April 06, 2018

Now You Will (Probably) Never Have to Board a Crowded Train Again

Source: Deutsche Bahn

Imagine that you are waiting for the train at the platform. You have no idea where the train is going to stop, nor do you know where the doors of the train are going to be. Therefore, people (maybe including yourself) tend to position themselves in large groups around the platform access points instead of evenly distributing themselves along the entire length of the platform. This inherent human pattern of behavior poses safety risks (stampedes, people being pushed onto the tracks, etc.) and delays when boarding the train, since not all train doors are used evenly. In a tightly clocked commuter railway system with trains arriving every other minute, this lack of crowd control costs train companies crucial seconds, disrupting the service overall.

The German railway operator “Deutsche Bahn” (DB) is trying to tackle these issues through the use of IoT technology, developed by the Berlin-based startup SIUT Lichtfaserbeton and the London based startup OpenCapacity.

On February 26^th, 2018, DB introduced its so-called illuminated train station platform edges to the public in Stuttgart, Germany. Thanks to the new system, train passengers will have a better sense of orientation while waiting for their train to arrive. Visual cues will update them about the length of an approaching train, the exact position along the platform it is going to stop, which compartments are empty or full, where the doors will be and much more. This will make waiting for a train less stressful while also reducing boarding times, leading to more punctual trains and increasing the passengers’ overall travel experience.

So how does the illuminated train station platform work?

For this beta testing platform, the system required the installation of 670 30x30 cm squares of 8 cm thick concrete paving stones that have optical fiber cables connected to LEDs embedded into them. The inserted lights are controlled via a small computer that is sealed into each stone and able to receive and send digital signals. The LEDs on the stones’ surface are arranged in a specific pattern so that 4 symbols can be displayed in a static or pulsating way: white arrows to the right and left; white, green, yellow and red double points; as well as red crosses.

When in use, the system operates as follows:
Two minutes before a train arrives at the platform, train passengers will see the platform edge becoming illuminated by different light patterns. White, pulsating arrows pointing to the right (in front of train) and to the left (behind the train) will guide waiting commuters towards the area where the train will stop. This is important since, depending on the time of the day and expected passenger demand, commuter trains are operated with different lengths in either a single or double traction.

Source: SUIT.eu

In between those white arrows, a green, yellow or red double line will appear. The colors represent the current seating capacity of the incoming train compartments. Green means that there are vacant seats in this section of the train, yellow means there is limited seating available and red means that no seats are available. Displaying train compartments vacancy is made possible thanks to a technology developed by OpenCapacity that uses existing security camera footage in combination with a computer algorithm to measure capacity in real time, sending this data to the illuminated platform edge before the train arrives.

The LED band also showcases the train doors in white. Passengers can distribute themselves towards the door that is most convenient to them, decreasing the overall boarding times.

Source: SUIT.eu

Furthermore, the illuminated platform can be used to warn people waiting on the platform edge. A yellow line running along the platform will grab passengers attention before red blinking crosses will warn them of an approaching train passing through the station at high speeds.

Source: SUIT.eu

Lastly, the system can be used to indicate any changes made to the train while at the station, such as dividing a train from a double traction to a single one. This often happens during intercity transport using DB’s high speed intercity express trains. They are running in a double heading on high demand sections of a route before splitting the train into two separate ones going towards different destination on less frequented routes.

Although right now the system is only in a testing stage, there seems to be great potential to optimize public transportation by utilizing IoT technology. What do you think about this? Do you think this adds convenience to your commute? Let us know in the comments.

P.S. For all German speakers, there is a great video explaining the concept.