“Railway stations in Germany are not designed for the increasing passenger numbers we expect in the future. Extraordinary peaks could occur in special situations: at concerts, football matches or simply in bad weather. In the CroMa project, we want to develop concepts on how to change railway stations today so that they can cope with greater utilization. We are looking for ways to make the best use of the available space, increase passenger comfort and, most importantly, improve safety on the platform.”

Armin Seyfried

“We have collected huge data sets with the CroMa experiment. Cameras under the ceiling of the hall recorded the position and routes of the participants at each moment via the code on their heads. We link these movement profiles with other data. Special sensors measured heart rates and skin resistance in selected participants. This data tells us whether someone is under stress. We also used special suits to record the 3D movement of the participants: how do they use their bodies to make their way onto a train or through an entry gate, for example?”

Maik Boltes

“Many use the stairs to get to the platform and then stop around the staircases. Even if there is enough space, it is often not used to its full potential. This may be due to obstacles on the platform, for example. In this case, it might help to decongest the platform structurally or to direct people purposefully away from the crowded areas. To do that, however, we first need to know how people behave in different situations on the platform.”

Anna Sieben

“In some situations, the participants behaved more ruthlessly than expected, for example at the entrance gates. This triggered a quite realistic dynamic. This is the precise advantage of the experiment over field studies: we can set the boundary conditions and observe people’s reactions to them.”

Armin Seyfried

“As a psychologist, I am surprised at how much physics lies behind these phenomena. In pedestrian research, we can often simply think of people as spheres: when things get tight, they have to get past each other somehow – strictly according to the rules of physics. However, there are also phenomena where you have to look at individual behaviour: how much force does someone use to push their way to the front? How do others perceive that? Social norms also influence this. Physics and psychology have to join forces so that you get a realistic description of the situation.”

Anna Sieben

“It was a challenge to conduct such an experiment with over 1,200 people in a time of pandemic. We had to postpone it several times. That was very exhausting. We were in constant discussion with the health office and the crisis management group at Forschungs­­zentrum Jülich. Our safety and hygiene concept with masks and rapid tests helped participants feel safe.”

Maik Boltes