As part of the Equality Act 2010, measures must be put in place to ensure disabled people are not discriminated against, which means that train stations have a duty to improve disabled access. Safety must be paramount but it can be easily achieved with correctly designed and installed handrails.
For example, handrails must be between 900 and 1.1m in height, provide a continuous smooth surface and be installed on both sides of a ramp or stairs. Where there is a drop off, ramps will require a curb or curb rail to prevent wheelchairs from slipping out from under the railing. In some instances, a mid rail will provide sufficient protection. Stair handrails should extend the width of one stair tread and then level out for 300mm, while ramp handrails will need to extend parallel to the walking surface, 300mm past the top and bottom of the ramp.
Tube and fittings such as the Kee Access® range offer a quick and versatile solution to meeting disabled access requirements. The range comprises a total of 19 special fittings and is supplied with versatility, ease and speed of installation in mind. Kee Access® includes an “Add-on” offset fitting which allows new handrail to be added to an existing structure, making it an ideal retrofit solution.
Each fitting comes with a choice of polyester coating available in all RAL colours to satisfy the “not cold to the touch” criteria set out in BS 8300. Kee Access® components are specifically designed to give a smooth handrail with size 7 tube (outside diameter 42.4mm) ensuring compatibility with the Building Regulations.
Kee Systems has installed Kee Access® handrailing in a number of locations throughout the UK to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Equality Act in a cost effective way by providing save access to the station entrances and platform.
Tue, 05/31/2016 – 08:06
Tubes and fittings such as Kee Access can help train stations to improve disabled access.
Kee Access for DDA handrailing at train stations
