Estimation of Free Speed of Pedestrian Flow on Stairways at Busy Suburb Rail Transit Station in India

Abstract

Free speed, the key parameter in the modelling of pedestrian flow, is the speed that a pedestrian desires to walk at. In this study free speed of pedestrians considering characteristics such as age, gender, and with or without luggage in ascending and descending stairways located on platforms in suburban and intercity railway stations was examined. Due to difficulty in observing free speed directly, an approach for developing distributions of speeds at varying levels of pedestrian density is proposed to estimate free speed precisely. The outcome of this study may be useful for planning, design and operation of the pedestrian facility.Keywords: Free speed, pedestrian flow, rail transit station, stairway.WALKING speed is an important factor in pedestrian studies, which helps in determining the comfort level for the given facility. Many researchers agree that pedestrian speed differs among pedestrians [1][2][3] . This is because of the characteristics of pedestrians, the direction of movement, and characteristics of pedestrian facility (type and physical characteristics such as length, width, height, slope, number of steps in a single flight and dimension of steps in case of a stairway), weather and other external conditions. However, these factors do not influence in the case of high dense flow, where pedestrians are walking closely. Free speed is a speed at which pedestrians walk when not hindered by other pedestrians or by external factors 3 . Hence, free speed is an important criterion to understand individual behaviour. However, it is difficult to measure free speed of a pedestrian from the data since an enumerator does not identify whether a pedestrian walks at his/her free speed. Free speed and its distributions are an important input for many traffic flow models, such as developing a speed-flow plot.Free speeds are also an important aspect from the viewpoint of design of walking facilities and the corresponding schedule of public transport services, which affect directly the overall efficiency of the system. Many researchers have studied the performance of pedestrian walking speed at different facilities. However, very few studies have been undertaken at transit stations, where pedestrian flow dynamics depend largely on the schedule of the train. This becomes imperative particularly during peak periods as there can be a large number of passengers in a short time interval. Generally, it is expected that arrival of trains is likely to make the gathering and dispersion of pedestrians efficient. It also facilitates easy transfer of pedestrians on other platforms, for catching the next train, through good transfer facilities. As discussed, many factors make a significant contribution to deciding free-flow movements of a pedestrian. These factors include age, gender, the baggage carried by a pedestrian and the walkability of a facility 4 , the gradient or roughness of surface 5 , time of day 6 and type of walking facility 2 . The most important factor governing pedestrian movement on a public transport facility i...

Analysis and Modeling of the User-Perceived Level of Service for Foot Over Bridge Stairways Inside Intercity Railway Stations

“…LOS standards for pedestrian facilities are mostly defined for sidewalks, walkways, crosswalks, mid-blocks, and intersections. Few studies derived LOS for stairways and walkways in metro/suburban terminals where most of them are commuters and dominated by a certain age group [3]. Limited studies on pedestrian level changing facilities, in particular stairways, LOS in intercity railway terminals is observed mainly in India.…”