Elizabeth Line/Crossrail Platform Train Interface Design
Request ID: FOI-1308-2425 Date published: 12 August 2024
You asked
Dear TfL FOI,
I wish to request the following under the FOI Act:
- Gauging and clearances standards (ideally drawings) of Elizabeth Line core section platforms, specifically relating to the position of the platform edge as measured from railhead, much in the same vein as TFL LU Standard S1156 A11 "Gauging and Clearanes".
- A history of these standards, ideally detailing how/if they were changed during the planning and construction phases of the Crossrail project.
This can be provided in any standard format (e.g. pdf, docx, odt, ods, xlsx, etc.)
Thank you very much
We answered
Our ref: FOI-1308-2425/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 21 July 2024 asking for information about the Elizabeth Line/Crossrail Platform Train Interface Design.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy.
I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require. However, to provide the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with requests if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. In this instance, we estimate that the time required to answer your request would exceed 18 hours which, at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations), exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’.
For example, searching for the historic information requested would take a lot of research, in order to ascertain what information is held and where this may be recorded.
We can advise that in the early days of Crossrail (c2012) a decision was made to align the COS (Central Operating Section) stations (i.e. the new Elizabeth Line stations) with Heathrow express boarding height. That is 1100mm above rail level, and that is what our trains were built to. The Network Rail standard is 915mm above rail level. All of the EL stations from Paddington to Abbey Wood meet the 1100mm height.
If you would find it useful we may be able to provide the platform offset and gauging data for those stations, but to attempt to answer your request as fully as possible would be extensive. Therefore, to help bring the cost of responding to within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider refining your request to concentrate on matters which are important to you.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, TfL does not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request. If you have specific questions relating to these topics we may be more easily able to respond to these than to a request for any information held.
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
