Rubber reduces risk for Heathrow passengers

London – A trial of rubber gap fillers for London rail platforms has been successful, according to Heathrow Express (HEx), which trialled the device for Terminal 5 station at the London airport.

In a press release on 1 May, Heathrow Express announced that it will install the rubber platform gap-fillers, developed by Austrialian company Delkor Rail, in order to reduce risk of passenger accidents.

“Stepboard accidents are a concern of the whole rail industry. They occur when a passenger falls between the train and the platform edge,” said HEx adding that the accidents wre responsible for 48 percent of the overall fatality risk to passengers, and caused knock-on delays to train services.

“A year-long trial at HEx’s Heathrow Terminal 5 station found there were no stepboard incidents wherever gap-fillers were in use. The devices are now set to be installed at all Heathrow Express train stations by the end of May,” the announcement added.

Australian Delkor Rail engineers developed a pilot project with Heathrow Express in August 2014 and the fillers were trialed between March 2014 and March 2015.

According to the company, Terminal 5 station was chosen as the site for trial as it was on straight track, could easily be monitored and had a high volume of passengers travelling with luggage.

Delkor Rail then custom designed platform gap fillers which mounted in strips along the edge of platforms to reduce the gap between the platform and the entrance of a passenger train.

Heathrow Express, which carries 17,000 people a day between Paddington and Heathrow stations, said the rubber strips would be installed across its network at a cost of £58,000, and could be rolled out nationwide on other lines.