Study on Environmental Factors Affecting Subway Passenger Comfort

Urban transit system is an important urban transportation used in major cities around the world. In case of Seoul, more than 8 million people are using the subway network across 9 different stations with 327.1km long railroad.... [ view full abstract ]

Urban transit system is an important urban transportation used in major cities around the world. In case of Seoul, more than 8 million people are using the subway network across 9 different stations with 327.1km long railroad. The subway history of Seoul is particularly considered beyond simple transportation facility but as an underground living environment since it is connected with large shopping district and complex cultural facilities. Thus improving the public’s convenience and satisfaction is an important issue of the city. However unfortunately, we have limited researches covering this kind of important issue. This paper comprises assessments of physical environmental factors which may affect the comfort of the passengers; such as thermal, light, acoustical and air environments. Moreover survey on diverse environmental factors were undertaken to analyze the correlation. We also compared two separate stations, one which the passengers felt comfort and the other which was unpleasant, by measuring brain wave to derive biological reaction. The results were used to study the cause of environmental factors which the passengers actually feel and emotional factors. The authors are grateful for the research grant provided by Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI).