Transport for NSW is trialling rubber gap filler technology at Circular Quay, to test safety and accessibility across the Sydney Trains network.
Minister for Transport, Andrew Constance said the technology (pictured) was an innovative way of preventing people from falling between the platform and the train.
“Circular Quay is one of the busiest stations and has one of the highest number of falls between the platform and train on the Sydney Trains network, with children and elderly customers most likely to fall and be injured,” Mr Constance said.
“Parts of the rail network are more than 165 years old and there is no one-stop-shop solution to preventing customer falls,” he said.
“Every platform has unique properties such as gradients, curves and varying heights, and requires a tailored, engineered approach.”
Mr Constance said the results of the trial, to run until the end of the month, would help Sydney Trains assess the suitability of using the rubber gap filler technology on other platforms similar to Circular Quay.
Acting Chief Executive of Sydney Trains, Suzanne Holden said that on average, five people fell through platform gaps across the Sydney Trains network each week.
“Sydney Trains’ engineers have studied the experience of other networks in Australia and overseas to adapt the rubber gap filler technology for Sydney,” Ms Holden said.
“While there’s a long way to go, we are confident this technology may be a solution to improving safety and accessibility on some of our problem platforms,” she said.
