Sliding doors: optimising door closure arrangements to improve boarding and alighting

In Great Britain (GB), around 3 billion boarding and alighting movements are made annually and the vast majority are completed successfully.  However, closing doors can strike passengers and can lead to serious ‘trap and... [ view full abstract ]

In Great Britain (GB), around 3 billion boarding and alighting movements are made annually and the vast majority are completed successfully.  However, closing doors can strike passengers and can lead to serious ‘trap and drag’ incidents where passengers are caught in closed doors and dragged along the platform as the train departs.  Following such incidents, and in accordance with the GB rail industry’s Platform Train Interface (PTI) strategy, RSSB commissioned research to understand how passengers interact with, and understand, closing doors and to identify ways to optimise door closure arrangements.   

The following highlights key findings:

• Door closure incidents are more prevalent in the summer holiday season, at off-peak times, and least prevalent in winter and the morning peak.  This suggests door closure incidents are more associated with occasional travellers than commuters.

• Passengers who deliberately block closing doors with no realistic chance of passing through the doors are at risk of a ‘trap and drag’ incident.

• There are several different door closure arrangements in operation.  The main differences relate to the door close alarm duration (3 to 9 seconds), the time a door takes to close (2 to 5 seconds) and in the predefined times for autoclosing (between 10 seconds and 3 minutes).  Assessment of these has not identified any clear preferred current arrangement.  

• Interviews with passengers identified limited understanding of door closing arrangements and risky intentions:

  • 57% indicated they would disregard the door close alarm, even if it has been sounding for a few seconds, and choose to board/alight, the bigger deterrent was movement of the doors.

  • 21% were unaware that there is a warning that doors are about to close.

  • 66% did not perceive the door close alarm as indicating that they should ‘stand back’.

  • 58% of interviewees believe that, if obstructed, doors will automatically re-open like lift/elevator doors.

    This confusion and misunderstanding is leading to unsafe behaviours such as late boarding and passengers deliberately blocking closing doors.

Key recommendations topics were:

• Continuing to raise passenger awareness by integrating with PTI awareness campaigns. Incorporating key messages from this research to assist passengers in understanding the risk of closing doors and address sources of confusion and misunderstanding concerning door closure.

• Enhance existing PTI initiatives.  It is recommended that existing PTI initiatives involving station staff, guards and drivers are enhanced with key messages arising from this research project.

• Develop enhanced auditory and visual warnings (such as speech messages and ‘mood lighting’) and slower door close speeds.  Detailed trial guidance is provided.

• Autoclosing doors can surprise and confuse passengers leading to unnecessary and rushed attempts to board/alight, and consequently increase incidents.  Significantly slower door closing speed for autoclosure will help reduce risk from autoclosure.  An associated speech message, and the option of inhibiting the autoclosure function ahead of departure, are recommended for trial and assessment.

• Recommendations are made to protect the door close button against inadvertent operation, to provide enhanced passenger information to support alighting, and to review options to support alighting passengers using technology (Smartphone App and on-board Wi-Fi).