East Croydon Rail Station, London, UK

Project Overview

Out of a total of 2569 stations in the UK, East Croydon is the 17th busiest station. In this project, Platforms 1 and 2 at East Croydon station benefitted from the installation of the Mountbridge system (Patent No. 2515519) featuring Dura Platform GRP panels (Patent No. 2523381) with integral heating to melt snow and ice and LED lighting to the platform edge.

GRP Platform with integrated LED lighting and heating.

At East Croydon Station, the existing brick paving and tarmac surface was causing issues with the passenger train interface due to a combination of platform curvature, track geometry and rolling stock. Efficiently designed and installed by Hammond ECS whilst the station remained open to passengers, the Dura Platform surface featured integral LED lighting strips and certain areas were installed with underfloor heating to minimise risk of frost and slippery surfaces in winter.

The colour blue for the LED platform edge lighting was chosen partly as research and experience abroad showed it may have an impact on reducing suicide rates by up to 14%, but also because it cannot be mistaken for anything else, such as signals or a ‘right away’. Network Rail has previously installed blue lighting at Gatwick Airport.

The risk to passengers at the Platform Train Interface (PTI) is equivalent to nearly 13 fatalities each year, and 48% of the total passenger fatality risk on the mainline railway network. Network Rail standards specify that new platforms should be 915mm above rail height, have an offset of 730mm (horizontal distance between rail and platform edge) and should not be on a curve of less than 1,000m radius.

In reality, only 30% are estimated to meet the height requirements and the dimensions are often considered a trade-off between the requirements of passengers and ensuring that the platforms aren’t struck by any of the different types of trains now in common use. Dura Platform is a rapid-deployment and maintenance free solution that’s faster, cheaper and easier to install than traditional alternatives. It can cut platform installation time by up to 65% and can be installed in as little as 36 hours! It is suitable for manual handling, eliminating the need for costly RRVs or heavy lifting equipment. Its hidden fixing system minimises trip hazards, and the platform is also crankable to create an instant 1:40 fall to manage drainage.

After over a century of heavy use, many of the UK’s concrete train station platforms now require replacement as they reach the end of their service life. Even those that don’t require complete replacement need regular maintenance which can drain resources and cause passenger disruption. It was great to see East Croydon be one of the first to benefit from Dura Platform’s breakthrough features which solve all of the PTI challenges and more in record time and with lower overall project costs than concrete.

Stuart Burns

Managing Director of Dura Composites

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