RateSetter: roadmap for faster, safer, and better platform train interface design and operation using evolutionary optimisation

There is a challenge ahead in the rail industry to accommodate increased demand. Time spent at the platform train interface (PTI) as passengers board and alight, rather than on the move, represents a limitation on system capacity. To overcome this, we propose RateSetter: an evolutionary optimiser that for the first time provides more effective PTI design choices based on passenger flow time and safety. An agent based passenger simulation model validated with CCTV footage is employed for fitness evaluation. The initial results provide guidelines not only for future PTI designs but also for retrofit designs to existing infrastructure, evaluating the effectiveness and diminishing returns of PTI features for the considered scenarios. Furthermore, it is observed that the proposed optimal PTI designs could significantly reduce the flow time for the cases examined. Results show that retro-fit designs could reduce the flow time in the range of 10%-35%.