Why We Replaced an Entire Station’s Tactiles at Our Own Cost — and What We Learned
Why We Replaced an Entire Station’s Tactiles at Our Own Cost — and What We Learned
In business, how you handle a problem tells you more about a company than how they perform when everything goes right. This is the story of East Hills Station, and why we consider it one of our most important projects — not despite what went wrong, but because of how we responded.
The East Hills Project
East Hills Station on the T8 Airport & South Line was upgraded as part of TfNSW’s Transport Access Program. Railtact was engaged to supply and install Tactile Ground Surface Indicators across the station’s platforms, ramps, and stairs.
The installation was completed. The station went into service. And then a colour stability issue emerged.
What Happened
The tactiles began showing discolouration under prolonged UV exposure — yellowing that compromised both the appearance and, more importantly, the luminance contrast performance required under AS/NZS 1428.4. The 45% colour contrast between TGSI and surrounding substrate is not aesthetic — it is a functional safety requirement for low-vision passengers. When colour degrades, contrast can fall below the compliant threshold.
This was not acceptable. Not to TfNSW, not to the contractor, and not to us.
What We Did
Railtact replaced every tactile indicator across all platforms at East Hills Station. At our own cost. No negotiation, no cost sharing — we wore it entirely.
The replacement product was manufactured using our engineered UV-stabilised polyurethane formulation — the same formulation we now supply as standard across all projects.
What We Learned
The experience accelerated the development of our current product formulation. Standard polyurethane, which is widely used in the TGSI market, is vulnerable to UV-induced discolouration over time — particularly in the harsh outdoor conditions of an exposed railway platform. The chemistry behind this is well understood: UV radiation breaks down the polymer chain in standard formulations, causing progressive yellowing regardless of initial colour.
Engineered UV-stabilised polyurethane incorporates stabiliser packages at the formulation stage — not as a coating or surface treatment — which means the resistance to discolouration is structural, not superficial.
We wrote more about this in our earlier post on Engineered vs. Standard Polyurethane Tactiles if you want the technical detail.
Where East Hills Is Today
The replacement tactiles at East Hills have now been performing under full outdoor NSW conditions for several years. Colour stability has been maintained. The station continues to meet AS/NZS 1428.4 luminance contrast requirements.
We are confident enough in the product’s durability to back it with a 10-year warranty on every installation.
Why We’re Telling This Story
We’re not telling this story to advertise that we had a problem. We’re telling it because every contractor, project manager, and procurement professional assessing a TGSI supplier will ask the same question: what happens if something goes wrong?
The answer for Railtact is: we fix it. Fully. Without argument.
That accountability — and the product improvement that came out of it — is why East Hills is the project we’re most proud of.
Railtact supplies engineered UV-stabilised polyurethane TGSI tactiles for rail and public infrastructure projects across NSW. Manufactured in Australia. CSIRO tested. 10-year warranty. Stock available for immediate supply from Sydney.