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Explaining dwell time delays with passenger counts for some commuter trains in Stockholm and Tokyo

Palmqvist, Carl William LU orcid ; Tomii, Norio and Ochiai, Yasufumi (2020) In Journal of Rail Transport Planning and Management
Abstract

In both Stockholm and Tokyo, small dwell time delays of at most 5 min make up around 90% of the total delays for commuter trains. To understand these disturbances, we use high resolution data on dwell times and passenger counts from both countries over the last several years. We find that trains in Tokyo are much more congested than in Stockholm, and that the exchange of passengers is modest at most stations in the latter city. In both cities, the range of dwell time delays is quite narrow, with between 40 and 50 s separating the 5th and 95th percentiles. Most delays are thus very small, and even small adjustments to dwell times can make a big difference overall. We find that the data on passengers explain about 40% of this variation in... (More)

In both Stockholm and Tokyo, small dwell time delays of at most 5 min make up around 90% of the total delays for commuter trains. To understand these disturbances, we use high resolution data on dwell times and passenger counts from both countries over the last several years. We find that trains in Tokyo are much more congested than in Stockholm, and that the exchange of passengers is modest at most stations in the latter city. In both cities, the range of dwell time delays is quite narrow, with between 40 and 50 s separating the 5th and 95th percentiles. Most delays are thus very small, and even small adjustments to dwell times can make a big difference overall. We find that the data on passengers explain about 40% of this variation in dwell time delays, if we account for non-linear and interaction effects, which is thus a ballpark estimate for how much the exchange of passenger contributes to delays for these trains. We also produce simple, linear models which can be used in practice to assign more appropriate dwell times. To facilitate such improvements, key stakeholders and practitioners have been closely involved with the research in both countries.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Commuter train, Congestion, Delay, Dwell time, Passenger, Station, Timetable, Railroad transportation, Time delay
in
Journal of Rail Transport Planning and Management
article number
100189
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85081974253
ISSN
2210-9706
DOI
10.1016/j.jrtpm.2020.100189
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4c368385-8110-4171-a491-56c453b0fbae
date added to LUP
2020-04-02 12:25:40
date last changed
2023-11-20 02:11:46
@article{4c368385-8110-4171-a491-56c453b0fbae,
  abstract     = {{<p>In both Stockholm and Tokyo, small dwell time delays of at most 5 min make up around 90% of the total delays for commuter trains. To understand these disturbances, we use high resolution data on dwell times and passenger counts from both countries over the last several years. We find that trains in Tokyo are much more congested than in Stockholm, and that the exchange of passengers is modest at most stations in the latter city. In both cities, the range of dwell time delays is quite narrow, with between 40 and 50 s separating the 5th and 95th percentiles. Most delays are thus very small, and even small adjustments to dwell times can make a big difference overall. We find that the data on passengers explain about 40% of this variation in dwell time delays, if we account for non-linear and interaction effects, which is thus a ballpark estimate for how much the exchange of passenger contributes to delays for these trains. We also produce simple, linear models which can be used in practice to assign more appropriate dwell times. To facilitate such improvements, key stakeholders and practitioners have been closely involved with the research in both countries.</p>}},
  author       = {{Palmqvist, Carl William and Tomii, Norio and Ochiai, Yasufumi}},
  issn         = {{2210-9706}},
  keywords     = {{Commuter train; Congestion; Delay; Dwell time; Passenger; Station; Timetable; Railroad transportation; Time delay}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Rail Transport Planning and Management}},
  title        = {{Explaining dwell time delays with passenger counts for some commuter trains in Stockholm and Tokyo}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrtpm.2020.100189}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jrtpm.2020.100189}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}