Trains could get folding seats to tackle rush hour overcrowding

Crowding crisis: Different seats could be introduced on commuter trains
PriestmanGoode
Jamie Micklethwaite21 September 2016

Folding seats could be incorporated on commuter trains within a year as transport bosses attempt to tackle mass overcrowding.

Rail chiefs have spent £900,000 on developing two new seat designs which they claim would increase capacity on carriages by 30 per cent.

One staggered seat design, named Horizon, would mean passengers sitting in a more upright position. That would reduce the amount of leg room people need and increase the number of rows of seats in a carriage.

The second design, named Island Bay, involves folding seats which can fit more passengers into a smaller area, with the table also becoming a seat.

Folding seats: Passengers sit face-to-face with others seated on the aisle and table
PriestmanGoode

Design company PriestmanGood has said that train operators would likely choose to introduce a combination of folding seats and regular seats.

Chairman Paul Priestman said: “Many passengers face stress and discomfort as they try to get a seat or even just board a train.

“As designers, we need to innovate to help alleviate the problem and improve passenger experience.”

Increased space: Designers claim passengers would have more space on the smaller seats
PriestmanGoode

PriestmanGood claim that the Horizon design would increase seating by 30 per cent per carriage and the Island Bay design would give carriages 20 per cent more seats.

The two designs have been funded by the Rail Safety and Standards Board, as part of exploratory moves increase train capacity.

One in three commuters were forced to stand on services arriving into London last year, with services from Brighton into the capital typically carrying twice as many people as they should during peak times.

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