Pedestrian simulation model for Hong Kong underground stations

Discomfort, frustration and concerns for safety of pedestrians increase with the increase of congestion level within underground/railway stations. Pedestrian walking behavior is of prime importance in the study of planning and design of the underground stations during peak hours. This paper reports an investigation on the behavior of pedestrians in Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations during peak hour periods. As the pedestrian walking behavior would be influenced by the physical properties of the walking facilities, nine pedestrian facilities are classified for analysis. Surveys were conducted in the Hong Kong Causeway Bay MTR Station. The data collected were used to estimate the passenger origin-destination (O-D) flow matrix within the station. PEDROUTE, a pedestrian simulation model, was used to simulate the pedestrian movements within the station by incorporated the O-D flow matrix and the travel time functions of the nine classified pedestrian facilities. It is believed that the developed model for simulation of pedestrian movements in Hong Kong MTR stations can improve the existing stations and contribute to the design of new railway stations in Hong Kong.