There are some passengers who would like to have wider seats on trains to make them more comfortable. The design of seats and their layout is widely recognised as an ergonomics activity and ergonomists will primarily take into account the dimensions of the people expected to use the seat, but the scientific methods they use don’t stop there. Ergonomists will also look into other characteristics of who will be using the seats (passenger profiles), how long they are expected to be in the seat (time profiles), what they may be doing and how the seating relates to the other facilities in the carriage. How all these may change with time (e.g. over a day, a year, etc.) must also be borne in mind.
When all the factors and constraints have been taken into consideration, recommendations can be made to design a carriage that is fit for purpose to meet the needs of the passengers, the train operators and the relevant legislation. These necessarily include engineering design and safety requirements, as well as having to meet financial criteria.
When passenger traffic rises considerably as it has done on some lines, the solution is not simple and invariably there has to be compromise. There has to be a certain number of seats provided for passengers and the width of the seats has a bearing on this. In a given floor space, wider seats allow for less standing room. Would passengers prefer more personal space or to be guaranteed a place on the train?
A possible solution could be to put on longer trains but this presents other challenges. Not all platforms are long enough, which means that those travelling in some carriages need to walk along the train to be able to alight. This takes time and, for some, causes anxiety – not a perfect solution. Another fundamental issue that the rail industry faces is the lack of additional carriages with which to make the train longer.
An alternative is to increase the number of trains but again that is dependent on how many trains operate on that line in a given time. If capacity is already up to the maximum, then this would not be feasible.
There are other factors which will reduce the comfort of the travelling public. The recent very cold winter will have resulted in passengers wearing heavy coats which will make a tight space seem even tighter. The population getting bigger (both in numbers and corpulence) is also exacerbating the situation. Despite some of us having more rear padding, the seats themselves may seem less comfortable than they used to be because there is less cushioning. Safety regulations are behind these thinner seats. The modern seats have been designed to absorb shock better in the case of an impact and to be more fire resistant. Knowing this, what would most people choose – a comfier seat or the greater likelihood of surviving a major incident?
It is all about choices and cost. The expertise of ergonomists/human factors professionals will help decision makers see the bigger picture but ultimately the solution is a trade-off between commercial viability and safely accommodating ever-increasing passenger numbers.
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