Background:
The cost of running a metropolitan railway in part relates to
the number of people that can be accommodated on trains and
platforms and the time taken for boarding and alighting, which
affects headways. Optimising the number of passengers on
metropolitan railways contributes to the triple bottom line value
of Australian metropolitan rail services through the provision of
efficient services for customers, return on investment for
providers and increased usage of a form of transport with
relatively low carbon emissions.
Objective:
The
project will identify optimum service capacity from the
perspectives of consumers, tolerances of over and undercrowding and
factors which encourage and discourage tolerance of passenger
density on Australian metropolitan railways.
Project scope:
The research will focus on the following:
- Metropolitan Railways
- Carriage types and Platforms
- Rail users and non-rail users (the latter accessed
through online stated preference surveys)
- Peak, inter peak and special events
- Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne
- Spatial experience and tolerance
Benefits
The
project will lead to a better understanding of customer experiences
and tolerances of carriage and platform density.
Expected outcomes:
The
findings of the project will form a basis for recommendations
around metropolitan rail services to optimise the travel and
platform experience for customers and minimised the identified
discomforts. The project will also deliver an economic model that
schedules trains for optimum cost benefit and
efficiency.
Project timeframe:
24
Months
Project Chair:
Andy McNeil, RailCorp
Project Leader:
Dr Kirrilly Thompson, Research Fellow, University of South
Australia
Tel: (08) 830 22611
Email: Kirrilly.Thompson@unisa.edu.au
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