Metro Bilbao will eliminate the gap between the convoys and the platform of some stations
The London Underground made him famous with his mind the gap [cuidado con el hueco]; the gap, that gap that in many railway lines is an almost insurmountable gap for people who move in wheelchairs, families that carry pushchairs or any group that has a mobility problem. Or that, simply, you can have an accident by sneaking through the hole. bilbao metro it is going to eliminate the gaps that exist in various stations on its lines; in fact, it has already launched a pilot project together with associations such as ONCE in three stations to test two systems that allow the distance between the platform and the unit to be bridged. The intention is to have the conclusions for next autumn and, looking ahead to next year, begin to presuppose the works.
The gaps that exist in the Bilbao Metro network, and whose disappearance has been insistently demanded from the associations that bring together people with reduced mobility, they are concentrated above all in stations that have curved platforms although it is not an exact science; the distance does not depend only on the season, since it also changes according to the direction of the convoy and no two are the same.
The gaps are of two types: vertical, when the platform and the unit are located at different heights -generally the meter is the one that runs higher-, and horizontal, which occurs when they are on the same plane but at a distance of several centimeters.
Already last year, Metro Bilbao changed the commitment to reduce these gaps with the Federation of People with Physical and/or Organic Disabilities of Bizkaia (Fekoor), to facilitate transport for people with functional diversity and reduced mobility on the underground.
in early summer, A pilot project has been launched in three stations throughout the network –Old Town, Portugalete Y Astrabudua– to test the operation of two systems that make it possible to practically bridge that distance in its entirety.
Specifically, platforms have been installed to save the vertical height at the Portugalete and Astrabudua stations, on the platforms towards Kabiezes and Plentzia, that is, along which the convoys circulate towards the sea.
Also at those stops, in addition to the Casco Viejo, Some white plates have been placed, as a supplement to the platform, which alleviates the horizontal gap: on the platform towards the sea in the case of Astrabudua and Casco Viejo, and in both in Portugalete. The systems are located only on one section of the platform, at the point where the first or last door of the convoy is located, which is where people with wheelchairs or pushchairs travel.
Metro Bilbao has contacted associations of people who use wheelchairs, as well as ONCE, so that its own members can test the new system and allow its use to be tested. In this way, it will be the beneficiaries themselves who will check whether they are valid or not.
Results after the summer
The railway company hopes to have the results of these pilot tests by the end of the summer, in such a way that its definitive installation can be considered in the stations that require it. The intention would include these works, if the system is finally validated, in next year’s budgets.
The measure will allow people who move in wheelchairs to access metro units more easily, but will benefit all users of the underground, from elderly people who may have difficulty walking, small children who can put their foot in, through families that push a baby stroller or anyone who, in a discovery, may suffer a mishap. It is a fact that any measure adopted to improve accessibility benefits the entire population.