In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via

turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...

s or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked

smartcard A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

or a pass. A system using paid areas is often called fare control. Passengers are allowed to enter or exit only through a faregate. A paid area usually exists in rapid transit railway stations for separating the train platform from the station exit, ensuring a passenger has paid or prepaid before reaching the railway platform and using any transport service. Such design requires a well-organized railway station layout. In some systems, paid areas are named differently - for example, on railways in the United Kingdom they are called compulsory ticket areas The paid area is similar in concept to the

airside An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

at an airport. However, in most cases entrance to the paid area requires only a valid

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...

transit pass A transit pass (North American English) or travel card (British English), often referred to as a bus pass or train pass etc. (in all English dialects), is a ticket that allows a passenger of the service to take either a certain number of pre-purch ...

. The exception is in certain cases of international rail travel, where passengers must also pass through immigration control and customs to enter the paid area. Examples include the

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...

international platforms at

St Pancras railway station St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...

and

Gare du Nord The Gare du Nord (; English: ''station of the North'' or ''Northern Station''), officially Paris-Nord, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capital ...

Woodlands Train Checkpoint Woodlands Train Checkpoint (abbreviated as WTCP, also known as Woodlands CIQ) is a railway station and border checkpoint in Woodlands, Singapore. Located close to the Malaysia–Singapore border, the station is owned by Singapore's Immigration an ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, where the only departures are to neighbouring

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, as well as

Hung Hom station Hung Hom () is a railway station in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is an interchange station between the and the domestic services of the MTR network, as well as the southern terminus of cross-border through-trains to mainland China whic ...

Lo Wu station Lo Wu is the northern terminus of the (Kowloon-Canton Railway) of Hong Kong, located in Lo Wu within the Closed Area on Hong Kong's northern frontier. The station serves as a primary checkpoint for rail passengers between Hong Kong and mainl ...

Lok Ma Chau station Lok or LOK may refer to: Places * Lok, Serbia, a village * Lok, Levice District, Slovakia, a village * Lok, Pakistan, a village * Loka (pronounced Lok): a plane of existence in Indian religions, Dharma People Surname Lok (English origin) * A ...

and

Hong Kong West Kowloon station West Kowloon station (abbreviated WEK), also known as Hong Kong West Kowloon, is the southern Terminal station, terminus of and the only station on the Hong Kong Express Rail Link, Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong ...

in Hong Kong. In some rapid transit systems, passengers are banned from eating or drinking inside the paid area of every station.

Platform ticket

platform ticket A platform ticket is a type of rail ticket issued by some railway systems, permitting the bearer to access the platforms of a railway station, but not to board and use any train services. It allows people to walk with their friends, associates ...

allows non-travelers access to the paid area of a station to make a platform tour, seek for departures of friends or relatives, greet friends and family members or to assist them with their luggage without having to have a ticket for a journey. These are generally available only at major terminal stations, but other smaller stations occasionally grant platform tickets in exchange for a piece of identification. Similarly, in some airports, such as the

Pittsburgh International Airport Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pittsbur ...

, non-ticketed members of the public can acquire an airside access pass to visit the shops and restaurants inside the restricted area, as long as they produce a valid piece of identification and go through the security checkpoint.

References

MTR BY-LAWS
by Hong Kong Regulations Passenger rail transport {{rail-transport-stub

Platform ticket

See also

References