In
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
and
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
parlance, the Spanish solution is a station layout with two
railway platform
A railway platform is an area alongside a railway track providing convenient access to trains. Almost all stations have some form of platform, with larger stations having multiple platforms.
The world's longest station platform is at Hubbali ...
s, one on each side of the track,
which allows for separate platforms for boarding and alighting.
Description
This platform arrangement allows the separation of passenger streams by using one platform only for boarding, and the other one only for alighting.
The separate designation of platforms for boarding and alighting has been proven effective at reducing
dwell time at stations with high passenger numbers.
The Spanish solution is most commonly applied at high-frequency underground
metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
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
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
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
The term "Spanish solution" derives from its use in several stations of the
Madrid Metro (e.g.
Avenida de América) and
Barcelona Metro
The Barcelona Metro (Catalan and Spanish: ) is an extensive network of rapid transit electrified railway lines that run mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport sys ...
(e.g.
Sant Andreu
Sant Andreu () is one of the ten districts of Barcelona since its redistricting in 1984. It was named after the former municipality of Sant Andreu de Palomar, which was the largest in the area and now makes up the bulk of the neighbourhood be ...
).
An example of the Spanish Solution is the
Marienplatz
Marienplatz (English: Mary's Square, i.e. St. Mary, Our Lady's Square) is a central square in the city centre of Munich, Germany. It has been the city's main square since 1158.
History
During the Middle Ages, markets and tournaments were held ...
station on the
Munich S-Bahn
The Munich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn München) is an Railway electrification system, electric rail transit system in Munich, Germany. "S-Bahn" is the German abbreviation for ''Stadtschnellbahn'' (literally, "urban rapid rail"), and the Munich S-Bahn ...
, which has
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
s for boarding and side platforms for alighting.
Gallery
File:München Marienplatz.jpg, Eastbound track at Marienplatz station, Munich S-Bahn
The Munich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn München) is an Railway electrification system, electric rail transit system in Munich, Germany. "S-Bahn" is the German abbreviation for ''Stadtschnellbahn'' (literally, "urban rapid rail"), and the Munich S-Bahn ...
File:Metro Paris - Ligne 6 - station Etoile 01.jpg, Spanish solution on Line 6 at Charles de Gaulle - Étoile. Paris Metro
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Sin ...
File:GreenLineMetroChabacano.JPG, Platforms of the Chabacano
Chavacano or Chabacano is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speakers. ...
station on Line 8, Mexico City Metro
The Mexico City Metro ( es, Metro de la Ciudad de México) is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in Mexico State. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is ...
.
File:Park Street Under platforms, September 1912.jpg, Boston's Park Street Under station in 1912. The same platform configuration is still in use.
File:Pioneer Square Station center platform transfer from above.jpg, A temporary center platform at Pioneer Square station
Pioneer Square station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located under 3rd Avenue at James Street, between University Street and International D ...
in Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
used for transfers between trains
File:Sydney Olympic Park train station (49755055828).jpg, Olympic Park station in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. All passengers alight on the middle island platform and board from the significantly wider outer platforms.
File:Rogier metro station platform.jpg, alt=, Platforms of the Rogier station
Rogier is a rapid transit station in Brussels, Belgium, consisting of both a metro station (on the northern segment of lines 2 and 6) and a ''premetro'' (underground tram) station (serving lines 3 and 4 on the North–South Axis between Br ...
on Lines 2 and 6, Brussels Metro
The Brussels Metro (french: Métro de Bruxelles, nl, Brusselse metro) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three ''premetro'' lines. The me ...
.
File:Spaanse methode.svg, Spanish solution: the principle. Passengers board from the left platform, and alight in the middle island.
See also
*
Cross-platform interchange
A cross-platform interchange is a type of interchange between different lines at a metro (or other railway) station. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly so named. In the Uni ...
*
Interchange station
An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system that allows passengers to change from one route to another, often without having to leave a station or pay an additiona ...
References
External links
*
Rapid transit
Railway platforms
{{metro-stub