Railroad Forums 

  • Number of doors per rail car

  • General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.
General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.

Moderators: mtuandrew, gprimr1

 #1604100  by eolesen
 
When I pay 2x the normal fare to sit in business class on a flight, I expect to be first off so I can be first thru immigration and first in line for a taxi (I don't normally check bags). Most quality airlines will block economy from disembarking until business class is emptied out.

The same applies to rail. I don't want to be standing in the aisle any longer than necessary. I could care less how long we sit at a station stop once I'm seated or off the train...

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 #1604118  by ExCon90
 
I don't suppose that most passengers even notice how many doors there are. I think a more important factor is dwell time: the shorter it is the better for everyone. For a corridor train (any corridor) making five or six stops in 300 miles, one door per car may be adequate; a commuter local making 20 stops in 30 miles could save meaningful minutes with two double-stream doors at the quarter points (and level boarding). On the NEC, which is sort of in between, for a Regional making 15 or 16 stops in ~450 (?) miles, two single-stream doors per car is probably about right.
 #1604156  by STrRedWolf
 
ExCon90 wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 11:31 pm I don't suppose that most passengers even notice how many doors there are. I think a more important factor is dwell time: the shorter it is the better for everyone. For a corridor train (any corridor) making five or six stops in 300 miles, one door per car may be adequate; a commuter local making 20 stops in 30 miles could save meaningful minutes with two double-stream doors at the quarter points (and level boarding). On the NEC, which is sort of in between, for a Regional making 15 or 16 stops in ~450 (?) miles, two single-stream doors per car is probably about right.
The NE Regionals, 2 per car side fits.

For commuters, depends on load. MARC went with 4 doors per side on the MARC IV to help with offloading, but I can't help but think people will grab the closest door to get out anyway. Does it matter? For the train, yes, it kills dwell time on those high platforms. Low platforms? Still 2 doors plus the stairs. In the grand scheme of things for a commuter, not really -- in places like Odenton and BWI Airport, you have floods of people filling ramps, stairs, whatnot to get to a bridge or tunnel and then to a parking lot or garage... and then onto a single lane road in their cars.

For subways, 3-4 doors per side makes a difference and the issue becomes frequency.