case, the end doors have minimum gap, the center door has maximum gap. On NJT trains at Metro Park station, center doors operate but passengers are typically warned to watch for the extended but passable gap at this station. At Princeton Jct station, the Princeton shuttle does not use the center door because the gap is excessive there due to the tight curvature of the track. Mark It depends on whether the curve is inside or outside.  Sometimes the center door is closer.  Having the doors at the quarter points is a compromise at best. I think part of the Metropark problem (on the Trenton bound track) is that it's also superelevated, tilting the car away from the platform.

of such problems on Metro North, NJT, SEPTA, Amtrak/NEC, or MetraElectric (IC). Would anyone know why the LIRR seems to have more gap problems?  Is it because they have more high level stations on curves?  Is the problem on just the electric side or is it on the new platforms on the diesel side as well?  Do other railroads have this problem? From LIRR responses in various media reports on the problem, the gaps are the result of several factors including, various types of trains all using the same stations thus no standard platform design. Unlike say NYC subways that run only one type of train/car on lines like Union Square/14th Street, and City Hall where platforms have been  modified to deal with gaps, LIRR has and had all sorts of equipment over it's history running into various stations both freight and passenger thus no one standard.  Sounds daft, but that is LIRR's story and they are sticking to it. Candide

< This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it wrote in message The LIRR has been in the news lately with serious injuries and deaths resulting from passengers falling through the gap between the train and the high level platform. See: http://www.1010wins.com/pages/110033.php?contentType=4&contentId=225247 It seems the LIRR has an unusual number of gap problems.  I'm not aware of such problems on Metro North, NJT, SEPTA, Amtrak/NEC, or MetraElectric (IC). Would anyone know why the LIRR seems to have more gap problems?  Is it because they have more high level stations on curves?  Is the problem on just the electric side or is it on the new platforms on the diesel side as well?  Do other railroads have this problem? From LIRR responses in various media reports on the problem, the gaps are the result of several factors including, various types of trains all using the same stations thus no standard platform design. Unlike say NYC subways that run only one type of train/car on lines like Union Square/14th Street, and City Hall where platforms have been  modified to deal with gaps, LIRR has and had all sorts of equipment over it's history running into various stations both freight and passenger thus no one standard.  Sounds daft, but that is LIRR's story and they are sticking to it. Candide Most of the high level platforms were not installed until the M-1 cars were placed into service.  If I remember, it was done all at once, in that the old cars continued in service until there were enough M-1 cars for full service.

The curve excuse doesn't hold water at Woodside, or a huge portion of the system. My guess is the LIRR's notoriously poor trackwork and car maintenance finally caught up with them.  I wouldn't be surprised if the M-7s have issues related to them too, since just about everything else in that design was screwed up (why, oh WHY in this day an age does brand new equipment ride worse than Septa's decades old Silverliners?).  I also wouldn't put it past the LIRR to have widened the gaps intentionally, to reduce platform strikes, since even the older MU fleet tended to sway a lot (due to unmaintained dampers and poor track).  The DE/DMs have had yaw issues, as have the M-7s, and even the C-3 cars supposedly had issues (though nowhere near as bad as the other two).  Lack of a standard floor height, car width, and some semblence of a standard for platform design might be an issue here too. I'm sure the LIRR has some cute excuse as to why these gaps aren't their fault, but plenty of other systems around the US and the world operate just fine and don't have the variations the LIRR tends to have...