Questions and Answers: Transportation Services for Individuals with Disabilities

1. Question: What is the minimum width needed for a non-level boarding railroad passenger station platform to meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?

Answer:

Under 49 CFR Part 37, all new or altered railroad station platforms, including non-level boarding platforms, used for intercity rail passenger service or commuter rail passenger service must be readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, including persons who use mobility aids like wheelchairs or walkers. 49 CFR 37.9, 37.41-37.43, 37.55. We have received questions from entities constructing or altering platforms regarding the minimum platform width needed to accommodate passengers using such mobility aid devices. This Q&A may be used as guidance for the minimum width needed for non-level boarding platforms.

Where non-level boarding platforms exist, on-board lifts may be used to move passengers who cannot climb stairs from the platform level up to the passenger car. 49 CFR 37.165(g). The actual design of the platform lift mechanism varies from one builder to another, but it is not uncommon for the passenger car edge of the lift platform in the fully deployed position to be a number of inches away from the actual side of the passenger car body. An allowance of 1 foot from the side of the passenger car to the edge of the lift platform has been made to accommodate various lifting mechanism designs.¹ The lifting platform cannot be more than 3 inches above the platform in the down position with a connecting ramp slope not exceeding 1:8 (49 CFR 38.95(b)(8), 38.125(b)(8)), which could result in a ramp to the lift platform being a maximum of 24 inches long. Per section 304.3 of the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), a space of at least 5 feet is required on the platform for a person using a wheelchair to turn and enter the on-board lift.

For a new or altered conventional non-level boarding side passenger platform with a railing or wall on the platform side opposite the track, the minimum platform width thus should be the sum of the maximum dimensions listed above – 12 feet.

For a non-level boarding end loading island passenger platform (where passengers are entering or exiting the platforms of a stub-end station) located between two tracks, our calculation needs to account for the width of tactile strips. The additional width of the tactile strips (2 feet) required by 49 CFR 37.9(a) (applying ADAAG 705.2 and 810.5.2) for the next track should be added to the above dimension, which yields a total minimum width of 14 feet for an end loading island platform.

For a non-level boarding island passenger platform with vertical pedestrian access (by elevator, stairs, escalator, etc.), the minimum width should be the width of the vertical access feature (typically in the range of 8-12 feet) plus twice the 6 feet required by 49 CFR 37.42 for clearances around the sides of the stairwell, yielding 20-24 feet. The non-level boarding platform may be tapered to 14 feet at the end(s) of the platform.