Fire evacuation - Railway inspections:

Fire evacuation signals should be given by voice messages and these must be easily understood by the occupants.

The expected population of a platform or a group of platforms is determined by the expected maximum number of people arriving from trains.

When determining flow rates along platforms, 450mm must be deducted from the width of the platform when it has an open edge.

Turnstiles or gates on escape routes should automatically open  to  allow the free passage of people through.

Manual fire alarm call points are often not located in public areas to avoid nuisance activations.   If this is so then there should be ample staff who can quickly raise the alarm if required.

The construction of railway stations should be non-combustible and the furnishings and fittings and cabling therein should either be non-combustible or very nearly so, having a limited heat release rate.

Where freight trains and passenger trains use the same station careful consideration should be given to the management of risks to the public.

Platforms can be open to each other, even when on different levels but it may be necessary to show by fire and smoke modelling that conditions will be safe and that smoke will not spread and threaten any means of escape.

Evacuation modelling is sometimes used to determine the maximum foreseeable evacuation times.

There should be fire resisting separation between areas where the public can go and non-public areas.

Sprinklers are recommended for all except open stations.