DOORspec Solutions

DOORspec Solutions specialises in the design, manufacture, repair and refurbishment of door systems for the railway industry and other heavy-duty applications.

The company’s product range includes exterior, interior and pocket-sliding doors, as well as swing and plug-type doors and various accessories. Doors can either be manually operated, or electrically or pneumatically powered.

DOORspec also upgrades and refurbishes existing door systems and the company’s engineers can offer solutions to keep older systems in service or adapt them to meet the latest industry standards.

Complete door systems solutions, platform equipment and vehicle monitoring

DOORspec’s team has more than 100 years of design expertise in the rail industry and provides clients with electrical, electronic, engineering, mechanical and software services.

External sliding door system for Skytrain Vancouver in Canada, using an electric timing belt drive 48V DC system (screw drive variants are also available).

Pneumatic-powered sliding plug door for Amtrak’s ACELA high-speed train in the US.

Stainless-steel skinned and framed exterior door panel with glazed window and rubber nosing seal on long edge.

Welding a stainless-steel door frame for a small volume production run of exterior doors.

Motorised heavy-duty station entrance door set for Montreal Metro in Canada.

A customised optical isolation card to interface old equipment with a new monitoring system.

In addition to door systems, the company also offers designs for bench test equipment, vehicle monitoring, as well as control and platform equipment.

It also provides operating and maintenance staff training, qualification testing and reliability, availability and maintainability and safety (RAMS) analysis.

Door system repairs and refurbishment

DOORspec offers a complete door system refurbishment service, including testing and electronic control equipment repair.

Upgrades to the latest industry standards consist of the following:

• Provision of standalone emergency release mechanisms that can be interlocked with upgraded vehicle control systems
• Replacement of older pneumatic systems with less energy-consuming electronic controls
• Re-engineering to use modern microprocessor control systems to provide higher reliability and better diagnostic capability

External powered door systems

DOORspec provides powered door systems for long-distance, commuter, heavy and light metro trains and tramcars, in addition to station entrances and similar heavy-duty applications.

The company also offers all types of external doors, such as pocket-sliding and sliding plug doors. Motive power can be electric or pneumatic. The systems operate on all commonly used system voltages and vehicle networking systems.

Previous projects undertaken by the company’s design team include the doors on Amtrak’s current ACELA high-speed train, pocket doors on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Red and Blue Line cars and external sliding doors on the SkyTrain system in Vancouver, Canada.

Interior and vehicle end door systems

Interior doors for enclosing passenger areas can be provided in a variety of formats with optional large area glazing, as well as aluminium or stainless-steel construction. Doors can be powered electrically or pneumatically and fitted with automatic infrared sensing or push buttons for opening.

Vehicle end doors can be manually, electrically or pneumatically powered and are provided with inflatable seals for good sealing at high speeds.

Door panel production and repair services

Door panels are manufactured at DOORspec’s plant in Canada, which is also equipped for repairs. Vehicle and platform door panels can be produced in aluminium or stainless-steel.

Welded supporting structures and frames and a wide range of construction techniques are also available, including hot and cold bonding.

About DOORspec

DOORspec is based in the Montreal, Canada, with an additional manufacturing and repair facility in New York, US. Its team of engineers has worked in China, Canada, the UK and the US, and has many years of experience in the design and support of various door systems for rail vehicles, platform screens and automatic heavy-duty station entrances.

The company provides services worldwide and has been involved in projects located in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Dubai, the UK and the US.

Its customer base includes railcar manufacturers such as Alstom and Bombardier, as well as transport authorities such as British Columbia Rapid Transit Company and Société de Transport de Montréal in Canada, MBTA in Boston, US and the MTR Corporation in Hong Kong.