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Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Transportation Facilities

The 2006 edition of the Department of Transportation's ADA Standards is consistent with the Access Board's updated ADA and ABA guidelines but it includes additional requirements in the following sections: 206.3 (Location of Accessible Routes); 406.8 (Detectable Warnings on Curb Ramps); 810.2.2 (Bus Boarding and Alighting Areas); and 810.5.3 (Rail Station Platforms). The remainder of the DOT ADA Standards may be found in the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and the ABA Standards for GSA Facilities.

810.5.3 Platform and Vehicle Floor Coordination.

Station platforms shall be positioned to coordinate with vehicles in accordance with the applicable requirements of 36 CFR Part 1192. Low-level platforms shall be 8 inches (205 mm) minimum above top of rail.

EXCEPTION: Where vehicles are boarded from sidewalks or street-level, low-level platforms shall be permitted to be less than 8 inches (205 mm). 

Note to Reader: The Department of Transportation’s ADA standards note permitted alternatives where compliance is not operationally or structurally feasible in light rail, commuter rail, or intercity rail systems:

810.5.3 Platform and Vehicle Floor Coordination. Station platforms shall be positioned to coordinate with vehicles in accordance with the applicable requirements of 36 CFR part 1192. Low-level platforms shall be 8 inches (205 mm) minimum above top of rail. In light rail, commuter rail, and intercity rail systems where it is not operationally or structurally feasible to meet the horizontal gap or vertical difference requirements of part 1192 or 49 CFR part 38, mini-high platforms, car-borne or platform-mounted lifts, ramps or bridge plates or similarly manually deployed devices, meeting the requirements of 49 CFR part 38, shall suffice.

EXCEPTION: Where vehicles are boarded from sidewalks or street- level, low-level platforms shall be permitted to be less than 8 inches (205 mm).

Advisory 810.5.3 Platform and Vehicle Floor Coordination. The height and position of a platform must be coordinated with the floor of the vehicles it serves to minimize the vertical and horizontal gaps, in accordance with the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Transportation Vehicles (36 CFR Part 1192). The vehicle guidelines, divided by bus, van, light rail, rapid rail, commuter rail, intercity rail, are available at www.access-board.gov. The preferred alignment is a high platform, level with the vehicle floor. In some cases, the vehicle guidelines permit use of a low platform in conjunction with a lift or ramp. Most such low platforms must have a minimum height of eight inches above the top of the rail. Some vehicles are designed to be boarded from a street or the sidewalk along the street and the exception permits such boarding areas to be less than eight inches high.

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