Search Results (62)

This paper reviews the variability of passenger service time (PST) at the platform–train interface (PTI), a critical performance indicator in metro systems shaped by the infrastructure design, affecting passenger behavior and accessibility. Despite its operational importance, PST remains underexplored in relation to crowd management strategies. This review synthesizes findings from empirical and experimental research to clarify the main factors influencing PST and their implications for platform-level interventions. Key contributors to PST variability include door width, gap dimensions, crowd density, and user characteristics such as mobility impairments. Design elements—such as platform edge doors, yellow safety lines, and vertical handrails—affect flow efficiency and spatial dynamics during boarding and alighting. Advanced tracking and simulation tools (e.g., PeTrack and YOLO-based systems) are identified as essential for evaluating pedestrian behavior and supporting Level of Service (LOS) analysis. To complement traditional LOS metrics, the paper introduces Level of Interaction (LOI) and a multidimensional LOS framework that captures spatial conflicts and user interaction zones. Control strategies such as platform signage, seating arrangements, and visual cues are also reviewed, with experimental evidence showing that targeted design interventions can reduce PST by up to 35%. The review highlights a persistent gap between academic knowledge and practical implementation. It calls for greater integration of empirical evidence into policy, infrastructure standards, and operational contracts. Ultimately, it advocates for human-centered, data-informed approaches to PTI planning that enhance efficiency, inclusivity, and resilience in high-demand transit environments. Full article

The agglomeration characteristics of innovation spaces reflect the intrinsic mechanisms of regional resource integration and collaborative innovation. Investigating the contributions of influencing factors to innovation space agglomeration and their spatial differentiation has significant implications for improving urban innovation quality. Taking the Nanjing central urban area as a case study, this research applied gradient boosting regression trees (GBRT) and multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) models to explore the contributions of influencing factors to innovation space agglomeration and its spatial differentiation. Findings demonstrated that (1) Innovation platforms and patents emerged as the most significant driving factors, collectively accounting for 54.8% of the relative contributions; (2) The contributions of influencing factors to innovation space agglomeration exhibited marked nonlinear characteristics, specifically categorized into five distinct patterns: Sustained Growth Pattern, Growth-Stabilization Pattern, Growth-Decline Pattern, Global Stabilization Pattern, and Global Decline Pattern. The inflection thresholds of marginal effects across factors ranged from approximately 12% to 55% (e.g., 40% for metro stations, 13% for integrated commercial hubs); (3) Each influence factor’s contribution mechanism showed pronounced spatial heterogeneity across different regions. Based on these discoveries, governments should optimize innovation resource allocation according to regional characteristics and enhance spatial quality to promote efficient resource integration and transformation. This research provides a novel perspective for understanding innovation space agglomeration mechanisms and offers actionable references for urban policymakers to implement context-specific innovation economic development strategies. Full article

Urban tourism has experienced significant growth driven by platforms such as Airbnb, yet the relationship between short-term rental (STR) location and guest mobility remains underexplored. In this study, a structured survey of STR guests in Madrid during 2024 was administered face-to-face through property managers and luggage-storage services to examine factors influencing public transport (PT) use. Responses on bus and metro usage were combined into a three-level ordinal variable and modeled using ordered logistic regression against tourist demographics, trip characteristics, and accommodation attributes, including geocoded location zones. The results indicate that first-time and international visitors are less likely to use PT at high levels, while tourists visiting more points of interest and those who rated PT importance highly when choosing accommodation are significantly more frequent users. Accommodation in the central almond or periphery correlates positively with higher PT use compared to the city center. Distances to transit stops were not significant predictors, reflecting overall network accessibility. These findings suggest that enhancing PT connectivity in peripheral areas could support the spatial dispersion of tourism benefits and improve sustainable mobility for STR guests. Full article

Underground metro stations are integral to urban transit infrastructure, and ensuring their safety during fire emergencies is crucial. This study proposes a novel evacuation strategy for underground metro stations wherein a segment of evacuees descends to the platform level via train, while the remaining individuals evacuate upward to the ground level through station exits. A novel safety assessment methodology is established to evaluate fire evacuation efficacy, incorporating the cumulative effects of smoke, elevated temperatures, carbon dioxide, and reduced oxygen levels. Employing an actual underground metro station in Guangzhou, China, as a case study, fire and evacuation models were developed to compare the traditional upward evacuation method with the proposed partial downward evacuation strategy. The analysis reveals that both evacuation strategies are effective under the assessed fire scenario. However, the partial downward evacuation is completed more swiftly—in 385.5 s compared to 494.8 s for upward evacuation—thereby mitigating smoke inhalation risks, as the smoke height remains above the critical threshold of 1.8 m for a longer duration than observed in the upward evacuation scenario. Simulations further indicate that neither high temperatures nor carbon monoxide concentrations reach hazardous levels in either evacuation mode, ensuring evacuee safety. The study concludes that, with appropriate training arrangements and under specific fire and evacuation conditions, the partial downward evacuation strategy is safer and more efficient than upward evacuation. Full article

As urbanization has accelerated, rail transit has evolved from being a mere means of transportation to a public area that houses the city’s cultural memory and serves as a crucial portal for the public to understand the culture of the city. As an urban public space with huge passenger flow, the metro (or subway) cultural space has also become a public cultural space, serving communal welfare and representing the image of the city. It is currently attracting more and more attention from the academic community. Wuhan, located in central China, has many subway lines and its engineering construction has set several national firsts, which is a typical sample of urban subway development in China. In this study, we use Python 3.13.0 crawler technology to capture the public’s comments on cultural space of Wuhan metro in social media and adopt SnowNLP sentiment score and LDA thematic clustering analysis to explore the overall quality, distinct characteristics, and deficiencies of Wuhan metro cultural space construction, and propose targeted design optimization strategies based on this study. The main findings are as follows: (1) The metro cultural space is an important window for the public to perceive the city culture, and the public in general shows positive perception of emotions: among the 16,316 data samples, 47.7% are positive comments, 17.8% are neutral comments, and 34.5% are negative comments. (2) Based on the frequency of content in the sample data for metro station exit and entrance space, metro train space, metro concourse and platform space, they are ranked as weak cultural spaces (18%), medium cultural spaces (33%), and strong cultural spaces (49%) in terms of the public’s perception of urban culture. (3) At present, there are certain deficiencies in Wuhan metro cultural space: the circulation paths in concourses and platforms are overly dominant, leaving little space for rest or interaction; the cultural symbols of metro train space are fragmented; the way of articulation between cultural and functional space in the metro station exit and entrance space is weak, and the space is single in form. (4) Wuhan metro cultural space needs to be based on locality landscape expression, functional zoning reorganization, innovative scene creation to optimize the visual symbol system and behavioral symbol system in the space, to establish a good image of the space, and to strengthen the public’s cultural identity and emotional resonance. Full article

Intelligent operation and maintenance of urban rail transit systems is essential for improving train safety and efficiency. This study focuses on reducing time, physical effort, and safety risks in deploying intelligent metro inspection robots. This study introduces a design approach for an undercarriage robot simulation system and an offline teaching method. Gazebo and Isaac Sim are combined in this study. Gazebo is used for lightweight simulation in model development and algorithm testing. Isaac Sim is used for high-fidelity rendering and robust simulation in complex large-scale scenarios. This combined approach addresses critical aspects of system development. The research proposes environment data collection and processing methods for metro inspection scenarios. It also provides solutions for hole problems in point cloud mesh models and approaches for robot modeling and sensor configuration. Additionally, it involves developing a target vector labeling platform. Using these elements, an offline teaching system for undercarriage inspection robots has been designed with simulation tools. Offline teaching is unrestricted by on-site space and time. It reduces physical demands and boosts robot teaching efficiency. Experimental results indicate that it takes about 30 s to program a single manipulator motion offline. In contrast, manual on-site teaching takes about 5 min. This represents a significant efficiency improvement. While offline teaching results have some errors, high success rates can still be achieved through error correction. Despite challenges in modeling accuracy and sensor data precision, the simulation system and offline teaching approach decrease metro vehicle operation risks and enhance robot deployment efficiency. They offer a novel solution for intelligent rail transit operation and maintenance. Future research will focus on high-quality environmental point cloud data collection and processing, high-precision model development, and enhancing and expanding simulation system functionality. Full article

Due to the unbalanced temporal and spatial distribution of the passenger flow on metro lines during peak hours, the implementation of passenger flow control strategies effectively ensures operational safety and travel efficiency for passengers. In this study, we analyze the coupling relationship between trains and passengers, introduce train-stopping state variables, and synergistically optimize both train operation schedules and station passenger flow control. Aiming to minimize the total passenger delay time and maximize the number of boarding passengers, we consider four constraints: the train operation process, the passenger entry process, the passenger–train interaction process, and system constraints. This framework enables us to construct a cooperative passenger flow control optimization model for oversaturated metro lines. Subsequently, we propose an improved artificial bee colony algorithm to solve this model. We utilize evolutionary operators and an enhanced tabu search to create new food sources for employed bees and enhance their local search capabilities during the employed phase. Finally, Shanghai Metro Line 9 is used as a case study for the model validation. The computational results indicate that the proposed Collaborative passenger flow control strategy significantly reduces the number of stranded passengers on platforms and decreases the total passenger delay time by 36.26% compared to the existing passenger flow control strategy. The findings demonstrate that the cooperative control strategy proposed in this paper can effectively alleviate the pressure from passenger flow on oversaturated lines, balance the asymmetry between supply and demand, and markedly improve both safety and efficiency in the metro system during peak hours. Full article

With the intensification of global climate change, the underground rail transit system of Guangzhou, as a major coastal city, faces severe flood risks. Through field investigations of 313 metro stations, this study identified 472 flood-related risk points, primarily involving water backflow at low-lying stations, insufficient elevation of structural components, and the threat of overbank flooding from adjacent rivers. By integrating GIS-based spatial analysis with the SCS-CN runoff model, an extreme rainfall scenario (534.98 mm) was simulated, revealing a maximum runoff depth of 484.23 mm. Based on these results, it is recommended to raise the flood protection design elevation to 582 mm and install additional waterproof barriers. Optimization strategies include establishing flood protection standards for new stations based on site topography and runoff volume, elevating station platforms or adding waterproof structures at existing stations, and upgrading drainage systems with real-time monitoring and early-warning mechanisms. This study emphasizes the necessity for Guangzhou’s metro system to integrate climate-adaptive urban planning and technological innovation to enhance flood resilience and promote sustainable urban development. Full article

This study explores the passengers’ accessibility dilemma in Valparaíso, Chile, through field observations and laboratory experiments. The aim is to investigate the accessibility in metro stations based on the users’ emotional experience. Perceptions were reported through the emotions of passengers according to a circumplex psychological model and an accessibility ranking. Passengers reported their emotions (e.g., stress, sadness, relaxation, and happiness) during different trip moments. Results indicate that rearranging train seats parallel to movement creates a more spacious aisle, enhancing mobility and evoking positive emotions such as happiness. However, an unexpected rise in sadness suggests that social dynamics may influence emotional responses, warranting further investigation. Overcrowding increases stress and sadness, emphasizing the need for capacity management to improve passengers’ emotional experiences. Field observations reveal that early journey stages, such as walking to the station or waiting on the platform, are associated with unpleasant experiences due to poor infrastructure and accessibility barriers. In contrast, train rides foster more positive emotions, credited to better accessibility onboard. Passenger dissatisfaction arises from issues such as elevator malfunctions, inconsistent train schedules, and inadequate station accessibility. This study could help to understand passenger behavior when the accessibility conditions of metro stations and their surroundings are changed. Further studies will expand the concept of emotions by considering social and psychological factors and explore different types of stations and their surroundings considering a larger sample size in laboratory experiments and field studies. Full article

The efficiency of a metro station is determined by the transfer capacity it has on the platform. This is the critical area and the primary motivation for this research. This study analyzed the impact of platform typology on the efficiency and capacity of metro stations. Through the study, the simulation of different typologies, the design logic of the station was analyzed from the ground up, examining each of its components from both a physical and operational perspective. To evaluate the efficiency and capacity of a platform configuration, Fruin’s level of service or LOS is used to compare the efficiency across different platform typologies, allowing for the quantification of constraints within the platform configuration. The platform configuration, access points, and connectors impact the station’s transfer capacity. This configuration must align with the environmental conditions and the station’s role within the system as a whole. The mixed-platform station configuration is twice as efficient as a central platform station and slightly more efficient than a side-platform station, with variations depending on station usage, environment, and position within the network. Under symmetric flow conditions, the side platform is more efficient, reaching a LOS D (density between 1.54 and 3.57 passengers/m²). Under asymmetric flow conditions, the central platform is more efficient, reaching a LOS D. However, under both symmetric and asymmetric flow conditions, the mixed platform is more efficient than the two previous configurations, and this design is proposed as the most suitable for transfer station designs, reaching a LOS D. A modular station design is proposed, where a mixed station is built with the capacity to expand based on increased passenger demand. This means constructing a central-platform station initially, and when the capacity is reached (LOS = E or density of 5.26 passengers/m²), the second phase is built, adding lateral platforms, thus converting it into a mixed station and doubling its capacity. Full article

With the accelerated development of subways in China, elevated subway stations (ESSs) capitalize on natural ventilation and lighting to significantly save energy. Nevertheless, their thermal environments are rarely addressed. This study conducts annual thermal environment measurements, surveys, and thermal comfort analysis on five typical ESS buildings. The results of field measurements demonstrate that the station’s thermal environment is influenced by architectural space forms such as skylight ratio, platform doors, openness, and platform form. The standard effective temperature—predicted thermal sensation (SET*—PTS) equation was developed based on the survey, indicating that passengers’ thermal adaptability surpasses the PTS. In summer, the neutral temperatures for passengers in open and enclosed stations are 28.74 SET* °C and 27.13 SET* °C, correspondingly. In winter, they are 23.43 SET* °C and 21.98 SET* °C. Physiological changes that passengers experience during the transition from entering the metro station to arriving at the platform were measured and quantified, which confirmed differences in thermal adaptation during the shift between hot and cold environments, emphasizing thermal delay and accumulation effects. This study provides important guidance for the construction, renovation, and operation of ESS buildings and the development of related standards. Full article

With the rapid advancement of urbanisation and transit networks, exploring the spatial relationship between metro systems and cultural heritage is crucial for both heritage preservation and sustainable urban development. This study uses the nearest neighbour index, kernel density analysis, and spatial value evaluation to examine the distribution patterns of cultural heritage in Beijing and its spatial interaction with the metro network. The results show that different types of cultural heritage have distinct distribution characteristics: stone inscriptions are widely dispersed due to their need for preservation in natural settings; traditional villages and ancient tombs are shaped by historical and geographical factors; and industrial heritage is concentrated in areas of historical industrial activity, reflecting strong functional zoning traits. The metro network enhances the accessibility of cultural heritage, especially national- and provincial-level sites, which are predominantly clustered near metro stations. However, geographically isolated world heritage sites, such as the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, remain less connected to the metro network, helping preserve their authenticity and avoid overdevelopment. Furthermore, thematic designs and cultural displays within Beijing’s metro stations successfully bridge the gap between history and modernity, positioning metro stations as key platforms for cultural dissemination. Nevertheless, metro construction presents challenges to heritage conservation, including potential impacts on site stability due to tunnelling and conflicts between modern station design and the aesthetic integrity of historic districts. These findings offer practical insights for cultural heritage preservation and transit planning in Beijing and serve as a reference for the sustainable development of other historic cities worldwide. Full article

The spread of panic can swiftly trigger group behaviors, leading to public security incidents and significant social hazards. Increasing attention is being paid to the impact of human psychology and behavior on the evolution and management of emergencies. Drawing on the Weber–Fechner Law, we proposed an emotional contagion model to explore the dynamics of crowd panic during metro emergencies, focusing on the interplay of emotional levels and stimuli. Key influencing factors such as crowd density, personality traits, official interventions, and evacuation rates are analyzed. Additionally, a case study is conducted to validate the model’s effectiveness in quantifying emotions and characterizing the emotional contagion of crowd panic. Numerical results reveal that the initial intensity of panic stimuli significantly impacts peak panic levels, while contagion duration plays a minor role. Panic intensifies with increased crowd density, with sensitive individuals being more susceptible to extreme emotions, escalating negative contagion. Official intervention proves crucial in mitigating panic, though its effect is transient in enclosed environments. Evacuation rate minimally affects emotional contagion during the train’s motion but becomes pivotal post-arrival. Highly panicked passengers evacuate quickly, necessitating timely interventions to prevent secondary panic on platforms. This highlights the importance of immediate, effective control measures to manage panic dynamics and ensure public safety. Full article

Metro stations are essential for daily commuting, but overcrowding due to increased demand can severely impact infrastructure quality and passenger experience. The Level of Service (LOS), a key indicator of congestion, is influenced by factors such as density, flow, and speed, and poor LOS leads to issues like longer boarding times, overcrowded platforms, and reduced accessibility, especially for vulnerable populations. To address these challenges, the study explores innovative solutions to improve platform design infrastructure for better accessibility and LOS, aligning sustainable development goals to create safer, more inclusive transport systems. This study presents two strategies designed to reduce passenger congestion at Francia station on the Valparaíso metro platform infrastructures. The strategies, tested in experimental scenarios, showed minimal differences in boarding and alighting times, with less than a one-second average variation between the two. However, survey results revealed that passengers preferred the strategy “let passengers alight before boarding the train”, as it provided greater comfort and accessibility, reducing the number of passengers per door and improving the LOS from level C to B. Despite the minimal intervention in the experiments, the results suggest potential operational improvements. Future research will focus on measuring passengers’ emotional responses using psychophysiological data to further evaluate the suitability of the proposed strategies. Full article

This study analyses the potential carrying of bicycles inside a train carriage. To this end, an experimental methodology based on observation and experimentation is implemented. The survey is conducted on the metro system in Valparaíso, Chile, highlighting the importance of intermodality between bicycles and trains. It identifies that the current capacity of the carriages is not adequate to ensure safety and efficiency during boarding and alighting. As a result of the survey, a solution is tested to reduce the number of seats in the carriage and create a designated special waiting area for cyclists. This test is conducted experimentally in a laboratory, using a full-scale model of a metro carriage and its corresponding platform. The experiments show that the designated special waiting area for bicycles reduces boarding time and results in a better distribution of passengers inside the carriage, offering a solution that improves both safety and efficiency. This study could contribute to the development of incentive policies for intermodality, which is a key aspect in achieving sustainability in railway transportation systems. Future research will aim to expand this study by including other carriage configurations and a wider variation of demand levels. Full article