Abstract

This thesis conducts research on the light rail transit (LRT)-line Tvärbanan in Stockholm regarding punctuality of dwell time (DT), focusing on the influence passengers have on the mean and the variance of DT. The eight major stops during rush-hours are analyzed through a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. DT is proved to be affected by many factors in a complex setting, with vast differences between stops and between train types, proving that the infrastructure, the platform design, and the train design is important factors. The overall core problem is the non-uniformity of passengers, which is caused mainly by (1) the platform layout, especially the locations of entrances/exits, (2) placement of the train doors in relation to platform obstacles, (3) connections to other means of public transportation, and (4) the overall placement of the entrances/exits at other stops in the same direction. Stop-specific measures and suggestions of overall improvements are proposed in order to reduce the mean and the variation of DT. Detta examensarbete undersöker hur uppehållstid påverkas av passagerare på light rail-linjen Tvärbanan i Stockholm, vilket har haft en historia av höga och oförutsägbara uppehållstider. De åtta största hållplatserna under rusningstid är analyserade genom en kombination av kvalitativa och kvantitativa studier. Uppehållstiden beror på många faktorer i en complex miljö, där stora skillnader finns mellan de olika hållplatserna och de olika tågtyperna, vilket är ett bevis att infrastrukturen, plattformsdesignen och tågdesignen är viktiga faktorer. Grundproblemet är att passagerare är ojämnt fördelade på plattformarna, vilket är orsakat av (1) plattformsdesignen, speciellt vart ingångar/utgångar är placerade, (2) vart tågdörrarna stannar i relation till objekt på plattformen, (3) förbindelser till annan kollektivtrafik och (4) hur ingångar/utgångar är placerade över hela linjen i samma riktning. Övergripande och hållplatsspecifika åtgärder för att minimera uppehållstiden presenteras i rapporten.

Abstract

The turnaround process constitutes an important part of the air transportation system. Airports often represent bottlenecks in air traffic management (ATM), thus operations related to the preparation of the aircraft for the next flight leg have to be executed smoothly and in a timely manner. The ATM significantly depends on a reliable turnaround process. Future paradigm changes with respect to airplane energy sources, aircraft design or propulsion concepts will also influence the airport layout. As a consequence, operational processes associated with the turnaround will be affected. Airlines aim for efficient and timely turnaround operations that are correlated with higher profits. This case study discusses an approach to investigate a new aircraft design with respect to the implications on the turnaround. The boarding process, as part of the turnaround, serves as an example to evaluate the consequences of new design concepts. This study is part of an interdisciplinary research to investigate future energy, propulsion and designs concepts and their implications on the whole ATM system. Due to these new concepts, several processes of the turnaround will be affected. For example, new energy storage concepts will influence the fueling process on the aircraft itself or might lead to a new infrastructure at the airport. This paper aims to evaluate the applied methodology in the case of a new boarding process, due to a new aircraft design, by means of a generic example. An agent-based boarding simulation is applied to assess passenger behavior during boarding, particularly with regard to cabin layout and seat configuration. The results of the generic boarding simulation are integrated into a simplified, deterministic and generic simulation of the turnaround process. This was done to assess the proposed framework for future investigations which on the one hand address the ATM system holistically and on the other, incorporate additional or adapted processes of the turnaround. Document type: Article