To solve the problem,170 mechanical gap fillers will be fitted at eight stations along theconverted metro rail line between Sydenham and Bankstown. The small hydraulic platforms will extend to the new train carriages before screen doors open,allowing commuters to safely step on and off.
Sydney Trains is also ramping up plans to fit rubber gap fillers at more than a dozen stations on the suburban rail network after about 450 people fell in gaps last year. The rubber gap fillers feel rigid if commuters step on them,but allow trains to brush up alongside them as they pull into platforms.
The need for the mechanical gap fillers for Metro Southwest illustrates the complexity of converting a 13-kilometre section of the near 130-year-old Bankstown line to driverless train standards.
Sydney Metro Southwest project director Alia Karaman said converting the line presented scores of challenges,citing the complex planning and engineering involved,and need to work around commuters,heritage stations and both passenger and freight trains.
“The scope is so varied from overhead wiring to building a brand new platform and station plaza at Bankstown,” she said.
The mechanical gap fillers will be installed during a12-month shutdown of the Bankstown line,which is due to start as early as July.