TACTILE PAVING: SURFACE MOUNTED TACTILE PAVING BLISTER PLATFORM EDGE OFF STREET

Benefits of Blister Platform Edge Off Street include:

• Rapid installation - reduced labour costs & disruption
• No excavation required - no landfill expense
• Tiles are light in weight and are easy to handle and cut - no hot works
• No requirement for plant machinery and associated access issues/expense
• Durable - harder wearing than concrete
• Will not crack like concrete - prevents future trip hazards.  Tile & adhesive permanently flexible
• High slip resistance in dry or wet conditions
• Extensive range of types and colours
• UV tested - no colour fade
• Freeze/thaw tested
• Fast curing colour matched adhesive - surfaces ready to use within 2 hours
• Can be installed even in damp conditions.
• Adheres to all standard surfaces
• Quality assured - manufactured to BS EN ISO 9001-2008

Applications for Blister Platform Edge Off Street include:

• Railway platforms
• Off-street light rapid transit (LRT) platforms
• Underground platforms

DfT Guidance on areas of use: the surface can be any colour other than red (which is restricted to the blister surface at controlled crossings), but should provide a good contrast with the surrounding area to assist partially  sighted people. It should not be used at on-street LRT platforms where the lozenge shaped platform edge warning surface should be used.

Colours available:

Buff & Underground Buff
Charcoal Grey

Types:

Polyurethane
GRP (Buff only)

Sizes:

400mm x 400mm
1200mm x 400mm (GRP only)

Quantity:

Available in boxes of 10

The purpose of this surface is to advise visually impaired people of the edge of all off-street railway platforms.

The blister surface can be read by foot or cane, warning of the approach to a rail platform edge. As the blister pattern is offset it can be used to identify the direction the platform edge is running and the correct direction of travel to access a train.

The tiles are made from a hard wearing stone and resin composite moulded to create paving which will outperform equivalent concrete product. Tests conducted at the Transport Research Laboratory on product conditioned at 40?C found no measurable loss in height at the end of a scuffing test.

Surface skid resistance measured: 61

Preferred range set by the Joint Mobility Unit of SRV = 50-70

The UK Slip Resistance Group guide to a floor for able-bodied pedestrians.

Building Investigation and Testing Services (Redhill) conducted a comparative wear test against a concrete blister slab and found the tactile paving had a wear resistance 7 times greater than the equivalent concrete product.

Installation of the tactile surface system is both rapid & straightforward and is achieved using a colour matched, two part adhesive. No excavation is ever required. Small surface irregularities can be covered with the adhesive to ensure no cavities are left beneath the tiles. The tiles can be easily cut to follow kerb lines or to accommodate ramps and drain covers. They naturally deform over cambered, curved areas.

For example, a typical installation to both sides of a controlled pedestrian crossing can be completed in less than 2 hours ? reducing disruption to the public. Large areas e.g. railway platforms, can be achieved in overnight/possession times. The tactile surface system can be laid on concrete, tarmac and steel surfaces using either standard urethane adhesive or the moisture tolerant epoxy system.

Product Data - Polyurethane Tile

Product Data - GRP Tile

Department for Transport (DfT) Guidance on the use of Tactile Paving Surfaces

Click on any of the following links to see examples of recent projects:

GRP tiles in use on a railway platform