AMT Montréal: Passenger flow analysis
For the rolling stock replacement on the Montreal – Deux-Montagnes commuter line
Project details
Duration
11.2015-08.2016
Sponsor
external page AMT Agence métropolitaine de transport Montréal
Staff
Prof. Dr. U. Weidmann, E. Bosina and M. Meeder
Summary
In this study, the impact of passenger flow performance of multilevel cars on the schedule of a commuter rail line in the greater Montreal area was researched. A comparison of the passenger flows of single level and multilevel cars was performed, as well as an evaluation of the increase in boarding and disembarking times for each station and for the total line. The goal of the work was to find the influence on passenger flow as well as passenger comfort caused by the different train interior layouts and door widths. Furthermore, boarding and alighting times were calculated for both one- and two-level cars for each station on the entire line.
It was found that the oftentimes extraordinarily high occupancy of the trains has a considerable impact on the passenger flow within the train cars. In this respect, double-level cars have an advantage over single-level cars because of the increased passenger standing areas. However, since the single level cars in question have wider passenger doors they were expected to outperform at lower occupancy numbers the two-level cars in terms of boarding and disembarking times. To account for the effect of passenger densities on boarding and alighting times, the analytical model used for the calculations was extended. In a follow-up mandate, the findings of the study were implemented in a boarding time calculation tool, allowing for the calculation passenger boarding and alighting times for any number of passengers for several types of commuter train cars.