Spanish solution
In railway and rapid transit parlance, the Spanish solution is a station layout with two railway platforms, one on each side of a track, which allows for separate platforms for boarding and alighting.
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In railway and rapid transit parlance, the Spanish solution is a station layout with two railway platforms, one on each side of a track,[1] which allows for separate platforms for boarding and alighting.
Description
[edit]This platform arrangement allows the separation of passenger streams by using one platform only for boarding and the other only for alighting.[1] The separate designation of platforms for boarding and alighting has been proven effective at reducing dwell time at stations with high passenger numbers.[2]
The Spanish solution is most commonly applied at high-frequency underground metro stations. Stations are sometimes retrofitted to include a Spanish solution layout to expand the capacity of existing stations when there is no space to widen the existing platform, an issue that can occur in island platform configurations.
To encourage passengers to exit to the correct platform, arriving trains typically first open their doors facing the platform for alighting passengers, and then open the doors for boarding passengers after a slight delay.
Examples
[edit]In Spain, the Spanish solution is used in several stations of the Madrid Metro (e.g. Avenida de América) and Barcelona Metro (e.g. Sant Andreu).
It is now also used in many rail stations around the world. An example of the Spanish solution within Europe is the Karlsplatz (Stachus) station on the Munich S-Bahn in Germany, which has island platforms for boarding and side platforms for alighting. In Asia, the LRT platforms at Choa Chu Kang station in Singapore also use the Spanish solution.[3]
Gallery
[edit]-
Eastbound track at Marienplatz station, Munich S-Bahn -
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Boston's Park Street Under station in 1912. The same platform configuration is still in use. -
A temporary center platform at Pioneer Square station in Seattle used for transfers between trains -
Olympic Park station in Sydney. All passengers alight on the island platform and board from the significantly wider outer platforms during major events. -
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Olshausen, Hans-Gustav (9 March 2013). VDI-Lexikon Bauingenieurwesen [VDI-Lexikon civil engineering] (in German) (2nd ed.). Springer-Verlag. p. 63. ISBN 978-3-642-48098-0.
- ^ Fendrich, Lothar (25 January 2007). Handbuch Eisenbahninfrastruktur [Railway infrastructure handbook] (in German). Springer-Verlag. pp. 36, 37. ISBN 9783540317074.
- ^ Adrian Lim (23 December 2016). "New platforms at Choa Chu Kang LRT station to ease congestion". The Straits Times. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Spanish solution at Wikimedia Commons
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