The spread of passengers on platforms and dwell times for commuter trains: A case study using automatic passenger count data

This study investigates how the spread of boarding passengers between the doors of a train affects the probability of dwell time delays for commuter trains. We make use of automatic passenger count data, collected on a door-by-door level, from commuter trains in the Southern region of Scania in Sweden. The aim of our study is to understand the context in which potential measures to spread out boarding passengers more evenly is most beneficial. Making use of logistic regression, we find that an uneven spread of passengers has a negative effect on dwell time delays when passenger volumes are high. When implementing measures to spread boarding passengers out more evenly between the available doors this will be most beneficial at stations with a large expected volume of boarding passengers. Doing so can help to reduce the probability of dwell time delays, and improve overall travel time punctuality and reliability.