Lengths of time passengers spend at railway termini: An analysis using smart card data

Abstract

In many developed countries, main railway termini in large cities are facing increasing numbers of passengers. Knowing the lengths of time passengers spend at termini would be a first step to manage congestion by passengers but such knowledge is currently limited. This study analysed London's smart card (Oyster card) data to investigate the lengths of time, especially the time additionally spent other than walking at their free walking speeds, of passengers transferring between suburban rail and London Underground services at Waterloo and Victoria. The study found that the additionally-spent times were on average around 7 minutes for country-bound passengers and around 2 minutes for inner city-bound passengers. The relationships between the additionally-spent time and the service frequency and the journey length were investigated but there was no clear evidence of correlation. This suggests that there are potentially many factors that determine the lengths of the time, and further research is necessary. The obtained results would nevertheless be useful for terminus planning and congestion management.