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How Stockholm Central can get more satisfied passenger

Monday, April 23, 2018

Increased punctuality in rail traffic at Stockholm Central Station. That could be the effect of a newly started project under the direction of CLOSER, the national collaboration platform for increased transportation efficiency.

We are focusing on the passengers – through collaboration, deviations can be handled earlier on in the process and efficiency can be improved,” says project manager Nicklas Blidberg. “Right now, it’s an issue of passenger traffic, but at a later stage it could also involve more efficient freight transport.”

The Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) concept will investigate how a new system for exchange of information between operators and the central railway station can contribute to rail passengers avoiding unnecessary delays.

Nicklas, could you give us some more details about this project?
“We want to promote better quality of information and increased value for passengers who use Central Station. This will take place by giving operators at the junctions the opportunity to collaborate by sharing information – creating advance planning so passengers have more time to react – and by creating better analyses over the long term of why certain disruptions occur, and thus working to reduce them.”  

Which parties are involved?
“The groups working on the feasibility study are RISE, CLOSER and the Swedish Transport Administration. But we are also working for all the operators at Stockholm Central who will be contacted. We hope they also will see the possibilities in the concept and will want to contribute to our ‘living labs’ which will discuss the work, going forward.”

What problems will this solve?
“A potential to increase punctuality in traffic, for one; identifying alternatives in the event of disruptions and making better use of critical resources such as platforms, escalators, and the like.” 

How can CLOSER make a difference?
“The idea for the CDM project was highlighted in one of CLOSER’s collaboration projects as a step in improving the railways. Since the project created both increased societal benefits and advantages for all the operators at Stockholm Central, we see great value in developing the CDM concept for railway junctions. As a neutral operator, we hope to create an open forum for discussing collaboration between parties that will ultimately lead to increased transportation efficiency.”

What is the next step?
“There are several railway junctions where the CDM concept can make major changes. One example is marshalling yards, where many operators interact as well.”

Finally, where did you get the CDM concept from?
“CDM has already been tested in aviation (Airport CDM) and shipping (Port CDM). 
“For aviation, the driving factor is turnaround time, which is a major cost. A great deal of time can be saved, for example when a plane is redirected to a new gate, is delayed, or otherwise deviates from the original schedule. 

“For shipping, the driving force is getting all operators involved in a vessel call to communicate. For example, a vessel could reduce its speed if the crew received information in advance that access to the next port has been delayed, thus saving fuel.”