Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

Transcription

1 Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations Analysis of data collected at 7 railway stations in October 2000 TRAIL Research School, Delft, December 2001 Author: Ir. Paul B.L. Wiggenraad Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology TRAIL Research School, December 2001 i

2 ii Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

3 Contents ABSTRACT...v 1 INTRODUCTION THE DWELLING PROCESS RESEARCH QUESTIONS DATA COLLECTION. 7 5 ANALYSIS OF DATA Length of dwell time Delays Composition of dwell times Distribution of passengers over the platform Typical length of alighting and boarding times 15 6 CONCLUSIONS.. 19 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 21 REFERENCES 21 TRAIL Research School, December 2001 iii

4 iv Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

5 ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the dwell time of trains at railway stations. The length of occurring dwell times are determined by the length of the planned dwell times, the numbers of alighting and boarding passengers, train and infrastructural characteristics, and the arrival and departure process of the trains. Items dealt with are the length of the dwell time and its different components, the distribution of the passengers over the platform, the typical length of the alighting and boarding times, and the influence of the type of station, the type of train service, the vehicle characteristics (door passageway width) and the period of day (peak and off-peak). In October 2000 a measurement was carried out on seven typical Dutch railway stations, being four local stations and three intercity stations with different locations of the platform accesses. One observer recorded with a stopwatch the train movements and each of a number of observers was allocated to a platform sector and recorded with a digitizer the number of waiting passengers and the moments of passenger movements (alighting or boarding). The collected data are analysed. Mean values are calculated for the length of dwell times and the components of dwell time. The distribution of passengers over the platform while waiting and when boarding are deduced. As to the alighting and boarding process, a difference is made between alighting and boarding in clusters and individual alighting and boarding. A passengers forms part of a cluster if the time interval between his predecessor and himself is 3 seconds at the maximum. Conclusions are that measured dwell times, especially of intercity trains, are longer than scheduled, that dwell times in peak hours and off-peak hours are about the same, that there are clear concentrations of waiting and boarding passengers around platform accesses and that the mean alighting and boarding time per passenger in clusters is about 1 second. Trains with wide door passageways show about 10% shorter typical alighting and boarding times and with narrower door passageways about 10% longer typical times. TRAIL Research School, December 2001 v

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7 1. INTRODUCTION Crucial for the quality of public transport services are speed and reliability. These two quality aspects determine strongly the competing power of public transport. This being also applicable for trains, it is not surprising that forthcoming service delays and disturbances attract so much attention. An important aspect of speed and reliability is the dwell time. The length of the dwell time is primarily determined by the length of the alighting and boarding process, but can be increased with an extra buffer time to improve the service operation. The goals of this project are to quantify the different parts of the dwell time and to gather basic data for a more accurate planning of the dwell time and an improved service operation. It concentrates on railway stations in the Dutch context. The project is part of the research program into the quality of train service operation and aiming to develop instruments to improve the operational control. This paper starts with the analysis of the dwelling process leading to factors being involved in the collection of data. The data collection will be explained as to what, how, where and when. Consequently, the collected data are analysed and eventually conclusions are drawn. TRAIL Research School, December

8 2 Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

9 2 THE DWELLING PROCESS The dwell time is determined by a number of factors: the planned dwell time, a planned connection, the number of alighting and boarding passengers, the train and infrastructure characteristics (number and width of doors, location of the platform accesses, platform width, difference in level between platform and vehicle floor, gap between platform and vehicle) the arrival and departure process of the train braking to standstill, opening of the doors, making the departure route available, the departure announcement, closing of the doors, actual departure. Arrival and departure times are indicated in the timetable on a minute scale. Also dwell times are expressed in minutes. A dwell time of 1 or 2 minutes is standard. However, on transfer nodes the dwell time is 2 to 4 minutes and even longer if connections, coupling and decoupling and change in running direction are involved. On intermediate stops the dwell time often is not explicitly determined, but it is included in the running time between the previous and next transfer nodes. Due to the minute scaling inaccuracy arises in terms of utilisation of capacity and reliability. The scheduled dwell time is based on experience from the past. In spite of growth of passenger volumes these dwell times are not changed since a number of years. Even in a situation where a train arrives early at a station, a punctual departure from time to time is impossible because the process of alighting and boarding requires more time than planned. The vehicle and infrastructure characteristics must enable a quick change of passengers. However, the difference in height between platform and vehicle floor and the gap between platform and vehicle require especially for elderly people and passengers with luggage an extra effort delaying the process. The design of the vehicle door offers mostly limitations. Doors are often too narrow to allow two passengers to pass at the same time. Only the wide doors of the double-decker local trains with a guiding bar in the door opening form an exception: three passengers can alight or board simultaneously. However, opening and closing of those doors require more time. Passengers waiting on the platform are not informed about the stop location of the train and the location of the doors. They will concentrate around the platform accesses and distribute consequently insufficiently over the train length. When the train enters the station, passengers look for empty seats in the stopping train and walk along with the arriving train until standstill. Only in peak periods groups of more experienced passengers can be observed TRAIL Research School, December

10 waiting at more distant places on the platform knowing the exact location of the doors of the arriving train. The distribution over the platform is then more evenly. The process of alighting and boarding is somehow chaotic. The alighting from a filled train is difficult; the capacity of walking space is limited. Boarding passengers crowd around the doors, hurrying to board and get a seat. They hamper the alighting ones. Girnau and Blennemann [1970] give for trains with a floor height of 1.03 m at a platform height of 0.76 m in case of 20 alighting and boarding passengers a mean alighting time of 0.75 second per passenger and a mean boarding time of 0.81 second per passenger. Dirmeier [1978] found for two types of local train multiple units mean alighting and boarding times per passengers (see table 1). Table 1 Mean alighting and boarding times per door per passenger vehicle floor height 1.1 m platform height 0.96 m vehicle floor height 1.03 m platform height 0.76 m alighting time [s] boarding time [s] alighting time [s] boarding time [s] Source: [Dirmeier, 1978] Weidmann [1995] did a number of measurements of length of alighting and boarding times at public transport stops. These included double-decker trains, be it in laboratory conditions because in that stage only a mock-up of such a train was available. Weidmann developed from his analyses a model by which alighting and boarding times can be estimated depending on a number of parameters: the relation of the number of alighting and boarding passengers, the difference in height between platform and vehicle floor, the gap between platform and vehicle, the distance between the doors and the door width. Thus, Weidmann found for example an alighting and boarding time of 1.9 s per passenger in the following situation: 10 alighting and 10 boarding passengers, a difference in height of 14 cm, a gap between platform and vehicle of more than 20 cm, a distance between the doors of more than 10 m and a door width of 1.5 m. Heikoop [1996] did measurements on the Utrecht Nieuwegein light rail system and on the Rotterdam tram system. Heikoop concentrated on the effect of a difference in height between platform and vehicle floor on the dwell time. He found an average boarding time of 1.4 s per passenger for a boarding situation at grade and a door width of 1.30 m and of 1.6 s per passenger for a difference in height of 70 cm and a door width of 75 cm. 4 Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

11 3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS Basically, the research questions of this project are: What is the length of the dwell time and of the different components, also in the case of delays? What is the distribution of the passengers over the platform related to the location of the platform accesses? What is the typical length of the alighting and boarding times (per passenger) according to the vehicle/platform characteristics? What is the influence of the type of station, the type of train service, the vehicle characteristics, and the period of day in the Dutch situation? Because these questions can only be answered on the basis of measurements, a measurement project was carried out on a number of typical Dutch railway stations. The following classification for the variables was chosen: type of station, location of the platform accesses, type of train service, type of rolling stock, particularly the train door width, and the period of day. TRAIL Research School, December

12 6 Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

13 4 DATA COLLECTION Measurements were done on 7 railway stations. A selection was made of local train stations (Delft, Schiedam Centrum, Leiden Centraal, Rotterdam Lombardijen) and intercity stations (Eindhoven, Tilburg and Den Haag HS). In table 2 the locations and dates of the measurements and the number of observers are shown. Table 2 Locations and dates of measurements and numbers of observers station platform track running direction service type date of measurement in 2000 number of platform sector observers Delft 1 Den Haag local and express September 21 6 Schiedam 3 Rotterdam local and express October 5 11 Leiden 1 Utrecht local October Lombardijen 1 and 2 Rotterdam local and express October Eindhoven 6 Den Bosch/ Tilburg local, express, and intercity Tilburg 1 Den Bosch/ local, express, Eindhoven and intercity Den Haag 6 Amsterdam local, express, and intercity October October October The location of the platform accesses varies: head of the platform (Schiedam, Leiden for the Utrecht local trains, Eindhoven), middle of the platform (Delft and Tilburg) or on one third and two thirds of the platform length (Rotterdam Lombardijen and Den Haag HS). The train services are distinguished between local trains, express trains and intercity trains (in Den Haag also international trains). As to type of rolling stock, measurements are done both on carriages and on multiple units. The door width varies from a 1- and 1.5-passenger lane (up to about 1 m) to 3- passengers lane (1.90 m). Tables 3 and 4 give the numbers of observed trains per type of train and rolling stock. Table 3 Number of recorded trains per location per type of train service during 4 hours station intercity express local international total Delft Schiedam Leiden Lombardijen Eindhoven Tilburg Den Haag total TRAIL Research School, December

14 Table 4 Width of door passageway and number of recorded trains per type of rolling stock type door width [mm] total number of recorded trains Thalys 1 carriage 800, 900, intercity multiple unit 800, 900, double-decker intercity multiple unit local multiple unit double-decker local multiple unit total 130 Alighting and boarding times as well as the number of passengers were recorded. The time measurements were related to train and passenger movements. Stopwatches and digitizers were used as measuring devices. The digitizers were programmed for the recording of the time of events (in terms of door open, passenger movements train out of train in, and door closed ). One observer recorded the train movements. Each of a number of observers (varying from 5 to 20 according to the occurring train lengths) was allocated to a platform sector of about 20 m and a train door. They recorded the number of waiting passengers in their sector at the moment of arrival of the train and the moments of passenger movements of their train door. Measurements were done in morning peak hours (7.00 till 9.00 hours) and off-peak morning hours (10.00 to hours). Train intervals hardly varied between peak and off-peak; in peak hours some trains were longer. 8 Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

15 5 ANALYSIS OF DATA 5.1 Length of dwell time The length of the total dwell times is shown in table 5, dependant of type of station, type of service, and period of day. Table 5 Dwell time lengths station service type scheduled [s] measured [s] peak hours [s] off-peak hours [s] Tilburg intercity express local The Hague HS international 60/ intercity express Delft express local Schiedam express local Rotterdam Lombardijen express local Dwell times are only scheduled separately for intercity stations. The dwell times for the local train stations (in this project Delft, Schiedam, and Rotterdam Lombardijen) are included in the running time from the previous station. The measured dwell times of intercity trains vary from 90 seconds to more than 120 seconds. Express trains have dwell times varying from 45 to 120 seconds and local trains from 45 to 60 seconds. Generally, the dwell times are longer than scheduled. There is not much difference between dwell times in peak hours and in off-peak hours. Exceptions are The Hague HS, where intercity off-peak dwell times are shorter and international train off-peak dwell times are longer, and Schiedam with shorter off-peak hour dwell times for local trains and Lombardijen with longer off-peak hour dwell times for express trains. 5.2 Delays Because the scheduled arrival, departure and dwell times are expressed in minutes which is inaccurate in this context, delays in arrival and departure times and deviations in dwell times are calculated based on scheduled arrival/departure and dwell times at x min 0 s. Table 6 shows the thus calculated delays and deviations. TRAIL Research School, December

16 number of measured trains Table 6 Delays of the observed trains delays at arrival deviations in dwell time delays at departure mean [s] standard deviation [s] mean [s] standard deviation [s] mean [s] standard deviation [s] station Leiden Lombardijen Eindhoven Tilburg Den Haag total 87 type of service international IC express train local train total 87 period of day peak off-peak total 87 The mean values of the arrival delays are positive, which means that on the average trains arrive late. Moreover, with two exceptions all mean deviations in dwell time also have positive values. This results in even longer delays at the departure. The mean arrival delay varies from about 90 s to about 300 s. Only international trains (5 trains measured in The Hague) have longer delays. It is remarkable that on the average off-peak hour trains have longer delays (about 4 minutes) than peak hour trains (about 2 minutes). In general, scheduled dwell times are sufficiently long for local trains, but other service type trains need about 1 minute longer dwell times. 5.3 Composition of dwell time The total dwell time consists of a number of components: alighting and boarding time, unused time and dispatching time. The alighting and boarding time is composed of two parts: the first part is alighting and boarding in a cluster, the second part is individual alighting and boarding. Figure 1 shows the mean length of the dwell time components. The mean dispatching time and the unused dwell time both are rather constant independent of type of station, type of rolling stock or type of train service. The mean alighting and boarding time, whether in cluster or individual, both varies dependant on above-mentioned variables. 10 Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

17 m e a n v a lu e lo c a l tra in s ta tio n s in te rc ity s ta tio n s T ilb u rg a n d T h e H a g u e in te rc ity ro llin g s to c k (E in d h o v e n e x c lu d e d ) lo c a l m u ltip le u n its (L e id e n e x c lu d e d ) d o u b le -d e c k e d tra in s in te rc ity (T ilb u rg a n d T h e H a g u e ) lo c a l tra in s (E in d h o v e n a n d L e id e n e x c lu d e d ) p e a k (E in d h o v e n a n d L e id e n e x c lu d e d ) o ff-p e a k (E in d h o v e n a n d L e id e n e x c lu d e d ) tim e [s ] d is p a tc h in g n o n -c lu s te re d a lig h tin g /b o a rd in g u n u s e d c lu s te re d a lig h tin g /b o a rd in g Figure 1 Length and composition of dwell times The above mentioned lack of difference in dwell times between peak hours and off-peak hours is broken down in figure 1 in a longer mean clustered time in peak hours and a equally shorter mean non-clustered time. TRAIL Research School, December

18 scheduled departure time 7:18 7:59 8:36 9:06 10:29 10:59 11:36 11:59 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% time dispatching unused non-clustered alighting/boarding clustered alighting/boarding Figure 2 Composition of dwell times in The Hague HS station (7-9/10-12 h) Figure 2 gives the distribution of the dwell time components of the measured The Hague trains in percentages. The unused and dispatching times form together about 20% of total dwell time. The cluster times vary from 20 to 60% of the total dwell times. Both the total dwell time and the cluster time of intercities is about twice as long as the local train dwell and cluster times. In peak hours the cluster times are twice as long as in off-peak hours. 12 Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

19 5.4 Distribution of passengers over the platform Figure 3 illustrates the behaviour of passengers in The Hague HS station. The left ones of the pairs of columns show the distribution of the waiting passengers on the platform, with a clear concentration close to the stairs. The stairs number 1 are related to the main entrance of the station building. There the highest concentration (28% of all waiting passengers) is found. At the arrival of the train the passengers distribute more evenly over the platform, shown by the distribution of the passengers while boarding (right columns). Then the highest concentration is 17%. People walk along with the train when entering the platform track. 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% front stairs 1 stairs 2 tail platform sectors [length each 40 m] and location of stairs waiting on platform boarding Figure 3 Distribution of passengers over platform, waiting and boarding the train in The Hague (7-9/10-12 h) Figures 4 and 5 show the distribution of the passengers over the platform in Tilburg with stairs halfway the platform and Eindhoven with stairs near the front of the trains. TRAIL Research School, December

20 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% waiting on platform 0% front stairs stairs boarding platform sectors [length each 40 m] and location of stairs Figure 4 Distribution of passengers over platform in Tilburg (7-9/10-12 h) 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% front tail platform sectors [length each 40 m] and location of stairs waiting on platform boarding Figure 5 Distribution of passengers over platform in Eindhoven (7-9/10-12 h) Table 7 shows the percentages of the total numbers of waiting and boarding passengers on 150 m of the platform with the highest concentation of passengers. The figures show that stairs only at one location and moreover at the end of the platform create a higher concentration of passengers. Table 7 Concentration of waiting and boarding passengers on the busiest 150 m of the platform number and location of platform accesses waiting passengers [%] boarding passengers [%] The Hague HS 2 on 1/3 and 2/ Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

21 Tilburg 2 in the middle Eindhoven 1 at the front Typical length of alighting and boarding times During the dwell time two different processes of alighting and boarding were observed. Immediately after the arrival of the train all passengers in the train who want to alight and all waiting passengers on the platform who want to board, start immediately alighting and boarding. They are crowded at the doors. In fact, a cluster was observed of passengers changing their position outbound and inbound. In this project a passenger was assumed forming part of a cluster if the time interval in the alighting and boarding process between his predecessor and himself was 3 seconds at the maximum. After this cluster period a more individual alighting and especially boarding process was observed. The boarding passengers arrived later on the platform, the train already being there. Table 8 shows the total numbers of alighting and boarding passengers, the numbers of alighting and boarding passengers using the busiest door, the percentage of this number related to the total number of alighting and boarding passengers, the ditto numbers of the alighting and boarding passengers in cluster, the percentage of this number related to the total number of alighting and boarding passengers. The table is given for all observed stations, all observed stations except for Eindhoven (extra dwell times for securing connections with other trains) and Leiden (dwell times include terminal times of about 15 minutes), different types of rolling stock, different service types, different periods of the day. TRAIL Research School, December

22 Table 8 Mean numbers of measured alighting and boarding passengers per train in total and in cluster related to type of rolling stock, service type, and period of the day total alight + board busiest door total cluster cluster busiest door cluster/ total alight + board busiest/ busiest/ [pass] [pass] [pass] [pass] [%] total [%] total total % % 74 % total (Eindhoven and Leiden excluded) rolling stock type intercity (Eindhoven excluded) local train (Leiden excluded) % % 78 % % % 77 % % % 79 % double-decker % % 77 % service type intercity Tilburg + Den Haag HS % % 71 % local train(eindhoven and Leiden excluded) period of day peak hours (Eindhoven and Leiden excluded) off-peak (Eindhoven and Leiden excluded) % % 79 % % % 78 % % % 77 % In intercity trains about four times as much passengers were measured alighting and boarding as in local trains. In peak hours more than twice as much passengers were measured alighting and boarding as in off-peak hours. The busiest door was only used by 50% more passengers in peak hours compared to off-peak hours. More train doors were available and indeed used in peak hours. About one fourth of the measured passengers were alighting and boarding via the busiest door (total measured doors varying from 4 to 20), both in total and in clusters. About 70 to 80% of the total number of alighting and boarding passengers was registered in clusters. Table 9 shows the total alighting and boarding times, the alighting and boarding times in clusters, the ditto times related to the number of alighting and boarding passengers. This table contains the same arrangement of variables as table Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

23 Table 9 Alighting and boarding times in total and in cluster related to type of rolling stock, service type and period of the day t total [s] t alighting + boarding [s] t cluster [s] t cluster/ t alighting + boarding [%] t total/ pass. busiest door [s] t cluster/ pass. busiest door [s] total % total (Eindhoven and Leiden excluded) rolling stock type intercity (Eindhoven excluded) local train (Leiden excluded) % % % double-decker % service type intercity Tilburg + Den Haag HS % local train (Eindhoven and Leiden excluded) period of day peak hours (Eindhoven and Leiden excluded) off-peak (Eindhoven and Leiden excluded) % % % In peak hours the total cluster times are 50% longer than in off-peak hours, which corresponds with the difference in numbers of passengers (table 8). The cluster time takes about one third to half of the total alighting and boarding time. The alighting and boarding time per passenger in clusters is about 1 second and in non-clustered alighting and boarding more than 4 seconds. There is no difference between peak and off-peak hours as to alighting and boarding time per passenger in clusters. The results of this research correspond with the alighting and boarding times given by Dirmeier (see table 1). The time data of Girnau and Blennemann are considerably lower (about 0.8 second). It is not known what definition they used of the boarding and alighting time. Table 10 shows more specifically the relation between the alighting and boarding time per passenger in clusters related to the width of the passageway. TRAIL Research School, December

24 Table 10 Alighting and boarding times per passenger in cluster related to the type of rolling stock type of rolling stock width passageway alighting/boarding time per passenger in cluster [s] [mm] ICR/ICM 800, 900 and plan T/V DDIRM DDAR 1900* 0.88 * front door 1300 mm There seems to be a clear relation between the width of the passageway and the alighting and boarding time per passenger in cluster. Wider doors lead to 10% shorter times and narrower doors to 10% longer times. 18 Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

25 6 CONCLUSIONS The measured dwell times, especially for intercity trains, are longer than the scheduled ones. In the timetable they are mostly planned to be 60 seconds. In practice they vary from 90 to 120 seconds. On the average, trains arrive generally late at stations (intercity trains about 210 seconds). Added with the dwell times longer than planned, trains depart with even longer delays (intercity trains about 280 seconds). Dwell times in peak and off-peak hours are about equal. In peak hours the length of alighting and boarding time in clusters is longer due to the larger numbers of passengers, but this is compensated by the shorter remaining alighting and boarding time of individual passengers. The lengths of the unused time and the dispatching time are constant. There are clear concentrations of waiting and boarding passengers around platform accesses. Stairs at the end of the platform lead to higher concentrations than locations in the middle or on one third and two thirds of the platform. Further research is necessary to answer the question if a more equal distribution of boarding passengers over the train length would lead to substantially shorter dwell times. The mean alighting and boarding time per passenger in clusters is about 1 second. There is a clear difference in time length between types of rolling stock, i.e. dependent on the width of the passageway. Wide door doubledecker trains have 10% shorter time values and narrower door intercity rolling stock has 10% longer time values than this mean value. There is no difference in alighting and boarding times per passenger in clusters between peak and off-peak hours. TRAIL Research School, December

26 20 Alighting and boarding times of passengers at Dutch railway stations

27 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This publication is a result of the research program Seamless Multimodal Mobility, carried out within The Netherlands TRAIL Research School of Transport, Infrastructure and Logistics, and financed by the Delft University of Technology. REFERENCES Girnau, G., F. Blennemann, Verknüpfung von Nahverkehrssysteme, Düsseldorf 1970 Dirmeier, W., Die Bedeutung der Haltezeit im Stadtschnellbahnbetrieb, ETR (27) , pp Hennige, K., U. Weiger, Höhere Leistungsfähigkeit der S-Bahn durch kürzere Aufenthaltszeiten, Der Nahverkehr 9/94, pp Weidmann, U., Berechnung der Fahrgastwechselzeiten, Die Leistungsfähigkeit von Fahrzeugeinstiegen Einflüsse und Auswirkungen, Der Nahverkehr 1-2/95 Heikoop, H., Tramhaltes en reistijd, Reizigerswisseling, beschutting en kaartverkoop/controle, Afstudeerrapport RET/TU Delft, 1996 TRAIL Research School, December

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