Informed on the platform: Solutions to direct passengers on train platforms

Kurzfassung

Having an efficient railway operation system is elemental for providing an attractive service to (future) passengers. What happens on platforms at train stations can influence the efficiency of railway operations. If passengers are not evenly spread out along the platform, they might not use all available train doors for boarding or hinder passengers getting off the train and platform. A suboptimal distribution of passengers could lead to conflicts at train transfers and prolong the train time in the station. To find solutions to better direct passengers at the platform, they were observed during three scenarios: At 5 min before the scheduled departure of the train, the waiting location of the passengers as well as their current activities were documented. After the trains arrival the onboarding process was observed focusing on where passengers position themselves to wait to get on the train and whether conflicts with passengers getting off occurred. For passengers getting off the train, their way off the platform was documented and it was rated how well oriented they appeared. Observations were carried out at seven train stations in the federal states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany. These stations differed in size, passenger volume, role within the network and occurrence of delays. Observers used a pretested protocol and were instructed beforehand. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and visual methods. In total, 96 trains and 6,489 passengers were observed. Passengers were mostly adults (71.5%) and 20% of all those observed carried luggage, bikes, strollers or mobility aids. Passengers waiting for the train often did so near access points, such as stairs and lifts, and used benches when available. When trying to board the train, around 54% of the passengers stayed further away from the train doors and some chose to use a door that was not the nearest to them. Almost all of the passengers getting off the train left the platform with 9% using the lift when it was available. Of the passengers getting off the train, 9% did not appear oriented. Based on the observation results, different approaches were derived on how passengers can be directed on the platform. Passengers could be nudged to spread more evenly along the platform if benches and roofing were strategically placed there. More prominent signs marking stairs and lifts can decrease the number of conflicts between passengers. A more direct way of influencing passengers could be to offer them more information (e.g., on transfers, delay, occupancy of the train, ongoing construction and overall orientation at the train station). This information would preferably be as accessible as possible, being available in advance, compatible with different devices and software (e.g., screenreaders) or available for different channels of perception.