Putting a foot in it

People have been maimed by it.

Belongings have been swallowed up by its hungry maw, never to be seen again.

What is this monster?

The gap that exists between the train carriage and the platform in any subway system, including Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines.

I don't have a problem with it being there. Obviously the train can't be flush against the platform or there'll be a terrible grinding noise with sparks flying everywhere each time a train enters a station.

But I've got a problem with how big it is on the MRT.

Particularly on the older North-South and East-West lines, the gap is gaping like the shark from Jaws.

Not only that, the train is sometimes about an inch higher than the platform.

This isn't a deal-breaker for me. I can still get into and out of the trains.

But to make sure I don't get stuck, I have to drive my motorised wheelchair at high power so that it will cross the gap and mount the small step at the same time. Failure to do so might result in me causing a service disruption, as my wheels become lodged in the gap, preventing the doors from closing and the train from leaving!

Such aggressive driving is uncomfortable for me physically. I am jolted around quite hard as my wheelchair roars over the large obstacle like an off-roader jumping a ravine.

It's also a bit dangerous for the passengers already in the carriage, as I might accidentally careen into them if I lose control of my bucking steed.

There's no excuse for the gap being so big, and the train not being level with the platform.

Look at the photograph below. It shows the crossing between platform and train at the Changi Airport Skytrain. The foot is there to give you a point of reference to judge the size of the gap.

The width of the gap is indicated by the blue line.

See how small the gap is? It's about the length of a toe. I can go as slowly and leisurely as I want without fear of my wheels dropping in.

Notice also the area circled in red. That's a black hardened rubber lining. I think it's there to make the gap even smaller than it was originally. Mentally erase that black lining yourself and the gap will be about the size that it is on the newer Circle and Downtown lines. The gap on the older MRT lines are about a third larger than that, with a height difference too. No wonder people get their legs trapped in there sometimes!

Why can't the MRT operators get it right? They should really seek help from the engineers in charge of the Skytrain. Installing similar rubber linings on all existing platforms would be a good start.

Hopefully the upcoming lines, like the Thomson-East Coast and Cross-Island lines, are built with greater precision to eradicate the difference in level between train and platform, and minimise the size of the platform gap.

This will benefit not only me, but everyone else too, in terms of improved safety.