Gurubaran Weekly

In a metro system with multiple lines, usually a person transfers from one line to another to reach their destination. A station where one can transfer is called an interchange. In an interchange, normally the lines are stacked one above the other. This means one must use stairs, escalators or lifts to interchange between lines. A cross-platform Interchange ( CPI ) is a type of interchange, where changing from one line to another means just walking across the same platform and does not require usage of stairs, escalators, or lifts. When two lines cross each other,   there is a maximum of 8 possible ways to transfer between lines. I will look at some interesting station designs which enable easy cross-platform interchange Island platforms play an important role in enabling CPI. Full CPI or Paired stacked-island cross-platform This supports all possible interchange movements. This requires two stations. Each Station has two island platforms stacked one above the other. ...

Sorry it’s been quite a lot of time since the last post. I f you want to build a railway station { even though you   don’t need to } you need places for the passengers to wait until the trains arrive a n d board the train and de-board it . These places are called platforms and there are many types of platforms. They are: Spanish solution boarding : The term Spanish solution derives from its original use in several stations of the Madrid Metro and Barcelona Metro. The idea of Spanish solution is to maximize the boarding and deboarding capacity of a train by using the doors on both sides of the train. Basically, there are 3 platforms with two on each side of a track. Usually, the inner platform is used for de-boarding and the outer platforms are used for bo a rding.          Island platform: As the name suggests, an Island platform is a platform that is sandwiched between the two tracks. The platform, which is in the middle of the station handle...

  Most   of you must have enjoyed a train ride through a tunnel. Have you ever thought about how these tunnels are built? There are few standard methods in which the tunnels are built. Let’s have a look at them.   Cut-and-cover Method- Cut and cover is the oldest method of tunnel construction.  You dig and excavate the ground to create a hole. Build all the infrastructure you need for train to go such as tracks and signals. Then cover it up. So simple right? It is like constructing the drainage network in any city. It is mostly used for construction of Shallow tunnels, tunnels for underpasses, and in flat terrains.  London Underground (which is 100 years old) is a good example of it.  Tunnel Boring: Bored tunnels are as the name suggests made by Tunnel boring machines which do look quite boring but the method itself is quite interesting This method is used, when you need to build tunnels at greater depths and also when ground excavation is not possible. ...