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Making Trains Run on Time (economist.com)
Plamen Angelov of the University of Lancaster, in Britain, has an idea that he hopes will make train delays rarer. From a report: Often, Dr Angelov observes, the problem is not the inefficiency of operators but the behaviour of passengers -- the "platform-train interface", to use railway parlance. When trains arrive, passengers crowd around the doors waiting to board, restricting the flow of those getting off. When they are about to depart, people often hold doors open, delaying that departure. (A recent study by Japan's Railway Bureau found that passengers attempting to board trains after their scheduled departure times accounted for almost 50% of delays.) Passengers also frequently stand too close to the carriages for safety. Waiting for malefactors to move back behind the yellow safety line on a platform might hold a train up for less than a minute. But over the course of a journey those minutes add up. Even a slight delay is compounded if it causes a train to slip out of its running order and be held at a subsequent station, or be required to follow a slower service.
Dr Angelov thinks that applying artificial intelligence to the problem might help. And that is what he and his team are doing. Using images from the cctv cameras already mounted in carriages and on platforms, their system employs algorithms that have been trained to detect objects such as people, luggage, pushchairs and bicycles. It then measures the movements and positions of these objects relative to areas such as the train doors or the yellow safety line and uses this information to predict problems. The cameras in the carriages detect how busy particular doors are getting as passengers leave their seats and gather next to the exits when the train approaches a station. At the same time, the station cameras monitor the numbers waiting for the train to arrive, whereabouts they are standing along the platform, and how encumbered they are. The two sets of data can then be compared, providing warning of likely areas of congestion. This permits passengers -- particularly those on the platform -- to be directed to doors that will be less busy.
Dr Angelov thinks that applying artificial intelligence to the problem might help. And that is what he and his team are doing. Using images from the cctv cameras already mounted in carriages and on platforms, their system employs algorithms that have been trained to detect objects such as people, luggage, pushchairs and bicycles. It then measures the movements and positions of these objects relative to areas such as the train doors or the yellow safety line and uses this information to predict problems. The cameras in the carriages detect how busy particular doors are getting as passengers leave their seats and gather next to the exits when the train approaches a station. At the same time, the station cameras monitor the numbers waiting for the train to arrive, whereabouts they are standing along the platform, and how encumbered they are. The two sets of data can then be compared, providing warning of likely areas of congestion. This permits passengers -- particularly those on the platform -- to be directed to doors that will be less busy.
Make the boarding passengers stand behind gates which only open after the arriving passengers have left the train.
so that the internally crowded doors open on the sparsely populated part of the platform. Then you don't have to direct the platform passengers so much.
Better yet, design train stations with "Entrance and Exit Only" platforms/sides and delay the enter door opening until people are moving out the exit door. In one side, out the other.... You end up with larger train stations, but you would decrease exiting and loading times.
People suck, and that's why we can't have nice things.
I remember the doors on the peoplemover at Atlanta Airport in the early 80s. From what I recall, they wouldn't crush you or allow the train to depart unless the doors were completely closed... but they weren't particularly GENTLE about closing, or proactive about re-opening if you DID get caught in them. The synthesized voice would sternly shout, "Stop boarding!" three times and slam the doors shut. If you got caught in them, a flashing light would go off, you'd be loudly scolded by the same robotic voice in front of the entire train (and possibly an employee) while you were still stuck in the door, THEN the doors would momentarily slide open again (leaving you with a bruise to motivate you to move more quickly next time). I'm sure they've toned down the aggressiveness quite a bit since then, but it definitely worked... you could see the literal FEAR in people's eyes if they were anywhere NEAR the doors when the "Stop boarding!" began.
How to make trains work like in West Germany, Japan and Switzerland.
1. Invest in nice new trains.
2. Hire the best staff on merit.
3. Look after the stations and trains. Keep the trains and stations clean. Passport controls and police to keep criminals away.
4. Look after the track. Upgrade the tracks with new technology every generation.
5. Have a national culture thats likes trains for work and holidays.
6. Understand what tourism needs. Work to ensure the best parts of a nation can be enjoyed by train. Tell the world about such train travel.
7. Understand what workers need everyday.
No AI needed. Just a good way of funding rail and the best staff.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
My understanding, from friends that have been to Japan, and watching japanophile shows like Japanology+, was that the trains in Japan were almost disgustingly punctual. Is that not the case?
My friends may have been amazed due to comparison to U.S rail systems.
This is a design problem and the result of inferior design.
The best (and most expensive) way to solve this problem is to design the stations so that passengers enter on one side of the train and leave on the other. This is the way rides are designed at amusement parks to facilitate the movement of crowds.
Barring that, a system which direct passengers to debark at certain doors (such as at the front) and enter at other doors (At the back) will also work. This has been used on buses, where passengers exit at the back and enter at the front (where they pay.)
The use of AI in this case may indeed result in fewer accidents resulting from moving trains hitting passengers in exclusion zones, but it will do nothing for keeping trains on time.
Most of those have little to do with why the railways in Japan are so efficient.
The real reasons are things like the way they train staff to stick rigidly to procedure and timing. The procedures themselves are well designed, e.g. they play a little tune on the platform that stops exactly 10 seconds before the doors close, so everyone including the passengers knows what is happening. They have markings to show where the train doors will be and the drivers stop in precisely the right place, so everyone is lined up. People then move to the side of the doors so that people can exit the train, and they can embark in an orderly fashion.
Plus on the busy lines they have trains arriving every 5 minutes, so people aren't so inclined to rush and cause problems.
You don't need the best people, you just need people who can stick to procedure. I have no idea what you mean about passport controls - do you mean passport checks at stations?!
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