Passengers gathering-scattering analysis at the corners of subway stations

During both daily operation and emergency evacuation, the corners of walking facilities in subway stations play an important role in efficient circulation. However, the effectiveness of the corner is difficult to assess. In this paper, a method of passenger gathering and scattering analysis based on queueing models was proposed to investigate the corner performance in subway stations. Firstly, we constructed a set of state spaces of passenger flow according to passenger density and proposed the state transition model of passenger flow. Moreover, the model of passenger flow blocking and unblocking probability were also presented. Then, to illustrate the validity of the method and model, several passenger gathering-scattering scenarios and were simulated to verify the influence of passenger distribution and facility width on passenger walking, and the blocking probability, throughput, and expected time were also analyzed under various widths of the target corridor and arrival rates. Results showed that the proposed model can reproduce the trend of walking parameters changing and the self-organizing phenomenon of 'faster is lower'. With the increase of arrival rates of passengers, walking speeds of passengers decrease and the expected walking time is prolonged, and the blocking probability sharply increased when the arrival rate exceeded 7 peds/s. In addition, with change of width of the target facility, efficiency of capacity of walking circulation facility fluctuated. With the width of the target corridor enlarged by 10%, the steady state of passenger flow was less crowded. Therefore, corridor width is critical to the circulation efficiency of passengers in subway stations. The conclusions will help to develop reasonable passenger flow control plans to ease the jam and keep passengers walking safely.