Evacuation time at Jong-no 3ga subway station considering electric train delays and congestion

Abstract

Subway delays and congestion can cause evacuation times exceeding the safety limits given the accumulation of passengers on platforms and within trains. In this study, we conducted evacuation simulations to determine the increase in evacuation time and analyze associated risks caused by delay and congestion. Evacuation calculations used the Fermi estimate based on field survey and traffic data. The Pathfinder software was employed for evacuation simulation analysis, where the maximum acceptable evacuation time in the worst case was set to 6 min following engineering considerations of station characteristics and according to the domestic railway guide. We found that a single delay increased the evacuation time by 119%, whereas two delays reached a 133% increase. The evacuation time increased by 165% when considering the maximum congestion of electric trains at 192%. Therefore, measures to reduce subway delays and limit the number of people in electric trains at a given time should be adopted. Moreover, risks during subway station evacuation should be further analyzed to create plans considering structural and environmental characteristics.