Research trends on riding comfort evaluation in Japan

Abstract

To make railways a more comfortable means of transport, it is essential to improve riding comfort. The concept of riding comfort is related to two categories of measurement. One is the measurement of physical quantities that affect riding comfort and the other is the measurement of the corresponding feeling of human beings. Although various evaluation scales have been proposed, an evaluation criterion universally applicable has not been established yet. To encourage discussions on the evaluation of riding comfort of railway vehicles, this paper reviews relevant researches carried out in Japan. Topics covered include features of riding comfort of railway vehicles, vibrational characteristics that affect riding comfort, momentary and long-term vibration, riding comfort criteria in Japan, response indices to riding comfort and motion sickness experienced on railway vehicles.