Station Platform Research Articles

Analysis of Space Usage on Train Station Platforms Based on Trajectory Data

The functionality of railway platforms could be assessed by level of service concepts. They describe interactions between humans and the built environment and allow one to rate risks due to overcrowding. To improve existing concepts, a detailed analysis of how pedestrians use the space was performed, and new measurement and evaluation methods are introduced. Trajectories of passengers at platforms in Bern and Zurich Hardbrücke (Switzerland) were analysed. Boarding and alighting passengers show different behaviour, considering the travel paths, waiting times and mean speed. Density, speed and flow profiles were exploited and a new measure for the occupation of space is introduced. The analysis has shown that it is necessary to filter the data in order to reach a realistic assessment of the level of service. Three main factors should be considered: the time of day, the times when trains arrive and depart and the platform side. Therefore, density, speed and flow profiles were averaged over one minute and calculated depending on the train arrival. The methodology developed in this article is the basis for enhanced and more specific level of service concepts and offers the possibility to optimise planning of transportation infrastructures with regard to functionality and sustainability.

Design and Implementation of Ground Terminal for Aerial Radio Monitoring System Based on UAV

The electromagnetic environment is becoming increasingly complex, and frequent radio interference to civil aviation has seriously affected the safe operation of civil aviation systems. In this article, the team designed a ground terminal system for an aerial radio monitoring system based on UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), which was redeveloped based on the Mission-Planner open source ground station platform. The system used UAVs as flight platform, and used antennas, radio receivers and other hardware equipment for monitoring. The system could control UAVs and monitor radio signals. Tests such as frequency band scanning and two-point cross positioning show that the terminal system can implement the functions of controlling UAVs and radio monitoring, while effectively streamlining the number of workers and effectively improving the efficiency of detection.

A new framework for high-resolution pedestrian data processing using rule-based algorithms and real-time alarm systems

Pedestrian flows and densities have increased in recent years within transport-related public facilities such as train stations, as well as in private buildings such as shopping centers, event halls or convention centers. Increasing flows and high densities often raise comfort, safety, operational and delay issues; and therefore, require pedestrian flow optimization, intervention or even revised regulation. Recent technological advances enhanced pedestrian sensing; however, they disregard adaptive data capture, processing, and strategic communication within reasonable time, or real-time, such as tactic occupancy or density alarms trigger rules. Content of this research is twofold. First, new data capturing and processing advances of recent technological developments are combined in an integral software and hardware-based framework. Second, applied methods highlight projects and experiences on both pedestrian research and on existing and operating pedestrian facilities. Based on the described, two-sided approach, proposed framework is able to fulfil high safety and comfort standards of facilities such as train stations, retail facilities or event halls. In this research, past semi-automatic video analysis processing of pedestrian behavioral studies is replaced with combined sensor and data processing system within proposed framework. In train stations of major operators, real-time pedestrian observation increases safety levels on station platforms. Tactic algorithms and alarm trigger schemes enable on-time surveillance, e.g. at overcrowded floor levels in shopping centers for escalator or door closure. Sensor data is used to train models for underpass pedestrian flow regarding path choice and fundamental diagram. In retail, queue length, trajectory analysis and floor occupancy are determined for economic, comfort as well as safety evaluation. Using trajectory classification, movement and dwell time is analyzed for staff and visitors separately (see Figure 1).

Influence of Obstacles on the Use of the Danger Zone on Railway Platforms

Growing passenger numbers and the lack of space available led to research on pedestrians’ behaviour on railway platforms in Switzerland. By using stereo sensors, pedestrians’ tracks were collected on a platform in the train station of Bern. The analysis of pedestrians stepping into the danger zone showed clearly that obstacles have a large influence on the frequencies of pedestrians using the danger zone. By presenting four hypotheses the effect of obstacles on pedestrians’ use of the danger zone on train station platforms is investigated.

Estimation of left behind subway passengers through archived data and video image processing

Crowding is one of the most common problems for public transportation systems worldwide, and extreme crowding can lead to passengers being left behind when they are unable to board the first arriving bus or train. This paper combines existing data sources with an emerging technology for object detection to estimate the number of passengers that are left behind on subway platforms. The methodology proposed in this study has been developed and applied to the subway in Boston, Massachusetts. Trains are not currently equipped with automated passenger counters, and farecard data is only collected on entry to the system. An analysis of crowding from inferred origin–destination data was used to identify stations with high likelihood of passengers being left behind during peak hours. Results from North Station during afternoon peak hours are presented here. Image processing and object detection software was used to count the number of passengers that were left behind on station platforms from surveillance video feeds. Automatically counted passengers and train operations data were used to develop logistic regression models that were calibrated to manual counts of left behind passengers on a typical weekday with normal operating conditions. The models were validated against manual counts of left behind passengers on a separate day with normal operations. The results show that by fusing passenger counts from video with train operations data, the number of passengers left behind during a day’s rush period can be estimated within 10% of their actual number.

Full-scale experimental study on fire-induced smoke movement and control in an underground double-island subway station

The research carried out full-scale fire experiments for smoke movement and control in an underground double-island subway station. Four kinds of fire scenarios were designed in the station hall and platform respectively, and series of thermocouples were arranged in the public space. Several vital fire parameters were analyzed, including the vertical temperature distribution, the longitudinal temperature distribution, smoke layer height and smoke front arrival time. Besides, the effectiveness of exhaust system was evaluated for fire emergency. The results showed that the smoke flow characteristics under different fire scenarios exhibited diversely. Under natural ventilation, the maximum temperature excess near fire source was 18 ℃ and 21℃ in the station hall and platform fire scenarios separately, and the smoke temperature attenuated gradually with the longitudinal distance from fire. Besides, the smoke layer exceeded the height of 4.0 m and 2.8 m when fire in the station hall and platform. After activating the exhaust system in the B-end, it was obvious that the smoke layer height increased and the temperature excess decreased. Additionally, the smoke front arrival time was influenced by the fire source locations and ventilation conditions. In the above scenarios, the smoke diffusion velocity was empirically determined as 0.11–0.18 m/s and 0.21–0.35 m/s when a fire in the station hall and platform respectively. The conclusions from the on-site fire experiment could provide data support for the fire accident emergency in an underground double-island subway station.

How America was Tricked on Tax Policy: Secrets and Undisclosed Practices - Book Review.

In this well-argued and persuasive book Professor Bogenschneider dismantles much of the dogma of US tax policy. The crux of Bogenschneider’s argument is a discussion of 11 deceptions in tax policy ranging from (#1) the idea that tax cuts for the wealthy will cause economic growth, to (#7) the idea that workers don’t pay taxes because the income tax rates are progressive, to (#11) the idea that tax cuts for large corporations will cause a decrease in the prices of consumer goods. Notably, the other 8 deceptions not listed are of such significance and worthy of discussion on their own merits and to not mention of them here feels like leaving a suitcase or child behind on the platform in the train station. This intense feeling of the significance and novelty of Bogenschneider’s argumentation, and the ease with which it is presented, is an argument to read the book. Perhaps an important further point of introduction is that in the title Bogenschneider refers to the tricking of America, yet make no mistake, this is a book of international tax law and policy.

The role of particle resuspension within PM concentrations in underground subway systems

High particulate matter (PM) concentrations have been measured on subway networks worldwide, with serious implications for human health. Such concentrations are known to be mainly produced by wear and friction of the metal parts and can accumulate in subways over time, causing a sort of age effect. Surveys have also shown that particle resuspension, caused by train arrivals and departures, significantly increases particulate matter concentrations. The research aim was threefold: (1) to provide a literature review on particulate matter concentrations in urban subway systems; (2) to measure the influence/incidence of the resuspension of PM2.5 and PM10 caused by subway train transit; and (3) to investigate the presence of a subway age effect. A sampling campaign was carried out on the station platforms of the Naples (Italy) Subway Line. The results show that particle resuspension significantly influences PM concentrations, reaching daytime values up to + 1200% greater than those at nighttime. Furthermore, to investigate any age effect, the results were compared with those of a previous study performed in 2014, concluding that, in the absence of tunnel cleaning and/or washing and with a standard ventilation system on station platforms, no statistically significant difference was observed between PM concentrations over the two measurement periods. These results suggest that the particles generated by mechanical wear-and-tear and friction processes constitute a very slow phenomenon. A useful solution could be tunnel washing, thereby removing fine particles that would no longer be available for resuspension.

A thermal comfort field study on subway passengers during air-conditioning season in Beijing

With the massive increase of subway passengers in large Chinese cities, thermal comfort in the subway has become an important topic. The thermal comfort of subway passengers is different from that in above-ground buildings and has its own particularities, as the subway comprises of underground semi-closed buildings. Moreover, the thermal environment experienced by passengers is dynamic. Considering these reasons, this study adopts a dynamic thermal comfort study method for investigating thermal sensations in the subway. The field study was conducted in two Beijing subway stations in May 2016 and June–July 2017, and a total of 628 samples were obtained. Variations in thermal sensation and thermal comfort were analyzed. The results showed that the thermal sensations of subway passengers change dramatically through the entire process, and alternate between hot and cold. For the station hall and platform, although the temperature and the relative humidity were beyond the standard range of the "Code for Design of Metro in China" (GB50157- 2013), passengers find them acceptable. The study also provides reliable basic data for the design and operation management of ventilation and air-conditioning systems in the subway station, so as to create a comfortable thermal environment for subway passengers.

Simulation Research on Passengers Behavior Evacuation Based on Future Humanized High-speed Railway Station Streamline Design

With the rapid economic growth and the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, people’s travel times and travel range is greatly improved. How to improve the efficiency of high-speed railway passenger station, to meet the passengers’ demands, to protect the public safety, to improve the comfort and other issues, has caused widespread concern of scholars. Based on the concept of future humanized railway station, the integrated streamline structure design of high-speed railway passenger station has been carried on, and crowd evacuation software has been used to simulate the way of passengers getting on and off. The results show that the integrated streamline design proposed in this paper is superior to the traditional design in structure and function, and can improve the utilization rate of high-speed railway station platform. The simulation of the best way to get on and off the train can save about 51 % of the station time. Time of passengers waiting and getting off the train has been greatly reduced which can effectively avoid the platform congestion caused by passenger travel safety. The integrated streamline design proposed in this paper can provide some references for the design of humanized railway station in the future.

Green Water

51 MANUEL PAUL LÓPEZ Green Water  I. GREEN WATER Nestor once told me that the most unique heroes in life are the ones filled with fragrant water. Nestor said: And mijito, when they inevitably acquire their bullet holes, that greenish liquid that smells of hibiscus and revolution’s camouflage will exit their bodies and nourish the soil your punk ass walks on. What grows from your footsteps is the question. Mmmm, I droned. I couldn’t think of any other way to respond. Nestor didn’t expect me to either. He never expected me to. He was the talker, and I, the faithful listener, the documentarian, the archivist, the dutiful, leather-bound artifact that awaits discovery. Nestor stared at the floor and grinned, still speaking, if you could believe , without moving his lips. In time, for no reason I can explain, my hand raised toward the high desert sun, and it leaned softly into the palm of my hand. Like that, I thought of nothing but salt. And the wild taste of self-preservation. 52 II. THE LANDING Nestor landed in a volcanic crater in El Salvador when he fell headfirst from the sky. At once, birds mobilized and congregated in ceiba trees. They strategized and drew elaborate plans to rescue him with a raft made of discarded tires and burlap bags stolen from nearby coffee plantations. News of the event reached Langley, Virginia, where an irreverent votive was promptly lit and placed on a desktop before an intelligence agency of unrelenting believers cloaked by omniscient data points and bloodwrecked axe handles could surround a man issuing orders through a thick huff of cigar smoke. Instructed to categorize and subdue the conspiring birds, agents impersonated good-willed ornithologists after hastily fabricating advanced degrees and updating their vitaes, the stench of chlorophyll already emanating from their hair. In a single week, they planned for the elimination of all birds and the re-education of trees. 53 III. NESTOR’S DREAM Like a haze of lucíernagas falling, thousands dropping into a green ocean’s tight-lipped horizon Flickering, Nestor said, is how we ultimately go down Flickering And again flickering when we return again 54 IV. THE SKETCH Nestor sketched a clandestine aviary on his clipboard: remarkable architecture , thriving vegetation, and colorful dwellings for an immense chamber of winged inhabitants. Sighing, Nestor then planned for a spontaneous sublimation in the event of a probable siege. 55 V. THEY FOUND SOMETHING They found a crooked spoke that belonged to Nestor’s beloved bicycle in a landfill two miles out of town when a swarm of ants loosened the abduction’s mystery like a persistent wrecking ball. They found his umbrella at a rural southern bus station after a thousand bullets fell from the sky and quenched a death squad’s interminable lust for iron. They found his comb that smelled like ginger and grew antennas during lettuce season on a space station platform near the moon. They found his retainer on a cliff near a waterfall: remnants of quartz, and the ignorant DNA of a rabid breed of wealthy safari hunters. They discovered his wings in a storage unit on Hollywood Blvd. Eaglelike , patinaed appendages that shook themselves awake when LAPD swat kicked open the door and quickly surrounded them: “We’re Goya’s oeuvre, and we will not be apprehended today,” resisted the wings, before escaping through the gap in the fat captain’s teeth. ...

3D simulations of smoke exhaust system in two types of subway station platforms

In this study, smoke evacuation in two kinds of subway station platform models, namely: an island platform station and a two side platforms station is simulated in a three-dimensional configuration. FDS 6.1.1 (Fire Dynamic Simulator) software has been employed to perform numerical simulations. The results showed noticeable effects of platform architecture on the process of smoke evacuation and emission spreading. The location of the connecting stairs (station accesses) between floors in both types of subway stations, installing the walls around these stairs in island platform type, the presence or absence of fireproof and antismoke curtains in suitable areas in two side platforms type have significant impacts on the smoke spreading. At the end, after the comparison between smoke dispersion in these two types of subway's platform, different architecture corrections were suggested and evaluated. Overall, it is concluded that an island platform station is more challenging in smoke control point of view, because the openings at the ceiling of the platform (stairway path) provide a convenient space for smoke to escape to the upper floors. In summary station architecture and even the smallest architectural changes at a subway station can change the smoke dispersion in space.

駅ホーム上歩行中におけるスマートフォン使用時の視線特性

Nowadays, smartphones spread rapidly and we see a lot of persons’ “walking while on the phone”. According to this, accidents caused by “walking while on the phone” have been increasing. Especially, accidents that a pedestrian walking on the station platform falls into a railroad track occur because a pedestrian’s “walking while on the phone” bumps into him/her. Thus, it is needed to measure the pedestrian’s eye gazing data that walking while on the phone on the station platform and analyze it. In this paper, we show the result of an experiment about measuring a subject’s eye gazing characteristics walking while on the phone on the station platform and analysis. As a result, it is found that the gazing area gets to narrow and transit to the downward direction, and it is difficult to see and conceive the subjects’ around environment.

Station Platform as Urban Platform: A Case Study on Sholoshahar Railway Station, Chittagong, Bangladesh

Station Platform as Urban Platform: A Case Study on Sholoshahar Railway Station, Chittagong, Bangladesh

Influence of Metro Tunnel Excavation on Deformation of Existing Pedestrian Underpass in Changzhou Railway Station Platform

In order to predict the impact of Changzhou Metro Line 1 passing through the pedestrian underpass of Changzhou Station in Shanghai-Nanjing Intercity Railway, FLAC3D software is used to simulate the excavation of the left and right subway tunnel lines step by step. The influences of existing and non-exiting pedestrian underpass on subsurface settlement are compared, and the deformation and stress distribution of the pedestrian underpass are analyzed. Additionally, the numerical results are verified by filed monitoring. The calculation and monitoring results show that the existence of the pedestrian underpass causes a relatively obvious “barrier” effect, which makes the vertical displacement changes with increasing of depth, and consequently causes the uneven vertical displacement. The tunnel excavation mainly causes the inclination of the pedestrian underpass, the floor deformation of the escalator channel, and the deformation difference occurs at the interface between escalator channel and pedestrian underpass; the existence of tunnel has little influence on the stress change of the pedestrian underpass. However, in order to protect from the concentration of stress, it is necessary to focus on monitoring the place where has a large stress during construction, such as, the right interface between pedestrian underpass and escalator channel, and the right exit of escalator channel.

'Maisha yetu ya kila siku kama vile movie': Fantasy, desire and urban space in Tanzanian music videos

Abstract An explosion of creative practices in music, film and video production followed the liberalization of the Tanzanian media in the early 1990s. Concerned about cultural imperialism, Tanzania's first president Julius Nyerere had resisted allowing television in mainland Tanzania and consequently the first licence was only granted in 1994. Following the establishment of the first TV station there has been a proliferation of TV station and online platforms circulating the new genre of popular music videos. During the last decade, new media spaces, including continent-wide TV channels such as Channel O and MTV Africa (both based in South Africa), have created new circuits for the circulation of Tanzanian music videos. New media spaces enabled by liberalization have become sites for negotiating gendered, moral and sociopolitical value. They also serve as imaginative sites of desire and fantasy. Music videos set in the cinematic space of Dar es Salaam's new high-rise buildings and 'exclusive' clubs have become something of a trope in Tanzania. These videos display fantasies of enjoyment and consumption. In so doing, they reflect neo-liberal and individual modes of wealth accumulation which challenge accepted social norms about consumption and wealth. Examining these new contemporary cinematic representations of the city as spaces of fantasy and desire, this article will explore the modes of spectatorship audiences bring to these videos. It will examine how audiences, largely excluded from these exclusive city spaces of consumption and excess, read cityscapes in music videos. This article ultimately sets out the multiplicity, ambiguity and indeterminacy of the desires (both creative and destructive) evoked in audiences by contemporary music video.

Monitoring the Indoor Air Quality and Microclimate for Improving Passenger Health and Comfort Level in Bucharest Subway Platforms

This paper presents the results of the air quality by the content of CO2, CO, PM2.5, PM10 and the microclimate (temperature and relative humidity) monitoring campaign, in Bucharest underground transport network. The monitoring was performed using both manual and automatic data acquisition systems. All the acquired data were stored in a specific database system used for fast reporting and alarming. GIS software was used to precisely locate the exterior air intakes for selected stations in order to know the quality of the exterior air circulated through them and for finding the best position for new ones. The research was conducted on different station platforms, belonging to the same line, in the Bucharest subway system throughout a year (2015) in order to improve air quality and comfort level of subway stations. The obtained results will serve as basis for improving the air quality and comfort level in the new long subway lines designed and built now in Bucharest.

Monitoring the Indoor Air Quality and Microclimate for Improving Passenger Health and Comfort Level in Bucharest Subway Platforms

This paper presents the results of the air quality by the content of CO2, CO, PM2.5, PM10 and the microclimate (temperature and relative humidity) monitoring campaign, in Bucharest underground transport network. The monitoring was performed using both manual and automatic data acquisition systems. All the acquired data were stored in a specific database system used for fast reporting and alarming. GIS software was used to precisely locate the exterior air intakes for selected stations in order to know the quality of the exterior air circulated through them and for finding the best position for new ones. The research was conducted on different station platforms, belonging to the same line, in the Bucharest subway system throughout a year (2015) in order to improve air quality and comfort level of subway stations. The obtained results will serve as basis for improving the air quality and comfort level in the new long subway lines designed and built now in Bucharest. Keywords: indoor microclimate, air quality monitoring, data acquisition systems, temperature-humidity index, Geographic Information System

FORMATION OF THE PASSENGER ORIENTATION SYSTEM ON THE PLATFORM OF THE RAILWAY STATIONS OF UKRAINE

In The paper proposes integrated approach to the formation of a system of passenger orientation on the platforms of Ukrainian railway stations: sectorization; additional information of variable and constant type; development functions for the mobile app. For the theoretical substantiation of the proposed orientation system in the work using the simulation tool AnyLogic, simulations of different scenarios of boarding of passengers on trains platform Kharkov-Passenger. Additional features for the passenger mobile application have been developed. This will reduce the disorientation of passengers, improve the quality of service at the stations and increase the reliability of the train schedule at the passenger stations of Ukraine. The practical experience application of the above measure in the countries of Western Europe and the countries of Asia has proved his effective. Many scientific works are devoted to the study of building efficient passenger orientation systems at railway stations. These studies are based on research on the theory and practice of navigation (Wayfinding). In the tasks of research it is important to solve the problems of imperfection of information and information support of passengers at the railway stations of Ukraine; improve the quality of passenger service; improve and propose an effective system of functional-time-spatial organization of passenger flows; reduce the impact of inconvenience on passengers on platforms that put them in a stressful state and, as a consequence, reduce the level of danger on station platforms. The higher the level of service, the more passengers will use rail services, but it should be remembered that there should be a balance between increasing the level of service and the number of services and the cost of transporting passengers. Otherwise passenger traffic will not be profitable. Thus, the improvement of the system of orientation of passengers at the railway stations of Ukraine is urgent and requires a decision. Further investigation should investigate the application of the proposed passenger orientation systems to conventional long-distance passenger trains.

User’s knowledge and usage experience regarding safety equipment in the station platform and train

User’s knowledge and usage experience regarding safety equipment in the station platform and train