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A split platform or separate platform is a station that has a platform for each track, split onto two or more levels. This configuration allows a narrower station plan (or footprint) horizontally, at the expense of a deeper (or higher) vertical elevation, because sets of tracks and platforms are stacked above each other. Where two rail lines cross or run parallel for a time, split platforms are sometimes used in a hybrid arrangement that allows for convenient cross-platform interchange between trains running in the same general direction.
On the London Underground, to minimise the risk of subsidence, the tunnel alignments largely followed the roads on the surface and avoided passing under buildings. [note 1] If a road was too narrow to allow the construction of side-by-side tunnels, they would be aligned one above the other, so that a number of stations have platforms at different levels. [1] Moreover is very useful if the line branches from the station, so diverting tunnels or tracks do not intersect each other.
Examples of split platform layout in the United States are Rosslyn on the Washington Metro's Blue, Silver and Orange Lines; Pentagon on the Washington Metro's Blue and Yellow Lines; and Harvard and Porter stations on the Boston-Cambridge MBTA Red Line. Split platforms are also at downtown Oakland, California on BART's 12th and 19th Street stations, as well as in Los Angeles Metro Rail's Wilshire/Vermont station. MARTA's Ashby station uses the configuration to separate the eastbound and westbound platforms.
In the New York City Subway, Nostrand Avenue, Kingston Avenue and Utica Avenue stations on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line have two tracks on each level, with each of the two levels serving trains in one direction. Further north on the Eastern Parkway line, Borough Hall also has split platforms. Also, stations on the IND Eighth Avenue Line have split stacked platforms between 59th Street – Columbus Circle and Cathedral Parkway – 110th Street due to the proximity of the line to Central Park. In other stations like Fulton Street, Borough Hall, and Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street, platforms are stacked due to the narrowness of the street directly above the station. One notable station, Wilson Avenue on the BMT Canarsie Line, has one elevated platform and one at-grade platform, due to the narrowness of the line's right-of-way.
In Canada, split platforms on the Montreal Metro are located at De L'Église and Charlevoix, while Snowdon and Lionel-Groulx have a hybrid layout where the two directions on each line are split from each other but sharing an island platform with the other line. They are also found on Vancouver's SkyTrain, at the stations in the Dunsmuir Tunnel and at the King Edward station on the Canada Line.
The London Underground uses split platform layouts on the deep tube lines, namely the Bakerloo, Central, Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. [2] [note 2]
Sant'Agostino station on line M2 of the Milan Metro uses the layout, as do all stations between Crocetta and Turati on line M3.
On Munich Marienplatz Station the Munich S-Bahn (suburban trains) are on two separate levels, where westbound trains depart from the lower level, eastbound trains from the upper level. Below the westbound level there is an interchange to the metro lines U3 and U6 in North-South direction.
In Nuremberg metro network, the station Plärrer has two platforms for cross-platform interchange between lines U1 and U2/U3. The upper platform is used for westbound/outbound services, while the lower one is designated for eastbound/inbound trains.
In Hanover light-metro network, Kröpcke has three levels, one for blue lines (3, 7 and 9); SW to NE, one for red lines (1, 2 and 8); NW to SE and one for yellow lines (4, 5, 6 and 11). The red lines level and the yellow lines level are situated directly below each other. An interchange between red and yellow lines is possible at Aegidientorplatz where the underground platforms are situated the same way like Plärrer. Eastbound/outbound trains use the lower platform, westbound/inbound trains use the upper one.
On Berlin U-Bahn line U9, the Schloßstraße station has two level platforms, with southbound trains departing from the lower level and northbound trains from the upper level. The station has two island platforms, one above the other, but the western part is closed off by a wall and is not in use, as it was originally designed to accommodate a transfer to the unbuilt U10 line.
On Vienna U-Bahn line U3, the stations Neubaugasse , Zieglergasse, Herrengasse, Stephansplatz and Stubentor have two levels of platforms. Trains towards Ottakring (westbound) use the lower platform, trains towards Simmering the upper one. In Stephansplatz the line U1 crosses below these platforms.
On Prague Metro Line B station Rajská zahrada have two levels. Trains towards Černý Most use first level (lower), trains towards Zličín use second level (upper).
On the Brussels metro network, a similar arrangement can be found at stations Merode and Weststation (on lines 2 and 6).
In Asia, Jingan, Yongan Market, Taipei Bridge, Zhonghe, Qiaohe, Zhongyuan, and Fuzhong on the Taipei Metro have split stacked platforms, Dadong on Kaohsiung Metro's Orange line, Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Tin Hau, Sai Wan Ho on MTR's Island line, Tsing Yi on MTR's Airport Express and Tung Chung line, To Kwa Wan on MTR's Tuen Ma line, and Nanpu Bridge station on line 4 of Shanghai Metro all have split platforms.
In Japan, examples of split platforms include Sekime-Seiiku Station on the Imazatosuji Line in Osaka, Misasagi Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway and the Keihan Keishin Line, Ginza-itchōme Station on the Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line, Machiya Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, and Kenchōmae Station and Sannomiya Station on the Kobe Municipal Subway. When Makuharitoyosuna Station opened on the Keiyo Line on 18 March 2023, it became the newest split platform in the country. [6]
In Southeast Asia, examples of split stacked platforms include Bukit Bintang on the Kajang line, Persiaran KLCC and Ampang Park on the Putrajaya Line, Sam Yot, Wat Mangkon, Sam Yan, Si Lom, and Lumphini Station on the Blue Line (Bangkok), Kampung Bandan on the KRL Commuterline, Promenade and Stevens station on Singapore's Downtown MRT line, and Napier, Maxwell, Shenton Way, and Marina Bay stations on Singapore's Thomson-East Coast MRT line. The line is also set to feature two such stations: Katong Park and Tanjong Katong. The Jurong Region MRT line is set to feature one such station: Jurong East.
In Melbourne, all three City Loop stations, Parliament, Melbourne Central and Flagstaff have bi-level platforms with an island platform at each level.
In Sydney, Town Hall station is bi-level; additionally the surface level Redfern and Central have underground platforms as part of the Eastern Suburbs line.
Oxford Circus is a London Underground station serving Oxford Circus at the junction of Regent Street and Oxford Street, with entrances on all four corners of the intersection. The station is an interchange between three lines: Bakerloo, Central and Victoria. As of 2022, it was the fourth-busiest station on the London Underground. On the Bakerloo line it is between Regent's Park and Piccadilly Circus stations, on the Central line it is between Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations, and on the Victoria line it is between Green Park and Warren Street stations. The station is in Travelcard Zone 1.
A cross-platform interchange is a type of interchange between different lines at a metro station. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly so named. In the United States and Canada, it is often referred to as a cross-platform transfer.
South Kensington is a London Underground station in the district of South Kensington, south west London. It is served by the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines. On the District and Circle lines it is between Gloucester Road and Sloane Square, and on the Piccadilly line between Gloucester Road and Knightsbridge. It is in Travelcard Zone 1. The main station entrance is located at the junction of Old Brompton Road (A3218), Thurloe Place, Harrington Road, Onslow Place and Pelham Street. Subsidiary entrances are located in Exhibition Road giving access by pedestrian tunnel to the Natural History, Science and Victoria and Albert Museums. Also close by are the Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College London, the Royal College of Music, the London branch of the Goethe-Institut and the Ismaili Centre.
Gloucester Road is a London Underground station in Kensington, west London. The station entrance is located close to the junction of Gloucester Road and Cromwell Road. Close by are the Cromwell Hospital and Baden-Powell House.
Barbican is a London Underground station situated near the Barbican Estate, on the edge of the ward of Farringdon Within, in the City of London in Central London. It has been known by various names since its opening in 1865, mostly in reference to the neighbouring ward of Aldersgate.
Barons Court is a London Underground station in West Kensington in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Greater London. This station serves the District line and the Piccadilly line. Barons Court is between West Kensington and Hammersmith on the District line, and between Earl's Court and Hammersmith on the Piccadilly line and is in Travelcard Zone 2. East of the station, the Piccadilly line descends into tunnel towards Earl's Court and the District line continues in a cutting to West Kensington. The station is the last open air stop for eastbound trains on the Piccadilly line until Arnos Grove and has cross-platform interchange with the District line.
Bow Road is a London Underground station located on Bow Road in Bow, London, England. It is on the District and Hammersmith & City lines. The station is interlinked as an out of station interchange (OSI) with Bow Church station on the Docklands Light Railway which is about 300 m (980 ft) away via Bow Road. The two stations are classed as a single station for ticketing purposes as well as on tube maps but both are managed separately.
Foggy Bottom–GWU station is a Washington Metro station in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. The island-platformed station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines, the station is located on I Street on the George Washington University (GWU) campus. It is the last westbound station in the District of Columbia on these lines before they dive under the Potomac River to Virginia.
Sudbury Hill is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly line. The station is between Sudbury Town and South Harrow, and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is located on Greenford Road (A4127) north of the junction with Whitton Avenue, on the border between the London Boroughs of Harrow and Ealing. The station is close to Sudbury Hill Harrow railway station.
The Munich U-Bahn is an electric rail rapid transit network in Munich, Germany. The system began operation in 1971, and is operated by the municipally owned Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft. The network is integrated into the Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund and interconnected with the Munich S-Bahn. The U-Bahn currently comprises eight lines, serving 96 stations, and encompassing 103.1 kilometres (64.1 mi) of routes.
Snowdon station is a Montreal Metro station in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and is a transfer station between the Orange Line and Blue Line; it is the western terminus of the Blue Line. It is located in the Snowdon neighbourhood. The town of Hampstead is located nearby to the west, across Macdonald Avenue; one emergency exit from the station extends into Hampstead.
Admiralty is a station of the MTR rapid transit system in Admiralty, Hong Kong.
Ho Man Tin is an underground MTR rapid transit station on the Kwun Tong line and the Tuen Ma line, located beneath Valley Road in Lo Lung Hang, as part of the Sha Tin to Central Link project. The station's lower platforms opened on 23 October 2016 along with Whampoa station as part of the Kwun Tong line extension, while the upper platforms of the Tuen Ma line opened on 27 June 2021.
Tin Hau is a station on the Island line of the MTR rapid transit system in Hong Kong.
An island 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 twin-track routes due to economic and land use reasons. They are also useful within larger stations where local and express services for the same direction of travel can be provided from opposite sides of the same platform thereby simplifying transfers between the two tracks. An alternative arrangement is to position side platforms on either side of the tracks. The historical use of island platforms depends greatly upon the location. In the United Kingdom the use of island platforms is relatively common when the railway line is in a cutting or raised on an embankment, as this makes it easier to provide access to the platform without walking across the tracks.
Wilshire/Vermont station is an underground rapid transit station on the B Line and D Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, after which the station is named, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown. Unlike the other stations on Wilshire or Vermont which were built directly under the street, this station is offset on a diagonal between the two streets, allowing the lines to diverge without trains on one line having to slow for a tight turn. The station has a unique layout with two side platforms on two levels, necessitated by the flying junction between the lines just west of the station. It is the last station going from Union Station that serves both the B Line and D Line.
In railway and rapid transit parlance, the Spanish solution is a station layout with two railway platforms, one on each side of the track, which allows for separate platforms for boarding and alighting.
Hongqiao Railway Station is a Shanghai Metro station located within the Shanghai Hongqiao railway station complex in the city's Minhang District. As part of a major transportation hub, it serves as an interchange between Lines 2, 10, and 17. It additionally serves as the western terminus the mainline service of Line 10, as well as the eastern terminus of Line 17. The station first opened as a Line 2 station on 1 July 2010, with Line 10 operations commencing on 30 November 2010. More than seven years later, Line 17 service was introduced with the opening of that line on 30 December 2017. With three island platforms totaling six platforms, the station is one of the largest in the system and features a cross-platform interchange between Lines 2 and 17.
The U2 is an underground line in Nuremberg, opened on 28 January 1984 and the last station along the line to open was Flughafen (Airport) in 1999. The line is about 13.1 kilometres (8.1 mi) long and has 16 stations; the termini are Röthenbach and Flughafen. Since 2010 all trains in regular operations are run driverless. At 2,388 metres (7,835 ft) the stretch between Ziegelstein station and Flughafen station is the longest interval between two stations in the network and the only single track section on any subway line in Germany.
Paddington is a London Underground station served by the Bakerloo, Circle and District lines. It is located on Praed Street to the south of Paddington mainline station and has entrances from Praed Street and from within the mainline station. On the Bakerloo line the station is between Warwick Avenue and Edgware Road and on the Circle and District lines it is between Bayswater and Edgware Road. It is in London Fare Zone 1.