Some metro stations have platform screen doors (PSD) between the platforms and the tracks. They provide safety, and they allow the heating or air conditioning in the station to be separated from the ventilation in the underground tunnel.

• Provide high level of safety but it is expensive in both capital investment and operation expenditure.
• Need to fit in to the infrastructure from the beginning and limit the future upgrade of the station and rolling stock door diagram.
• Retro fitting PSD will also disrupt the station’s normal operation.
• Require complex engineering both in installation and maintenance.
• Require a high level of reliability in terms of operation and integration with Train Signalling and Scada.
• Has higher Failure rate due to signal interfacing with multiple systems.
• Have both electronic and mechanical moving parts, resulting in high maintenance cost for both spare management and human capital.
• Require highly trained engineer to maintain the systems.

As such, many metro operator are seeking for alternative solution.

• A system that meet all the safety requirement for detecting passengers accidentally falling onto the tracks.
• Barrier Free Intrusion detection/prevention System that provid better flexibility for implementation and future station/rolling stock upgrade.
• A system that require minimum maintenance and up keeping.
• A system that do not required high level of skilled worker to maintain.
• A systems that is both cost effective and meet safety requirements.

PIES®/IPS™ is an option that meet all the above requirements and it is the most reliable system with the longest operating track record globally.

PIES®(Platform Intrusion Emergency System) / IPS™ (Intrusion Preventive System)

P.I.E.S® was designed in Canada initially for Vancouver Skytrain to:

• Detect human beings on the guideway
• Be immune to Electromagnetic Fields and Radio Frequency Interference
• Be immune to environmental effects
• In Malaysia, PIES® System was installed on Kelana Jaya Line (Putra Line) and has been operational for more than 19 years (since 1996 until now)
• With a total of 19 stations installed with PIES®, it is maintained by Kelana Jaya Rail maintenance team.
• This initial PIES® system was installed under the main contract of Bombardier for Putra Line.
• There has not been any major repair of PIES® other than normal wear and tear eg. cable replacement and standard up keeping on parts replacement and maintenance.

PIES®/IPS™ – Features and Advantages

• is a proven platform safety system that reliably detects the accidental intrusion of patrons onto the rail track area in front of passenger stations;
• have been installed and still operational since 1985 with zero fatal incident;
• is reliable (infallible) with non-active moving parts, which require almost zero maintenance;
• is effective with dry contact to external systems for absolute triggering systems that does not require a secondary verification systems;
• is always operational: whether the train is entering, leaving, passing through, or stopped in a station;
• gives an immediate warning to transit drivers and operators regarding transgressions into the protected track area, before the trains arrive in a station;
• is a simple operating system that require minimum human interface;
• system is fully adjustable for sensitivity to cater for different types of train and customizable to cater for any type of track alignment;
• is not susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMF) and radio frequency interference (RFI) generated by the trains or control and power systems;
• immune from environmental effects such as heat, rain, wind, hail, snow, etc.;
• is economical, easy to maintain and unobtrusive compared to other safety and security measures at stations;
• is effective, saves lives, time and money.