The effect of suburban train carriage design upon punctuality, ingress and egress occlusion and passenger comfort.
Document Type
Conference Paper
Publication Date
2009
Subject Area
place - urban, place - low density
Abstract
Many suburban railway systems around the world are experiencing a rapid increase in patronage. While this is a welcome development as an alternative to road congestion, higher passenger densities particularly during peak times of the day have implications upon punctuality, crowding and the passenger perception of comfort.
The authors suggest that station dwell times are a significant factor in service punctuality and are determined by a number of variable factors such as passenger movement through doors, crowding on board, and the carrying of objects, and that these relate directly to the design of the carriage.
The literature (Lau, Harris, Daamen, Bronkhurst et al) generally focuses upon the creation of predictive models around existing vehicle designs with the potential of informing more accurate timetables. There appears to be a paucity of academic research from an industrial design perspective. This paper analyses a variety of carriage designs from around the world to determine what strategies might contribute to a future design of suburban train.
Recommended Citation
Coxon, S., Burns, K., de Bono, A., & Napper, R. (2009). The effect of suburban train carriage design upon punctuality, ingress and egress occlusion and passenger comfort. Proceedings of the 32nd Australasian transport research forum (ATRF), http://www.patrec.org/web_docs/atrf/papers/2009/1768_paper64-Coxon.pdf
