An Evaluation of RSSB's Guidelines for the Management of Train and Station Passenger Crowds

At the current levels of rail passenger use, parts of the network are struggling to cope especially during peak times and at big events. Following recent incidents of overcrowding at peak commute times at London Bridge station... [ view full abstract ]

At the current levels of rail passenger use, parts of the network are struggling to cope especially during peak times and at big events. Following recent incidents of overcrowding at peak commute times at London Bridge station and following a 2016 Rugby World Cup game at Twickenham station, there is renewed concern about the issue. We report the findings from a set of studies which were conducted between January – May 2016, the aim of which were to evaluate current guidance from RSSB regarding the management of crowds on-board trains (RSSB, 2009) and at train stations (RSSB, 2004). 79 interviews were conducted with a variety of industry stakeholders (e.g. experts from Network Rail, ATOC, Train Operating Companies and crowd management consultants), alongside observations of crowds at train stations and events involving Station Managers and other frontline staff. The findings for the study demonstrated support for the guidelines; however there were also a number of areas identified for future development. These included: updated information on passenger and crowd behaviour at stations/on trains, as well as during disruptions (Passenger Information During Disruption); more information covering the role of new technology (e.g., social media) and how this could be used in combination with other developments (e.g., display boards) to ‘nudge’ and manage crowds; guidance covering terrorism and crisis response and other more recent threats on the network; and finally, improvements to the format and presentation of the guidelines (e.g., including good practise case study examples). The study also included a set of suggestions for future work on crowding on the UK rail network. The findings from the studies will be illustrated with case study examples of some of the novel ways of ‘experimenting’ with crowd management which are being trialled in Great Britain.