Abstract: The entrance, exit, and interchange directions must be carefully selected for single-story side transfer stations to optimize passenger flow. The design idea, passenger flow characteristics, organizational difficulties, and public feedback on single-story side transfer stations such as Erligou station in Beijing are analyzed herein. The main three-column, four-span arched structure of Erligou station is uniquely designed using a mining excavation method for the first time in China. This multispan form effectively addresses the spatial challenges associated with longitudinally traversing platforms when determining the directions in side stations. Additionally, an external security inspection area is established via mining excavation on both sides of the station hall, positioning the least efficient security facilities outside of passenger flow areas. These changes fundamentally resolve the bottleneck concerning passenger throughput at transfer stations. By employing the pedestrian simulation software to analyze traffic patterns, operational guidance personnel are added at key nodes wherein passengers change directions on side platforms to ensure efficient and safe crowd management. During the operational phase, adjustments are made to entrance and exit flow lines to meet high directness and strong purposefulness in passenger organization needs. Based on the passenger flow characteristics during the off-peak period, vertical elevators can be used to improve passenger transfer efficiency. In the orientation setting, the continuity wall and ground are pasted to the key nodes as far as possible, and the problem of passengers′ wayfinding is solved by emphasizing the positions of passageways and escalators. By offering guidance, passengers can access escalators, stairs, and vertical ladders in complex station networks, thereby enabling optimized passenger flow.

Key words: interchange station, side platform, metro operation, passenger flow