side platform
{{Short description|Railway platform with tracks along only one edge}}
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform{{cite book |last1=Longhurst |first1=Derek |title=48 months, 48 minutes : building the Perth to Mandurah railway |page=303 |date=2008 |publisher=Rawlhouse Publishing |location=West Perth, Western Australia |isbn=9780958740685 |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4300108}} or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway.{{cite book |first1=Tom |last1=Parkinson |first2=Ian |last2=Fisher |title=Rail Transit Capacity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NbYqQSQcE2MC&pg=PA24 |year=1996 |publisher=Transportation Research Board |isbn=978-0-309-05718-9 |page=24}} A station having dual side platforms, one for each direction of travel, is the basic design used for double-track railway lines (as opposed to, for instance, the island platform where a single platform lies between the tracks). Side platforms may result in a wider overall footprint for the station compared with an island platform, where a single width of platform can be shared by riders using either track.{{cite web |url=http://www.railway-technical.com/stations.shtml |title=Railway Station Design |work=Railway Technical Web Pages |access-date=August 19, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609114225/http://www.railway-technical.com/stations.shtml |archive-date=June 9, 2007 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.railsystem.net/railway-platform-and-types/ |title=Railway Platform and Types |work=Railwaysysyem.net |access-date=2017-06-30}}
In some stations, the two side platforms are connected by a footbridge or tunnel to allow safe access to the alternate platform. While a pair of side platforms is often provided on a dual-track line, a single side platform is usually sufficient (trains are usually only boarded from one side) for a single-track line.
Layout
{{Routemap
| title = Side platform
| legend = track
| collapsible = no
| map =
vCONTgfa
cPLT\vSTR\cPLT
cPLT\vSTR\cPLT
cPLT\vSTR\cPLT
vCONTgfe
| bottom = {{center|Station with two tracks
and two side platforms}}
}}
Where the station is close to a level crossing (grade crossing) the platforms may either be on the same side of the crossing road or alternatively may be staggered in one of two ways. With the 'near-side platforms' configuration, each platform appears before the intersection and with 'far-side platforms' they are positioned after the intersection.{{Cite web|url=http://www.railsystem.net/railway-platform-and-types/|title = Railway Platform and Types |}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.railway-technical.com/infrastructure/stations.html|title = Stations | the Railway Technical Website | PRC Rail Consulting Ltd}}
In some situations, a single side platform can be served by multiple vehicles simultaneously with a scissors crossing provided to allow access mid-way along its length.{{Cite web|url=https://www.railwayarchive.org.uk/the-layout-of-the-station|title = The Layout of the Station}}
Larger stations may have two side platforms with several island platforms in between. Some are in a Spanish solution format, with two side platforms and an island platform in between, serving two tracks.
In some situations, a single side platform may be in use with the other one (side platform) disused like with Ryde Esplanade.{{Cite web |date=March 2016 |title=Delivering a better railway for a better Britain – Route Specifications 2016 Wessex |url=https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Route-Specification-2016-Wessex-1.pdf |website=Network Rail}}
File:Lysaghts railway station.JPG|Lysaghts railway station, in Australia, with two side platforms and a footbridge connecting them
File:Cambronne Metro station, Paris September 2013 003.jpg|Cambronne station on Line 6 of the Paris Métro. An example of an elevated station with side platforms.
File:Katase-Shirata-STA Home.jpg|View of Katase-Shirata Station (Japan), an example where the line is mainly a single track, but it is possible for trains to cross each other at the station
File:Ryde interchange.JPG|Ryde Esplanade railway station, with one platform in use and another out of use. Ryde, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, England.
File:Platform 2, Xinzhuang Fuduxin Station 20170318.jpg|Xinzhuang Fuduxin metro station on the Taoyuan Airport MRT (Taiwan). Many stations on the Taoyuan Airport MRT use side platforms rather than an island platform to better accommodate large numbers of passengers.
File:EW22 Dover MRT Platform A 20200918 143957.jpg|Dover MRT station (Singapore) with two platforms in use. The station is an infill station built along an existing line; thus, it takes a side platform structure.
See also
{{commons category|Side platforms}}