Pedestrian Patterns at Railway Platforms during Boarding: Evidence from a Case Study in Switzerland

The boarding/alighting process at railway platforms is an important determinant of the railway system performance and depends on the characteristics of passengers, the layout of the platform, and the rolling stock. This research aims to increase the understanding of the process, providing a methodol...

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Main Authors: Giulia Dell’Asin, Johannes Hool
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:Journal of Advanced Transportation
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/4079230
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author Giulia Dell’Asin
Johannes Hool
author_facet Giulia Dell’Asin
Johannes Hool
author_sort Giulia Dell’Asin
collection DOAJ
description The boarding/alighting process at railway platforms is an important determinant of the railway system performance and depends on the characteristics of passengers, the layout of the platform, and the rolling stock. This research aims to increase the understanding of the process, providing a methodological approach to model the passengers’ behaviour when boarding at railway platforms. Adequate criteria were selected to define the so called “boarding cluster” and an easy mechanism was developed to select the boarding clusters. Passenger flow data collected at Bern railway station in Switzerland was used to test the proposed approach. The results show that (a) the clusters near the doors grow in the longitudinal direction with a rate of 6:1 between the length and width of clusters, and that (b) the growth curves rise quickly when clusters are still small, i.e., at the beginning of the boarding/alighting activity. Further research is needed to extend the validation of the model, considering other variables, such as critical pedestrian densities which occur at specific hot spots near obstacles at platforms.
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issn 0197-6729
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publishDate 2018-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-70f311758f4e4cdda522b35935dd04142025-08-20T02:06:47ZengWileyJournal of Advanced Transportation0197-67292042-31952018-01-01201810.1155/2018/40792304079230Pedestrian Patterns at Railway Platforms during Boarding: Evidence from a Case Study in SwitzerlandGiulia Dell’Asin0Johannes Hool1SBB CFF FFS Infrastructure, Asset Management and Technology, Bern 3000, SwitzerlandSchweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF), Market & Audience Research, Zürich 8052, SwitzerlandThe boarding/alighting process at railway platforms is an important determinant of the railway system performance and depends on the characteristics of passengers, the layout of the platform, and the rolling stock. This research aims to increase the understanding of the process, providing a methodological approach to model the passengers’ behaviour when boarding at railway platforms. Adequate criteria were selected to define the so called “boarding cluster” and an easy mechanism was developed to select the boarding clusters. Passenger flow data collected at Bern railway station in Switzerland was used to test the proposed approach. The results show that (a) the clusters near the doors grow in the longitudinal direction with a rate of 6:1 between the length and width of clusters, and that (b) the growth curves rise quickly when clusters are still small, i.e., at the beginning of the boarding/alighting activity. Further research is needed to extend the validation of the model, considering other variables, such as critical pedestrian densities which occur at specific hot spots near obstacles at platforms.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/4079230
spellingShingle Giulia Dell’Asin
Johannes Hool
Pedestrian Patterns at Railway Platforms during Boarding: Evidence from a Case Study in Switzerland
Journal of Advanced Transportation
title Pedestrian Patterns at Railway Platforms during Boarding: Evidence from a Case Study in Switzerland
title_full Pedestrian Patterns at Railway Platforms during Boarding: Evidence from a Case Study in Switzerland
title_fullStr Pedestrian Patterns at Railway Platforms during Boarding: Evidence from a Case Study in Switzerland
title_full_unstemmed Pedestrian Patterns at Railway Platforms during Boarding: Evidence from a Case Study in Switzerland
title_short Pedestrian Patterns at Railway Platforms during Boarding: Evidence from a Case Study in Switzerland
title_sort pedestrian patterns at railway platforms during boarding evidence from a case study in switzerland
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/4079230
work_keys_str_mv AT giuliadellasin pedestrianpatternsatrailwayplatformsduringboardingevidencefromacasestudyinswitzerland
AT johanneshool pedestrianpatternsatrailwayplatformsduringboardingevidencefromacasestudyinswitzerland