Editing Railway platform (section)

==Height relative to trains==
{{main|Railway platform height}}
The most basic form of platform consists of an area at the same level as the track, usually resulting in a fairly large height difference between the platform and the [[train]] floor. This would often not be considered a true platform. The more traditional platform is elevated relative to the track but often lower than the train floor, although ideally they  should be at the same level. Occasionally the platform is higher than the train floor, where a train with a low floor serves a station built for trains with a high floor, for example at the [[Nederlandse Spoorwegen|Dutch]] stations of the [[DB Regionalbahn Westfalen]] (see {{stnlnk|Enschede}}). On the [[London Underground]] some stations are served by both [[District line]] and [[Piccadilly line]] trains, and the Piccadilly trains have lower floors.

A [[tram]] stop is often in the middle of the street; usually it has as a platform a refuge area of a similar height to that of the sidewalk, e.g. {{convert|100|mm|0|abbr=on}}, and sometimes has no platform. The latter requires extra care by passengers and other traffic to avoid accidents. Both types of tram stops can be seen in the tram networks of [[Melbourne]] and [[Toronto]]. Sometimes a tram stop is served by ordinary trams with rather low floors and [[rapid transit|metro]]-like [[light rail]] vehicles with higher floors, and the tram stop has a dual-height platform. A railway station may be served by heavy-rail and light-rail vehicles with lower floors and have a dual- height platform, as on the [[RijnGouweLijn]] in the Netherlands.
 
In all cases the platform must accommodate the [[loading gauge]] and conform to the [[structure gauge]] of the system.