Lantau Line Train Design
background
Massive growth in Hong Kong's importance as a trade and business centre has brought many problems for the island's existing infrastructure. It was therefore seen as vital that the territory had modern transport facilities; the centrepiece of the development of these has been the new Chek Lap Kok international airport. The Lantau Line offers a more rapid transit orientated service, linking Lantau, West Kowloon and Hong Kong Central. The introduction of this service has brought two major benefits to the territory: traffic on the busy Nathan Road Corridor of the MTR has been eased, while journey times between Lai King and Hong Kong Central have been slashed from 23 minutes to just eight-and-a-half.
project
Design Triangle, working for manufacturer Adtranz/CAF, engaged CCD/Cambridge Ergonomics to provide human factors & ergonomics input to the design process for developing the new rolling stock especially the design of the cab.
implementation
This project involved the full ergonomics specification and design support for the MTRC LAL/AEL Cab. As well as undertaking extensive
ergonomics CAD assessments and design work using the SAMMIE system, staff were involved in the development of a full scale cab prototype and the testing of driver preferences and evacuation compliance in Hong Kong. Staff ran user clinics with local drivers to assess in cab equipment, layout and vision. Staff also piloted and ran a series of full scale evacuation trials to test the design and usability of a ramp system for emergency evacuation.
outcomes
Fully operational, with the anticipated strengthening of the new trains, the Airport Express link and Lantau Line are expected to carry around 250,000 passengers a day. In order to cater for this anticipated growth, the trains are capable of being strengthened from seven to ten cars, boosting capacity by around 50%. The signalling system is capable of handling a greater service frequency than the initial eight-minute interval. Ultimately, this could be increased to one train every four-and-a-half minutes.