2nd Edition

Chapter 2
Station Layout
2.1 The Customer and the Design Process
Stations on railway systems vary enormously in regard to their complexity,
suitability and effectiveness but all, in one way or another, will have a direct
bearing on the general well being of the final customer, the passenger.
Even a simple country halt with a single island platform can affect the
comfort of the passenger if, for instance, trains are infrequent and there is
no adequate shelter in bad weather, lighting is poor or the surface is inadequately
maintained. On more complex stations where passengers change
trains or interchange to other lines or modes of transport, poor design or
maintenance of the interchange facilities can also have an adverse effect.
Similarly, such shortcomings can make operation of the railway, particularly
during emergencies, very difficult and sometimes unsafe.
The investigations that followed the tragic fire at Kings Cross Underground
station in London revealed that there often can be inadequacies
in the layout of the infrastructure which, coupled with lack of procedures
and systems, may well prevent safe management of major incidents. In
the UK the Railway Inspectorate, the Health and Safety Executive and
the Fire Brigades play a significant role in producing and enforcing safety
requirements which impact on the design of stations. No new railway infrastructure
should be commissioned until all hazards and safety issues have
been properly addressed.
Ideally, the customer’s requirements should be set down in a brief prepared
by the railway operator or controlling authority. These requirements
will need to be interpreted into operational guidelines which should form
the basis of detailed designs. In practice, because the designer is likely to
be closer to technological progress and changes in the regulatory framework,
the final design will emerge only after the operator has been given
the feasible options and opportunities available.
7