Platform screen doors

Developments in the field of public transport

The world’s various public transport systems are used by hundreds of millions of people every day. This mostly applies to large metropolitan areas where people need to move quickly and conveniently from one place to another. The explosive growth of individual car ownership is making public transport more and more attractive, but placing enormous loads on existing infrastructure.

This development supposes new challenges for short-distance rail transport:

• Growing metropolitan areas need greater transport capacity
• Fatal and serious accidents are creating a demand for better safety
• Passengers expect more safety, security and comfort
• Metro operators, in their desire for greater efficiency and reliability, are deploying automated train systems that make use of platforms with automated safety barriers as a vital way of guaranteeing passengers’ safety and comfort.

The main benefits of "platform screen doors (PSD)"

Full and half-height platform screen doors (PSD) guarantee safe separation of the passenger area from the danger zone of the tracks.

• Increased safety: This separation of the platform from the track area offers the passengers on the platform maximum protection from arriving and/or passing trains.
• Greater convenience: Passengers are protected from waves of air pressure. Air conditioning systems can be used more efficiently. PSD offer the operators of underground and metro systems additional space for posting information and advertising in the direct view of passengers.
• Improved reliability and punctuality: The flow of passengers on platforms can be controlled more efficiently. This reduces train turnaround times. The punctuality and reliability of the transport system are improved.
• Increased frequency of trains: Shorter intervals between incoming trains increases the capacity of the transport system.
• Improved efficiency and profitability: The energy costs of the station’s air-conditioning systems are reduced. PSD offer a preventive way of reducing the indirect costs arising from accidents and other incidents.
• More space on platforms: PSD give passengers an instinctive sense of protection from the dangers of the track area, thereby allowing them to use the entire width of the platform.
• More-attractive stations: PSD systems change passengers’ perception of space, which directly influences their feeling of personal well-being. A wide range of options with respect to colours, choice of materials, station mood lighting, communications media and so on give the architect plenty of freedom when it comes to designing the internal layout and features of the station.