Types of pedestrian guardrail and their benefits

Road safety is highly important to protect both pedestrians and drivers from potential accidents. Pedestrian guardrail plays a key part in this by guiding pedestrians to safe crossing points, stopping them from getting on to the road where it could potentially be dangerous.

What is a pedestrian guardrail?

There are three common types of guardrail that satisfy BS7818 Class 2, which is the British Standard for pedestrian restraint systems in metal. All Alpha Rail pedestrian guardrail is compliant to this standard.

They can come as a unit panel, commonly the M1 full height panel or M2 sight gap panel, which bolts to its neighbouring panel through its frame. It can also come as a panel and post system – this is known as Optirail but is sometimes referred to as Visirail.

What is the purpose of a pedestrian guardrail?

The primary use of pedestrian guardrail is to guide pedestrians to safer crossing points and splitter islands. They can be found all across the country at the sides of roads creating a clear segregation between the road and footpath.

Pedestrian guardrail is a very robust product that can also be effective in off-highway environments. Alpha Rail has been involved in projects where our pedestrian guardrail is used on-site to separate internal walkways from places where there may be vehicles such as forklifts and lorries offloading. They can also be adapted to go around the perimeter of sports pitches, to secure the pitch and create a barrier for the spectators – these barriers have longer legs to ensure they are sturdy as they are installed into softer ground.

What is pedestrian guardrail made of?

All pedestrian guardrail manufactured by Alpha Rail is made using mild steel, a cost effective and strong material that can be galvanised to provide it with anti-corrosion properties. This process involves dipping the metalwork in molten zinc and is standard for all Alpha Rail metalwork products.

Pedestrian guardrail is functional, but this doesn’t mean it can’t look good – after galvanising, panels can be polyester powder coated in a RAL colour of your choice, which is a great way to integrate the metalwork into your brand, using your company or school colours. The powder coating also acts as another layer of protection, which further extends the lifespan of your metalwork.

Benefits of pedestrian guardrails

Pedestrian guardrail is the most effective way to separate pedestrians and highways and prevent people from crossing into the road where it may be unsafe. They are also perfect for use near schools to prevent children running out of the school and into the road where potential accidents can occur.

Pedestrian guardrail from Alpha Rail

Since 1985, Alpha Rail has been supplying pedestrian guardrail across the UK, and is proud to be one of the UK’s leading manufacturer of guardrail. We hold excellent stock levels of our standard range for fast delivery times, and our sales team can be contacted for quick prices. There is also a wealth of technical information on advice available on our website.

For any upcoming pedestrian guardrail requirements, contact us by phone on 01623 750 214, or via email at websales@alpharail.co.uk.