"Maybe there will be an accident once in 100,000 years"... Received the highest level of safety by making Korea

 

 [Kang Gap-saeng's Wheels and Wings]

 

Among the passenger safety devices installed on subway platforms and other urban railway platforms, the most noticeable is the 'screen door'. It is a system that installs a fixed wall and a movable door that is isolated from the track on the platform so that it opens and closes in conjunction with the door of the vehicle.

It is often abbreviated as 'PSD (Platform Screen Door)' after the English initials. When the train comes to a complete stop on the platform, it opens along with the train door, which increases passenger safety, such as preventing falls, and reduces noise, dust, and strong winds caused by the train.

 

It is being introduced to subway stations in many countries, including Korea, England, France, Japan, and Hong Kong. According to some records, the world's first screen door was installed in 1961 at Park Pobedi Station in Saint Petersburg, USSR (now Russia).

At that time, the screen door was built with a marble wall between the platform and the train, and then attached iron shutters to the door to move sideways. It is different from the automatic screen doors currently in use, but it must have been a function that safely separated passengers until the train stopped completely.

 

[An airtight screen door installed at City Hall Station in Seoul. Reporter Na Woon-chae]

 

In Korea, screen doors were installed on a trial basis at Incheon Station and Singil Station in 2002 and 2003, and were officially installed and operated for the first time in Gwangju Subway Line 1 in 2004. The Seoul subway system was introduced in October of the following year. After several unfortunate track crashes, it was installed in most urban and national railway sections across the country.

Screen doors are largely divided into three types: ▶completely enclosed type ▶semi-enclosed type ▶handrail type. The completely enclosed type is mainly found in subway stations and is completely enclosed from floor to ceiling.

The semi-enclosed type is installed in many stations on the ground section, and the upper part is open. The handrails have doors installed in accordance with the position of the vehicle doors, and are lower in height than semi-enclosed types, and can be found at both underground and above-ground stations.

 

[Semi-enclosed screen door. Source Wikipedia]

 

However, screen doors do not have only advantages. The initial installation cost is high, but the downside is that it is difficult to operate unless the train is in the correct position. This is the reason why trains often move back and forth a bit after stopping, with the announcement “We are adjusting the boarding and disembarking position”.

In addition, since the screen door currently in operation is a 'left and right retractable type' that opens on both sides with the door at a certain position, there is a limit that only trains with the same number of doors or one type of train can be used.

As a result, it is true that it is difficult to use it at stations where trains and regular trains run together. There is a screen door that solves the disadvantages and problems of the 'left and right retractable type'.

 

[Handrail-type screen door in the Tokyo subway in Japan. Correspondent Kang Gab-saeng]

 

It is a screen door (VPSD, Vertical PSD) called 'up and down' or 'vertical open/close type' that opens up and down. This screen door is about 5 to 8 meters between pillars and opens and closes vertically, so it is said that there are few cases where it is difficult to operate due to the location of the train stop.

The location or number of doors doesn't matter too much. This is because if there is an entrance door between the pillars, passengers can get on and off. There are not many in Japan, but in Europe and Japan, various types of trains, such as standard trains and double-decker trains, are mixed, and there are many stations where you get on and off at the same platform.

So, the first places where this vertical retractable screen door was installed were Vanve Malakoff Station in Paris, France and Can Cuias Station in Barcelona, Spain. From 2018 to 2020, it has been pilot and commercial operation for two years. It is said that the response and evaluation were good. It has now been demolished and is being stored in the country.

 

[A vertical retractable screen door installed at Vanve Malakoff Station in Paris, France. data STtraffic]

 

Korea was the first place to develop and manufacture this next-generation screen door. The vertically retractable screen door was developed as a national R&D project from 2013 to 2016 by the Korea Transport Institute, a national research institute.

Later, in 2016, the consortium between STraffic and Woori Technology won an order for the commercialization of the technology, and the business began in earnest. It is said that it has secured exclusive business rights for 10 years until 2026. STraffic is in charge of marketing and business management, and Woori Technology is in charge of manufacturing.

For reference, STraffic was established in 2013 after being spun off from Samsung SDS. It specializes in the development and installation of expressway toll collection systems such as Hi-Pass, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), railway station automation systems, and train control systems.

STraffic is the place where Korea Expressway Corporation established the traffic monitoring center and toll collection system for the Padma Bridge and N8 Expressway in Bangladesh, which drew attention after acquiring management and operation rights. Woori Technology is a small and medium-sized business that does system business, SOC business, bio business, and offshore wind power business.

 

[A vertical retractable screen door installed at Can Cuias Station in Barcelona, Spain. data STtraffic]

 

Chanjong Moon, CEO of STraffic, said, “As a result of operating vertically retractable screen doors in Paris and Barcelona, we have obtained SIL4, the highest level of safety certification in the world.” level”.

Thanks to these evaluations and results, discussions were almost reached with SNCF (French Railway Corporation), which supervises French railways, to expand and distribute vertically retractable screen doors, but due to Corona 19, which broke out just in time, all related budgets were switched to the quarantine sector and stopped. They say it's done.

The STraffic Consortium is currently negotiating with SNCF and others on the budget and schedule for the expansion of screen doors. It is also reported that they are pushing ahead with expansion into the Baltic region, such as Taiwan, Bangkok, Thailand, and Lithuania. I look forward to seeing this screen door in person if there is a situation where several trains use the same platform in Korea.

 

VPSD Related Video Source : 

VPSD Operation in Porte de Vanves - YouTube

 

Source : 

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