An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) 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 sometimes used between the opposite-direction tracks on twin-track route stations as they are cheaper and occupy less area than other arrangements. They are also useful within larger stations, where local and express services for the same direction of travel can be accessed from opposite sides of the same platform instead of side platforms on either side of the tracks, simplifying and speeding transfers between the two tracks.
35-630: NoMa–Gallaudet U station is an elevated, island platformed station on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 's (WMATA) Metro system . It is located on the same embankment as the Amtrak tracks into Union Station . It serves the Red Line , and is situated between Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood stations. With an average of 6,593 daily entries in 2023, NoMa–Gallaudet U
70-401: A bridge or underpass. If an island platform is not wide enough to cope with passenger numbers, typically as they increase, overcrowding can risk people being pushed onto the tracks. In some cases entry to the station is restricted at busier times to reduce risk. Examples of stations where a narrow island platform has caused safety issues include Clapham Common and Angel (rebuilt in 1992) on
105-607: A new side platform opening in December 2022. Some stations of the Glasgow Subway have one island platform and one side platform ( Hillhead , Buchanan Street , and Ibrox ). In Wellington , New Zealand, unused sides can be found at two stations on the Hutt Valley Line : Waterloo and Petone . Waterloo's island platform was reconfigured to be the down side platform when the station was extensively rebuilt in
140-605: A pedestrian tunnel from the north entrance under the embankment to the east side of the tracks, and construction is scheduled to begin in 2028. NoMa–Gallaudet U is located near the intersection of New York Avenue and Florida Avenue in Northeast Washington. The station is within and named for the NoMa neighborhood, which is both residential and commercial. The station itself is in a commercial district on Florida Avenue. Its design differs from that of previous stations and
175-590: Is indicative of the lessons learned by Metro over its years of operation in several respects. Its canopy consists of white-painted, steel plate trusses and glass sheathing rather than concrete. Instead of having a single elevator as found at older stations, it contains two. This was done so if an elevator breaks down, service is provided to the station without having to offer shuttle service from another station. The station also provides ten racks and 28 lockers for bicycle users, carsharing with Zipcar and connections to several Metrobus routes . The station
210-494: Is notable for its artistic elements incorporated into its design as part of MetroArts, Metro's Art in Transit Program. Created by sculptor Barbara Grygutis, The 2nd Street entrance contains a 27-foot (8.2 m) tall aluminum sculpture of a leaf from a scarlet oak . On each side of the sculpture is a poem entitled "Journeys" composed by Dolores Kendrick, Washington's poet laureate. The poem reads: "Go slowly in taking
245-735: The Capital Line and Metro Line used island platforms until NAIT/Blatchford Market station opened in 2024, the only station with side platforms as of 2024. The Valley Line Southeast uses low-floor LRT technology, but uses island platforms on only one of the 12 stops, Mill Woods . Almost all of the elevated stations in Singapore 's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system use island platforms. The exceptions are Dover MRT station and Canberra MRT station , which use side platforms as they are built on an existing rail line, also known as an infill station . The same follows for underground stations, with
280-884: The IRT Seventh Avenue Line and 34th Street – Penn Station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway , uses two side platforms for local services with an island in between for express services. The purpose of this atypical design was to reduce unnecessary passenger congestion at a station with a high volume of passengers. Since the IRT Seventh Avenue Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line have adjacent express stations at 42nd Street, passengers can make their transfers from local to express trains there, leaving more space available for passengers utilizing intercity rail at Pennsylvania Station . The Willets Point Boulevard station
315-652: The London Underground , Union (rebuilt in 2014) on the Toronto subway , and Umeda on the Osaka Municipal Subway . An island platform requires the tracks to diverge around the centre platform, and extra width is required along the right-of-way on each approach to the station, especially on high-speed lines. Track centres vary for rail systems throughout the world but are normally 3 to 5 metres (9 ft 10 in to 16 ft 5 in). If
350-765: The Newport PATH station has the same configuration as Bowling Green—one side platform and one island platform. On the Tokyo Metro , the Ginza Line has a side platform and an island platform at Nihombashi . Likewise, the Namba and Minami-morimachi stations on the Osaka Metro have similar configurations. On JR East, the Yokosuka Line platforms at Musashi-Kosugi feature a similar setup following
385-862: The Werribee Line , Ardeer , Caroline Springs on the Ballaarat Line , Glen Iris , Holmesglen , Jordanville and Syndal on the Glen Waverley Line , and Watsonia and Heidelberg on the Hurstbridge line . In Toronto , 29 subway stations use island platforms (a few in the newer stations on the Bloor–Danforth line , a few on the Yonge–University line and all of the Sheppard line ). In Edmonton , all 18 LRT stations on
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#1732782998585420-492: The Metro system. The final cost was $ 103.7 million with the federal government and private land owners each contributing $ 25 million and the D.C. government contributing $ 53.7 million. Its construction has catalyzed new development and redevelopment of the NoMa neighborhood. The station was renamed to NoMa–Gallaudet U on November 3, 2011, and formally christened with the new name on June 13, 2012. There are plans to construct
455-510: The Red Line during the construction of a double crossover switch . While still under construction in January 2004, the station name was changed from New York Ave to New York Ave–Florida Ave–Gallaudet U. The change was made to reflect its location near both Florida Avenue and Gallaudet University . On November 20, 2004, the station opened as the 84th station, and first infill station, on
490-801: The United Kingdom the use of island platforms on twin-track routes 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. Island platforms are necessary for any station with many through platforms. There are also advantages to building small two-track stations with a single island platform instead of two side platforms. Island platforms allow facilities such as shops, toilets and waiting rooms to be shared between both tracks rather than being duplicated or present only on one side. An island platform makes it easier for disabled travellers to change services between tracks or access facilities. If
525-565: The city. The neighborhood encompasses the region north of Massachusetts Avenue located north and east of Union Station . It includes the Sursum Corda , Eckington , and Near Northeast areas, as well as a section known as Swampoodle . NoMa includes: NoMa's southern tip at Union Station/ Columbus Circle is a half-mile north of the U.S. Capitol . According to the NoMa Business Improvement District,
560-437: The encampments drew criticism after a bulldozer operator accidentally began to clear a tent with a man inside, and who was hospitalized as a result. NoMa includes several historic structures: Union Market borders NoMa on the east and has a gourmet food hall , retail non-food stalls and a rooftop with bar, picnic tables and event stage. The area is served by many modes of transportation, including: Eighteen schools serve
595-643: The exception being Braddell MRT station , Bishan MRT station , and a few stations on the Downtown line ( Stevens , Downtown , Telok Ayer , Chinatown and MacPherson ) and the Thomson-East Coast line ( Napier , Maxwell , Shenton Way and Marina Bay ) In southern New Jersey and Philadelphia , PATCO uses island platforms in all of its 13 stations, to facilitate one-person train operation . The NYC Subway's Second Avenue Subway features island platforms at all stations. Many other stations in
630-428: The island platform is 6 metres (19 ft 8 in) wide, the tracks must slew out by the same distance. While this requirement is not a problem on a new line under construction, it makes building a new station on an existing line impossible without altering the tracks. A single island platform also makes it quite difficult to have through tracks (used by trains that do not stop at that station), which are usually between
665-467: The late 1980s, with the unused side now facing onto a bus bay. Petone's island platform served the up main line and the suburban loop line until the suburban loop was lifted in the early 1990s. The unused platform now faces onto the station's park-and-ride carpark. NoMa, Washington, D.C. NoMa (short for "north of Massachusetts Avenue ") is a neighborhood of Washington, D.C. , located in Ward 6 of
700-604: The line to a larger gauge, by moving the track away from the platform to allow the wider bodied continental rolling stock to pass freely while leaving the platform area untouched. Island platforms are a very normal sight on Indian railway stations. Almost all railway stations in India consist of island platforms. In Sydney , on the Eastern Suburbs Railway and the Epping Chatswood Railway ,
735-524: The local tracks (where the island would be). A common configuration in busy locations on high speed lines is a pair of island platforms, with slower trains diverging from the main line (or using a separate level on the railway's right-of-way ) so that the main line tracks remain straight. High-speed trains can therefore pass straight through the station, while slow trains pass around the platforms (such as at Kent House in London ). This arrangement also allows
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#1732782998585770-542: The neighborhood was home to 13,000 residents as of January 2023, with a total of 50,000 employees working in the area. 2020 Census data showed that Ward 6 which includes parts of NoMa, Navy Yard and Southwest , was responsible for a third of D.C.'s 15% population growth over the previous decade. After much planning for the area in the late 1990s, the 2004 opening of the New York Ave–Florida Ave Metro, now NoMa-Gallaudet U station , sparked development in
805-412: The neighborhood. Its name was reportedly chosen to nickname the nomenclature of New York City neighborhoods such as SoHo and TriBeCa . By 2016, NoMa had emerged as a rapidly-growing neighborhood in D.C. The New York Times summarized the shift, stating "NoMa now has about 6,400 people living in about 3,800 apartments; there were none in 2010". REI opened one of its outdoor supply big box stores in
840-563: The proposed station by being charged special tax assessments. With an estimated cost of $ 84 million to complete in October 2000, the federal government approved $ 25 million for its construction. The remaining costs would be split with $ 34 million coming from the District and $ 25 million coming from special tax assessments for the surrounding commercial properties. With funding secured, physical construction could commence. The groundbreaking for
875-474: The renovated Washington Coliseum , where the N.B.A.’s Capitols had played in the 1940s. A longstanding homeless encampment under the K Street underpass was cleared in 2020, with similar encampments under the L Street and M Street underpasses cleared in 2021. Most of the unhoused people agreed to move into apartments as part of a city program. The underpasses had previously been cleared around 100 times, but people returned soon thereafter. The city's removal of
910-443: The station occurred on December 16, 2000, with Mayor Anthony A. Williams and D.C.'s Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton present for the festivities. In May 2002, Metro awarded a design–build contract to the joint venture of Lane Construction/Slattery/ Skanska for the design and construction of the station. Since it was constructed along an existing line, its construction resulted in some delay for trains traveling on
945-663: The station to serve as a point where slow trains can be passed by faster trains. A variation at some stations is to have the slow and fast pairs of tracks each served by island platforms (as is common on the New York City Subway ; the Broad Street Line of Philadelphia ; and the Chicago Transit Authority 's Red and Purple lines). A rarer layout, present at Mets-Willets Point on the IRT Flushing Line , 34th Street – Penn Station on
980-401: The steps, and fast when counting stars." Grygutis also created the 500-foot (150 m) steel fence outside the station studded with glass leaves of various hues. Its design was inspired by Washington's dense tree canopy in addition to the scarlet oak being the official tree of the District. Island platform The historical use of island platforms depends greatly upon the location. In
1015-501: The system have the same layout. Sometimes when the track on one side of the platform is unused by passenger trains, that side may be fenced off. Examples include Hurlstone Park , Lewisham, Sydney and Yeronga, Brisbane . In New York City's subway system , unused sides are located at Bowling Green as well as every express station without express service, such as Pelham Parkway on the IRT Dyre Avenue line. In Jersey City,
1050-497: The system's first infill station and the first to be built with a mix of public and private funds. Additionally, a portion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail was completed as part of its construction. The station was not originally built with the rest of the Red Line; the segment of the Red Line containing the site of this station opened in 1976. By 1996, however, the idea of a Metro station at New York Avenue
1085-434: The tracks are above or below the entrance level, the station needs only one staircase and (if disabled accessibility is necessary) one elevator or ramp to allow access to the platforms. If the tracks are at the same level as the entrance, this instead creates a disadvantage; a side platform arrangement allows one platform to be adjacent to the entrance, whereas an island platform arrangement requires both tracks to be accessed by
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1120-590: The twin tunnels are widely spaced and the tracks can remain at a constant track centres while still leaving room for the island platforms. A slight disadvantage is that crossovers have to be rather long. Examples in Melbourne include West Footscray , Middle Footscray , Albion and Tottenham on the Sunbury line , Kananook on the Frankston Line , Aircraft , Williams Landing and Hoppers Crossing on
1155-468: Was being proposed as part of greater improvements of New York Avenue between Downtown Washington at the Maryland state line. In February 1999, the major property owners in the vicinity of the proposed station agreed in principle to contribute approximately $ 25 million in private financing for the project. The money would be collected from all commercial property owners within .5-mile (0.80 km) radius of
1190-555: Was renovated to accommodate the high volume of passengers coming to the 1939 World's Fair . Many of the stations on the Great Central Railway in England (now almost entirely closed) were constructed in this form. This was because the line was planned to connect to a Channel Tunnel . If this happened, the lines would need to be compatible with continental loading gauge , and this would mean it would be easy to change
1225-551: Was the ninth-busiest station in the Metro system and the busiest elevated stop. NoMa–Gallaudet U is located near the intersection of New York Avenue and Florida Avenue in Northeast Washington, D.C. The station is within the NoMa neighborhood, which is both residential and commercial, and the station itself is in a commercial district on Florida Avenue. The station opened under the name New York Ave–Florida Ave–Gallaudet U on November 20, 2004, as both
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