On July 12th, 2020, JR East moved the platform of Iidabashi station 200 meters westward. A new platform was constructed in the form of an extension of the existing platform. As a result, the total length of the Iidabashi station platform is to be over 400 meters. What's the reason for this long platform?
Before getting down to the main topic, let me quickly review JR East's Iidabashi station. It's one of the city center stations on the Chuo local line, and also a transfer station to the three subway lines. Nearly 90,000 passengers use this station every day.
Now, let's head to the main topic. There were two reasons for this long platform. Firstly, it's for preventing fall accidents of passengers from the platform edge, when they get on and off trains. The old platform was located on the tightly curved track with a curve radius of 300 meters. The maximum gap between a train and the platform was 33 centimeters. The maximum height difference was 20 centimeters. It was scary even for adults. On the other hand, the new platform is located on the gentler curve with a curve radius of 900 meters. The accidents have been eliminated. Secondly, the eastern old platform was preserved as a passenger lane to the existing east gate of the station. As a result, the total length of the platform was to be over 400 meters as above.
Iidabashi is a unique station with the long platform in the metropolitan city center area.
