Design, safety and accessibility
Low floor trains offer many safety and accessibility benefits.
Light Rail Vehicles (LRV) safety features - interior
1. Door status indicators – LED lights on the doors turn green to indicate door availability and platform side. Red lights indicate the door is unavailable.
2. Passenger emergency intercoms – Eight per vehicle, which allow passengers to communicate with the operator in case of an emergency. Operators and staff in the Operations Control Centre can also communicate to passengers using this system.
3. Emergency touch strips – Allows passengers to initiate an emergency if they are not standing next to a passenger emergency intercom. Touch strips are silent alarms that don’t draw attention when touched. The operator will be alerted, and the two nearest cameras will be activated for the operator to view and assess the situation.
4. Security cameras – Five external, two in the operator’s cab, and eight in the passenger area. Footage is recorded on a local network video recorder and can be viewed live from the operator’s cab and remotely at the Operations Control Centre.
Light Rail Vehicles (LRV) safety features - exterior
5. Carbody design and crashworthiness – A curved hood covers the train coupler (the mechanism that connects train cars). This reduces injuries in collisions with vehicles or pedestrians. In the event of a collision, the car body is designed to absorb the damage.
6. Three braking methods – For guaranteed braking under all conditions.
7. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning – Three units per vehicle to keep passengers comfortable.
8. Operator on board – at all times.
LRV accessibility features
1. Easy to board – LRVs are level with station platforms and there are no steps.
2. Spacious interior – Room to easily move around.
3. Double doors – Three sets of spacious doors for people with mobility aids or strollers to enter/exit.
4. Designated mobility aid areas – Three per vehicle for people with mobility aids, strollers or bikes. These areas are located between each set of double doors.
5. Button to extend door opening time – Pressing this button allows passengers to extend the nearest door’s opening time, providing additional time to depart the train.
6. Passenger information displays - 12 per vehicle to display time, next stop, transit connections and other information for passengers.