ABSTRACT
The rapid transit network in Singapore is expanding to meet the rising travel demand. At transport nodes, new stations are designed with interchange-link to existing stations. The interchange-link allows passengers to transfer from one transit line to another without having to leave the transit network. With the interchange-link, significant increase in passenger traffic at the existing station is expected.
As some of these existing stations were built in the 80s, concerns were raised on whether the fire escape provision in these existing stations is adequate with the increase in passenger load. Given the physical constraints at the existing stations, adding new staircases to enhance the fire escape capacity will be challenging. As the fire escape provision of existing stations was based on prescriptive requirements, an alternative approach is to assess the adequacy of fire escape provision by performance-based analysis.
This paper presents a case study conducted on an existing station where performance-based approach was adopted. Evacuation analysis was performed to calculate the RSET (Required Safe Evacuation Tine) based on the new passenger load and current escape provision using the evacuation analysis software, EXODUS. The Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) was used to determine the ASET (Available Safe Egress Times), which is the time when condition along the escape path starts to become untenable with the emergency ventilation system in operation. Comparison of the RSET and ASET shows that the existing escape and ventilation provisions will be able to meet the fire and life safety requirements when passenger load is increased.
Keywords: Trackway fire, Evacuation.
