Emergency Evacuation Paths for Three-line Transfer Subway Station by AnyLogic Simulation: A Case Study

The study investigates emergency evacuation strategies for high-capacity multi-line transfer metro stations, with a focused examination on congestion dynamics induced by interweaving passenger flows. Taking a three-line interchange station in Xi'an, China, as an example, a 3D emergency evacuation physical model was established using AnyLogic software, with pedestrian parameters and behavioural logic for security checks, level transfers, and evacuation configured through Java programming. Observations from a scenario involving 2200 passengers revealed that safety exits B, C and E, along with escalator groups 1 and 4 in high-traffic areas, were the station's evacuation bottlenecks, leading to congestion and stampede risks. Pedestrians tended to choose the nearest exits, resulting in a peak density of up to 3.79 persons/m². To address these challenges, this study proposed two optimised evacuation routes. After optimisation, evacuation time was significantly reduced by over 10%, meeting safety requirements. These findings contribute to improving emergency evacuation strategies for complex multi-line subway stations.