A railway platform is an area alongside a railway track providing convenient access to trains. Almost all stations have some form of platform, with larger stations having multiple platforms.
Platform at Rotterdam Centraal station, Netherlands
Station platforms at Arts et Métiers station on Line 11 of the Paris Métro
Oslo airport train station, Platform 0
Platform barriers on the Berlin-Hamburg high speed line
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be called a subway, tube, or underground. Unlike buses or trams, rapid transit systems are railways, usually electric, that operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles. They are often grade-separated in tunnels or on elevated railways.
The London Underground is the world's first and oldest rapid transit system.
The New York City Subway is the world's largest single-operator rapid transit system by number of metro stations, at 472.
A crowded Paris Métro average station platform in 2007
A station of the Guangzhou Metro in 2005
