Over-track train station

An over-track train station is a train station whose main station building is constructed above the platform or platforms of the station. The structure is one in which an overpass and the station building have been combined.
Although over-track stations are considered a type of on-ground train station, sub-surface train stations and elevated train stations may also have over-track structure. In the case of over-track sub-surface stations, it is common for the station building to be at ground level, and some such stations may be considered underground stations. There are also examples of stations that are both elevated and over-track.
Overview
Over-track stations are often the result of the rebuilding of on-ground stations. It is difficult to make on-ground stations accessible from both sides of the railway without building separate stations buildings on each side of the tracks. Although they may have increased upkeep costs, by gathering facilities such as ticket gates and ticket sales areas into one location the functioning of the station can be simplified. Also, building an above-track station that includes a free passageway outside of the ticket gates can allow pedestrians to move freely between the two areas divided by the tracks.
Layout
Because the station building of an over-track station and its facilities are gathered entirely above the platforms, some of the merits of on-ground stations are lost. In some cases the distances necessary to walk when using the station can be even longer than those required for sub-surface or elevated stations. It is also necessary to move vertically to get between the station building and any platform. Because steps can be obstacles to the elderly and physically disabled when going up or down, devices such as elevators and escalators have been installed between the station building and platform and between the station building and the ground level to make some over-track stations barrier-free.
Locating the station building above the platforms can be a way of effectively using space in places where it is limited, and can also make outfitting stations to be barrier-free easier in such places. This is one reason for the construction of above-track stations when building or rebuilding a station.
When an over-track station is built on a slope, the station building may be directly accessible from the higher side of the slope without any difference in elevation. However, viewed from the low side the station may appear similar to a station that is both elevated and above-track.
Area surrounding the station
By making a station above-track, the overall space inside the station can often be increased, making it easier to include facilities such as bathrooms and shops.
Because of their structure, it is easy for over-track stations to connect with pedways. As a result, in heavily commercial areas, over-track stations are also sometimes introduced as a way of connecting commercial facilities. Also, in cases where an on-ground station was changed to an over-track station, the land where the old station building stood can be used to create facilities such as rotaries, which can in turn make it possible to increase the number of buses and other services.

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