EngD Studentship Developing a Passenger Movement Guidance/Management System for a high capacity modern metro system



W5P7

Project Partner:  London Underground  

Project Background: Every major city, and its metro system, in the world is faced with the same challenge of the continuous growing trend in demand. At over 30 trains per hour, modern communication based train control systems are pushed to its limit and it is becoming obvious that the constraint to realising further capacity, under the current generation of technology, resides with passenger flow/ behaviour. In order to fully use the capacity of new and existing trains and infrastructure, it is imperative that passenger movements are optimal from the systems viewpoint. There have been some attempts to manage passenger movements (e.g. during the successful London 2012 Games), but the potentials have not been fully exploited. One of the reasons may be that whereas it can be done at many different stages (from pre-journey information provision to during-journey guidance/restriction) as well as at different levels (from the day level, discouraging travels on particular days, to the train or the door level), there is a lack of systematic understanding of what works and how they work to enable the deployment of real time regulation strategies, which improves overall journey experience. Such passenger movement guidance/management should be regarded as part of the whole railway operation system, and thus coordination at the network level as well as integration with train traffic regulation systems are important.

Studentship Description: The project aims to develop a Passenger Movement Guidance/Management System for London Underground. The objectives are

Also Read  PhD Studentships in Sustainable Manufacturing

  • A systematic review of the passenger regulation measures. This includes an analysis of the effects of each type of regulations on passenger behaviour change
  • Further analysis of the selected types of regulations. This includes further analysis of different datasets including Oyster, CCTV and UCL boarding/alighting experiment data.
  • A model development for network level coordination. Links with other passenger demand and movement models are considered.
  • Testing and validating the developed model using a railway operation model. The effects of the network-level regulation will be evaluated.

This research shall take cognisance of, and build on, London Underground’s current knowledge base in this area.

Student Background A graduate with a good degree (2i or better). A postgraduate degree (e.g. a Master) in a relevant subject, such as Transport, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Human Factor, Math or Computer Science, is desirable. Experience of quantitative analysis would be an advantage.

Closing Date: The closing date for applications is 5pm on 31 October 2013.  Interviews will be held in November 2013. 

How to apply: Please visit the apply button below and upload a covering letter and CV (as one document) indicating how you meet the criteria – demonstrating your passion for the research area. Applicants must meet the EPSRC eligibility criteria http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/Pages/eligibility.aspx

Fees: Fully paid

Stipend:  £15,726 pa (tax-free) plus a top-up amount of £2,500 pa, subject to the signing of a contract with the industrial partner.

Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr Taku Fujiyama taku.fujiyama@ucl.ac.uk

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *