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Railway Platform Projects
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Railway Platform Projects
 Concrete
platforms are functional, aesthetic, and accessible railway passenger
platforms and adjacent pedestrian areas.
Transit Authorities are stepping up efforts to incorporate architectural
and artistic elements in their railway station and platform areas,
to integrate these facilities into the adjacent community, and to
visually reward riders for their patronage.
The projects highlighted in this report demonstrate the adaptability
of economical, long-lasting concrete. As U.S. sculptor Lorado Taft
said in 1923, “Concrete…man-made stone, plastic, durable
and adaptable to rich color and texture.”
Cast-in-Place Concrete
San Jose
 The
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority celebrated 10 years
of light rail service with the April 1997 opening of the Champion
Station. This station was built to serve new commercial developments
and nearby residents along a half-mile stretch of trackway. It is
the agency’s first station to incorporate a unique blend of
locally created public art. According to one newspaper report, “The
overall approach is simple…but with a sense of integrated
planning, its ordinary elements become special.”
The cast-in-place concrete platform slab, low-profile planters,
and molded pilasters combine to form a sturdy, yet decorative, base
for the station. Artistic embellishments include balustrades with
metal railings and split granite boulders at the gateways of each
platform. Also, the pilasters have inlaid designs reflecting computer
networking icons.
Project Credits
Owner: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, San Jose, CA
Architects: SBA Architects, Santa Clara, CA
Engineer: PBQD/MK, San Jose, CA
Contractor: Rhodes & Kesling, Santa Clara, CA
San Diego
 San
Diegans joined the Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB)
in June 1996 in celebrating the opening of the San Diego Trolley’s
newest extension to Old Town. The design of the Old Town Transit
Center reflects themes from the adjacent Old Town San Diego State
Historic Park, while being completely modern in construction and
function. Passengers board and transfer between two rail systems
(San Diego Trolley and Coaster commuter rail) and ten bus routes
from three passenger platforms.
Platforms look like wood, but are actually cast-in-place concrete
finished in a brown, timber boardwalk pattern to replicate old-fashioned
wood platforms, while fulfilling modern building code requirements.
Station and platform areas are completely accessible in full compliance
with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); platform edges include
tactile warning strips made with yellow-colored precast concrete.
MTDB had experimented with several other configurations—painted
concrete, rubber panels—before selecting precast, integrally
colored concrete edge strips as the long-term solution. Cast-in-place
stairs and retaining walls complete the project. Conventional wall
construction technology combined with the latest form-liner system
recreates the color and texture of natural rock at a fraction of
the cost.
Project Credits
Owner: Metropolitan Transit Development Board, San Diego, CA
Designer: DeLeuw Cather and Co., with K T U A, San Diego, CA
Contractor: Kvaas Construction, San Diego, CA
Concrete Contractor: Progressive Concrete, Inc., Escondido, CA
Los Angeles
 Pedestrian
pavement throughout the Metrolink commuter rail station for the
city of Baldwin Park (near Los Angeles) is used to tell the history
of the area’s Gabrielino and Chumash Indians through form,
shape, color, and inlaid text. An artist working collaboratively
with project architects designed the public artwork, a combination
of mural and sculpture, and named it “Danza Indigenas”
(Indigenous Dance). Artwork was financed by the city and the transit
agency.
The entry plaza, with a striking 20-foot (6.1-m) high replica of
the San Gabriel Mission archway, contains a cast-in-place pavement
of earthy red, yellow, white, and black patterns that shows the
floor plan of the mission. A similar concrete footpath leads passengers
from the plaza to canopy shelters and boarding platforms. Personal
statements in English, Chumash, and Spanish inset in the concrete
in metal letters are intended by the artist to encourage patrons
to “have the strength to remember.”
Project Credits
Owner: City of Baldwin Park, CA
Artist: Judy Baca, Venice, CA
Architect: Siegel Diamond Architects, Los Angeles, CA
Paving/General Contractor: Javaid Contractors, Rowland, CA
Concrete Supplier: Sullivan Concrete Textures, Costa Mesa, CA
Precast Concrete Pavers
Cleveland
 The
Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority’s Waterfront
Line is the City of Cleveland’s Bicentennial Legacy Project.
It opened in July 1996. Pavement for the three new light rail transit
station platforms include a carefully crafted blend of cast-in-place
concrete, precast concrete block pavers, special 12-inch (305-mm)
square precast concrete tactile warning strip pavers (ADA compliant),
granite pavers, and brick pavers.
Platform pavers are set on a subbase of 12-inch (305-mm) thick
cast-in-place concrete with a ¾-inch (19-mm) bituminous setting
bed. This pavement was designed for emergency, service, and maintenance
vehicles, if necessary. Contrasting textures and colors are used
to delineate pedestrian areas from the trackway.
A large 90-foot (27-m) diameter overlook, adjacent to the settler’s
Landing Station, is designed to replicate the original 1796 map
of the City of Cleveland as drawn by its founder, Moses Cleveland.
It is constructed as a mosaic, using the same combination of pavers
as the platforms, and is flanked by granite steps and cast-in-place
concrete pedestrian walks.
Project Credits
Owner: Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Cleveland,
OH
Paving/General Contractor: Albert M. Higley Co. and Matt Construction
Services Inc., Cleveland, OH
Concrete Supplier: Cuyahoga Concrete Co. and Allega Concrete, Cleveland,
OH; Hasting Pavers, Freeport, NY
Chicago
 The
Metra-Regional Transit Authority policy on construction of commuter
rail stations is strictly utilitarian—a standard policy that
allows municipalities to pay for any enhancements they may want.
Many take advantage of this to create/recreate stations as community
focal points. Metra’s at-grade platform specifications include
asphalt pavement—a lowest first-cost approach—that may
require repaving in as little as six years.
When it came time to update railway stations in Glenview and Golf,
these Chicago suburbs took advantage of the opportunity to upgrade
their prominent transit facilities. Precast concrete block pavers
were chosen for platform surfaces and pedestrian walkways at the
rehabilitated station in Golf. Built in 1908, the station is among
the few “Prairie School” style wood-frame depots still
in existence. Building improvements included replacing the timber
foundation with concrete.
The city of Glenview chose precast concrete block paver platform
surfaces as well for their new state-of-the-art station. A pedestrian/bicycle
path traveling northwards from the station along the rail tracks
was also added, constructed with the same pavers.
Precast concrete block pavers have the classic look of brick, but
offer enhanced durability and superior quality control, and require
little or no maintenance under the harsh environmental conditions
found in northern Illinois. Installation followed standard, recommended
practices, including a quality base of crushed stone with a sand
bedding. Performance to date has been excellent, despite unpredictable
winter weather, which causes many freeze/thaw cycles and requires
almost daily application of deicing chemicals.
Project Credits
Owner: Metra-Regional Transit Authority, Chicago, IL
General Contractor: John Burns Construction Co., Orland Park, IL
Paving Contractor: American Brick Paving, Des Plaines, IL
Precaster: Uni-Lock Chicago, Inc., Aurora, IL
Precast Concrete Panels
Boston
 In
1995 the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began construction
to resurrect Old Colony commuter rail service from south Boston
on three branch lines—Middleborough, Plymouth, and Scituate.
These tracks had been silent since 1959; before that, the Old Colony
Railroad had provided passenger rail service for more than a century.
Construction of the main line from south Boston to Braintree and
the first two branches includes 60 miles (97 km) of track and 14
new stations.
High-level platforms at these stations are constructed completely
of precast concrete elements, with the exception of cast-in-place
foundations. Platforms are 800 feet (244 m) long x 10 feet, 6 inches
(3.2 m) wide, all on tangent track sections. Three 8-foot (2.4-m)
wide precast panels compose the 24-foot (7.3-m) spans between footings.
Panels are supported on two edges by 24-foot (7.3-m) long precast
concrete beams, which, in turn, rest on cast-in-place concrete piers.
The panels are typically 12 inches (305 mm) thick, with a rubber
tactile strip (ADA compliant) fastened at the track edge. For long-term
durability, project specifications called for a high-performance
concrete topping cast integrally with the rest of the panel. However,
the precaster found it more cost effective to cast the entire panel
using high-strength concrete, which was made with high-quality trap
rock aggregate. To further enhance durability, reinforcing steel
was epoxy-coated and the panel surface treated with a concrete sealer.
The search for a cost-effective, easily constructed, and minimal-maintenance
station platform included investigations of precast double-tee sections,
cast-in-place toppings, and even precast foundations placed directly
on the subgrade. The chosen configuration satisfied all project
parameters. If necessary, the precast panels can be easily removed,
replaced, or reused. Precast concrete stairs and ramps provide access
to the platform.
Project Credits
Owner/Engineer: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Boston,
MA
Contractor: Modern Continental Construction Co., Inc., Cambridge,
MA
Precaster: Rotondo Precast, Rehoboth, MA
Wayfinding
Portland
One of the most original uses of concrete platform construction,
and one that directly benefits patrons, was developed for the Portland
Westside Light Rail Project. Project architects working on the underground
Washington Park Station have created a detail they call “wayfinding.”
Wayfinding consists of a tactile pathway that delineates the direction
passengers should go to find important transit information, such
as route maps and service schedules, along with emergency procedures.
The 4-foot (1.2-m) wide wayfinding pathway was scored directly
into the platform surface. A series of ¼-inch (6.4-mm) wide
x 1-inch (25.4-mm) deep grooves, using standard jointing tools,
was imprinted into the cast-in-place concrete along parallel lines
2 inches (51 mm) on center and perpendicular to the direction of
travel. The groove dimensions corresponded to ADA specifications.
The two underground platforms each have a 76-foot (23.2-m) long
pathway leading from the platform edge at the train end to information
centers posted along the wall. While wayfinding is intended specifically
for the visually impaired, it benefits all patrons seeking travel
information.
Project Credits
Owner: Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon,
Portland, OR
Architect: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, Portland, OR
Selected PCA Resources for Design, Construction
and Rehabilitation of Concrete Railway Platforms
•
Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, EB001, 2002
•
Concrete Floors on Ground, EB075, 2001
•
Concrete Inspection Handbook, EB115, 1996
• Effects
of Substances on Concrete and Guide to Protective Treatments,
IS001, 2001
• Resurfacing
Concrete Floors, IS144, 1996
•
Concrete Slab Surface Defects: Causes, Prevention, Repair,
IS177, 2001
• Cement
Mason’s Guide, PA122, 1995
• Finishing
Concrete Slabs with Color and Texture, PA124, 1991
• Guidelines for Concrete Railway Platforms, 1998
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