Focussing on passengers, stations & trains - demand-driven operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

摘要

Global developments, such as those currently seen within the context of the pandemic, are triggering long-term changes in our everyday lives. This has also impacted the way people are using urban rail transportation, i.e. underground railway systems. So, what does this mean in concrete terms? Analysis has shown that the average number of passengers has dropped to less than half in some places during the COVID-19 pandemic, all in just a few weeks. It is now essential to adapt underground railway systems and their operating processes to this novel situation. At the same time, the transformation must also strike a viable balance between optimising operating costs, ensuring the operabil-ity of any adapted timetables and fulfilling passenger expectations. Moreover, dynamic regulation methods for underground railway operations will remain a central topic even after the pandemic due, amongst other things, to ongoing urbanisation and the resulting growth in passenger numbers and ever-increasing efficiency expectations. Overcrowding on trains and in stations does not only affect station safety, train network punctuality and the overall passenger experience, but it also has a significant impact on the work undertaken by rail operators. Some rail operators have to pay a late fee in the case of train delays. Others have to be careful not to exceed a specified threshold for the acceptable average waiting time at the station. Still others are struggling with the poor reputation of their services due to the overcrowding of stations and trains, which compromises passenger comfort. This article looks into the processes that have been used in timetable creation to date and addresses the challenges of station capacity utilisation. It then shows how already available innovative technologies can provide an alternative method for truly demand-driven timetable generation based on the automated recording of passenger flows.