Harrington Hump

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Harrington Hump at Aberdovey railway station

The Harrington Hump is a modular and easy-to-install system by which the height of a railway platform can be increased at relatively low cost. The system takes its name from Harrington railway station, location of the first production version. Harrington Humps are slowly being installed on other UK railway stations.

Background

Platform height across the UK rail network is not standardised; at the time of the construction of the network, different railway companies settled on different platform heights.[1] Platforms sited low (compared to the level of the train carriage floor) present entry and exit problems to mobility-impaired train users, including wheelchair users.[1] Raising the level of a complete platform is relatively costly and in many instances beyond the means of Network Rail and local authorities.[2] The impetus for the hump, it is claimed, was a complaint by the chairman of the Copeland Rail Users' Group about low platforms on the Cumbrian Coast Line causing users difficulty in alighting from trains, made at Allerdale Area Transport Advisory Group, a sub-committee of Cumbria County Council's Local Committee. A suggestion of a partial raising of platforms was made to parry a Network Rail assertion that remedial work would cost a "six-figure sum" per station.[3]

The Hump

The Harrington Hump is a partial solution to this long standing problem of user access to railway carriages from relatively low station platforms.[1][2] The Hump is a pair of ramps and a short flat top, built from a glass reinforced polymer, and capable of being designed to meet the width and height requirements of particular stations and to be installed in a few days.[2] The cost of the Harrington Hump is also much cheaper than that of raising the entire length of the platform – on the order of 1/10th of the typical £250,000 cost.[2]

The Hump was devised by Network Rail and Cumbria County Council, in conjunction with Pipex Structural Composites,[2] and first installed at Harrington in December 2008.[3] Harrington was chosen as the pilot site, it is claimed, because it has the greatest drop from train floor to platform, and because as a coastal station, it offered the harshest of environments in which to test the hump.[3] Otherwise known as an "Easy Access Area",[4] Network Rail has conceded that the structure will henceforth be known by its nickname, Harrington Hump.[2]

The Hump is positioned to meet a particular door on a train – usually a door designed for wheelchair access.[2] As such, the Hump is less suited to platforms served by different configurations of trains, such as Dalton railway station, served by two different train operators using different types of trains with wheelchair accommodation doors in different locations.[5]

The second Hump was installed at St Albans Abbey railway station, and the third at Aberdovey railway station.[6] Other stations to receive Humps include Northwich.[7]

The Hump system won a Delivery of Customer Service Award at the 2009 Civil Service Diversity and Equality Awards.[8]

Innovative aspects

According to the Association of Community Rail Partnerships,[9] innovative aspects of the Hump are that it is:

  • Cheap
  • Not requiring possession to install
  • Capable of local hand assembly without large power tools
  • Capable of being used across the network
  • Good design life (50 years)
  • Safe and providing standard height access to train.
  • Meet Network standards or provide reason for variation
  • Preferably capable of installation by two men – actually 4
  • Capable of installation in 3 days

Other UK station humps

Similar humps have been installed on the London Underground, such as between 2010–2011, all of the Victoria line stations except Pimlico; in this case the humps are of a masonry construction[10][11] and thus are not Harringtons. The impetus for their installation are the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Non Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Station hump helps train access". BBC New website. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Cumbria Town Takes Its Place in Railway History". Network Rail press release. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Harrington hump is democracy in action". Hexham Courant. 26 November 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Valley Station to get a New Hump". Network Rail press release. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  5. ^ "Problems and lack of cash delay work on rail station". North West Evening Mail. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  6. ^ "UK Rail Station Installs Harrington Hump". Railway-Technology.com. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  7. ^ Samuel, A (9 August 2011). "'Harrington Hump' installed at Northwich rail station". Rail.co. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  8. ^ "'Harrington Hump' triumphs in national awards". Cumbria County Counci press release. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  9. ^ "The Harrington Hump". The Association of Community Rail Partnerships website. The Association of Community Rail Partnerships. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Tube Update Plan – Victoria". Transport for London website. Transport for London. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Creating Step Free Access for All" (PDF). Marshalls Ltd website. Marshalls Ltd. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  12. ^ "Victoria Line Platform Humps and RVAR". Livis Ltd website. Livis Ltd. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  13. ^ "Victoria Line Platform Humps and RVAR" (PDF). Livis Ltd website. Livis Ltd. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
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