Designing Functional Carriage of High-Speed Medical Train – Systematic Analysis and Evaluation of Tasks, Functions and Flow Routes

Abstract

This paper proposes a functional carriage design and an evaluation index system to improve the operational efficiency of high-speed medical trains. Hierarchical task analysis and human-machine-environment analysis were applied to model the transfer task and the functional modules of the medical train. The functional module configuration was obtained by performing a correlation analysis between the task and function. The relationship between carriages was elucidated by analysing material, personnel and information flow, and an optimal grouping diagram was obtained. Based on this design method, an innovative 6-carriage grouping design scheme was proposed. A functional evaluation index system for the carriage design was constructed, and the 6-carriage design was compared with the conventional 8-carriage design to verify the usability of the design method. The results showed that the 6-carriage high-speed trains can be flexibly configured to suit the changing task environment and are generally better than the 8-carriage design. This study provides theoretical and methodological support for constructing efficient and rational functional carriages for high-speed medical trains.