Definition of an On-Board Comfort Index (Rail) for the Railway Transport

Abstract

The use of collective transport is strongly influenced by the quality of offered service. One of the overriding factors that affect the modal shift process is the quality of transport systems. To increase the attractiveness of collective transport services and therefore reduce the use of cars, authorities in collaboration with transport companies should take steps to ensure a high level of service quality in the public transport system. The provided quality is the level of quality achieved on daily basis and measured by the customer/user point of view. This research aims to relate service quality perceived by the user to measurements of two environmental indicators, that is, vibration, in reference to which the acceleration transmitted to the body by the vehicle motion and by its vibration will be measured, and noise, in reference to which the Equivalent Sound Pressure Level-Leq ( )-will be measured. Finally, a Comfort Index (CI) (rail) is specified, calibrated, and validated.

Defining and quantifying railway service to plan infrastructure interventions

“…Although for this example a deterioration in the state of the infrastructure was consideredthat is, switch failurea positive change in the state of the infrastructure could also have an impact on service provided that should be quantifiedfor example, in the case of maintenance leading to the improvement of the ride comfort. If 1000 passengers are willing to pay €1 each to travel 1 km more comfortablythat is, less vibration in reference to the acceleration transmitted to the body by the vehicle (Barone et al, 2017) than the current state of the infrastructure provides, then there is an impact equal to €1000 related to the current state of the infrastructure. If the comfort level improves due to an improvement in the state of the infrastructure after the execution of an intervention and the passengers are willing to pay less than before to improve further the level of comfortfor example, €0•2 per passenger per 1 km of travelthen the impact related to the service after the execution of the intervention will be €200.…”

Waterproof, Anti‐Impacted, and Ultrathin Carbon‐Based Air Pressure Sensors Toward Aerodynamic Tests on High‐Speed Trains

“…[ 1,2 ] The aerodynamic problems of high‐speed trains include air drag, transverse force of air, air pressure pulse caused by the meeting of two trains, tunnel pressure wave, etc., which greatly affect the running safety of trains and ride comfort of passengers. [ 3,4 ] To guarantee the safe operation of trains, aerodynamic tests and analyses have got to be strengthened. [ 5,6 ] Therefore, air pressure sensors, which are the leading tool for aerodynamic tests, are expected to have the combined features of ultrathin, high sensitivity in the target linear range, environmental stability, and mechanical robustness to ensure accurately monitor the aerodynamic in real time as the train runs at high speed in complex and harsh environments.…”

Design and Simulation of a Railway Vehicle for the Transport of People with Reduced Mobility

“…Another important component for the achievement of the vehicle comfort level is the seat [13,14]. This one is 2 Shock and Vibration not usually directly modeled in the MB environment but its effect is accounted by filtering the floor acceleration by means of the weighting functions provided by regulations or standards [15].…”