TheTigerMaster
Superstar
What are the benefits of stopping airflow, other than not losing your hat?
Dirt is a big one. Much of the station cleaning would not be necessary if train brake dust and fine particulate dirt sucked down from street level didn't get into the station areas. This became important a few years back with the combination of cleanliness becoming a major issue combined with high priced cleaning staff.
Warmth/cool air. Even if stations are not heated/cooled, it prevents the air from the units on the trains from being sucked out of the platform. Over time, trains would heat/cool the platforms sufficiently.
Aren't one of the engineering challenges associated with platform screen doors that they stop airflows? I remember reading that station ventilation systems will need to be redesigned if we installed screen doors.