By: Qian (Cherry) Xiong, PE, Vice President, Mobility Technology | EXP
Infrastructure projects play a critical role in maintaining economic stability and advancing social development. Bridges, roadways, rail, transit and airports enhance mobility and improve access to places and opportunities. Education and healthcare facilities form the backbone of a high quality of life for communities and ports drive regional and global economic growth. Meanwhile, emerging infrastructure such as electric vehicle (EV) charging stations address the evolving demands of electric vehicle adoption and sustainable travel. When intermodal infrastructure projects are thoughtfully designed, efficiently delivered and responsibly operated and maintained by multidisciplinary teams, they create systems that promote efficiency, productivity, safety and environmental sustainability.
The key functionality and importance of intermodal transfer facilities
Transport hubs are critical nodes within the transportation network. They serve as collection and distribution points, where passengers arriving by various modes such as car, bus or subway transfer to their next scheduled journey via airplane, train or intercity bus.
Important factors of intermodal hubs are reliability and predictable travel times, reasonably placed on- and off-site parking with sufficient capacity, seamless connections to local transit, well-managed curbside operations and intuitive wayfinding within the facility. These elements contribute to the core purpose of a transport hub – efficient and effective transportation functionality.
Arriving at this point requires millions or billions of dollars of capital investment. Once built, transportation hubs are hard to drastically alter in terms of functional area and equipment layout, structure and capacity, except during expansion/enhancement projects. How well the design serves the passenger flow demand and how facilities are utilized also have a direct impact on the operations and maintenance costs.
One of the primary keys to the success of intermodal infrastructure projects is a thorough review during the planning and design stage, with a focus on transportation functionality. This essentially identifies any flaws in design and areas for optimization. These issues may include capacity deficiency (Vertical Circulation Equipment (VCE), functional area sizing, etc.) that creates crowding and long lines, suboptimal layout and wayfinding systems that make navigation challenging, and obstructed sightlines or lighting which contributes to safety concerns.
Once operational, EXP’s project team returns to the site, during and after the ramp-up period, to observe the hub’s actual performance and collect information such as pedestrian flow speed, fare gate processing times, VCE capacity, bottlenecks and line formations. These insights are essential for optimizing operations, fine-tuning wayfinding systems, adjusting escalator operating speeds and more. The data is collected in EXP’s internal database for future reference and benchmarking. In addition, our team members make similar observations when traveling to different locations across the world, gaining firsthand experience of how cultural contexts influence human behavior.
Multidisciplinary collaboration
With a multidisciplinary background in roadway design, network modeling/demand forecasting and microsimulation, I have a deep understanding of the value of multidisciplinary teamwork.
Infrastructure projects are inherently complex systems that require the integration of multiple disciplines. I was fortunate to contribute to the design of three large-scale high-speed rail stations in China, two airports and other transport hub projects, working closely with architects, engineers and stakeholders from both government agencies and private sectors. These projects sparked my passion for successful collaboration in transport hub planning, design and operations. The collaboration component is a multifaceted system in itself which needs to run as smoothly as the final project delivered to users.
Initial concept, when architects define the placement, layout and sizing of key functional areas, requires coordination to avoid technical disruptions and setbacks to the project timeline. The areas can include VCE, fare gates, baggage claim and check-in zones. Early decisions shape passenger circulation patterns and must be informed by traffic flow analysis, structural engineering, MEP systems, baggage handling and more. When disciplines work in parallel, they are able to identify and resolve conflicts that often lead to significant design refinements. It is through this iterative feedback that the design is optimized.
Tools to design intermodal transit hubs more efficiently
These projects serve their communities and regions and spur economic development. To effectively deliver projects of this scale, it is crucial to anticipate challenges, which include labor shortages, equipment shortages from delays in the supply chain and geopolitical impacts. These require a comprehensive plan and tools to keep the project scope, budget and timeliness.
Opportunities for simulation modeling, automation and artificial intelligence can help to create efficiencies on projects. To design more efficiently, our teams utilize simulation modeling to test design robustness in response to service disruptions, special events and emergency evacuations. Simulation modeling helps to evaluate the design and operating alternatives. It is also a great tool when engaging with the public and stakeholders to help create an understanding of project impacts on the community. Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) also displays the design in an immersive manner and is an opportunity for our team to review and provide immediate feedback on potential flaws, such as interrupted sightlines on platforms or mezzanine levels and wayfinding signage locations.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also making headway in infrastructure and is making a tangible impact. We are seeing video analytics for monitoring passenger crowding in transport hubs, near-miss detection at intersections, autonomous shuttles, predictive pavement maintenance and railroad trespassing detection systems as a few opportunities for how AI is reshaping the way we plan, design, construct and operate complex infrastructure projects.
While full integration of AI across the entire infrastructure lifecycle is still evolving, EXP is already leveraging AI across its business lines. Some of our AI-driven innovations include tools for soil boring analysis, automated object identification and LiDAR classification/extraction and predictive maintenance planning using image and sensor data. In transport hub design and stakeholder engagement, AR/VR technologies are also used to enhance design reviews and communication.
AI has the potential to reshape aspects of transport hub projects. It is a tool we have leveraged as we create more thoughtful and efficient intermodal transportation hubs. Interestingly, one of the most promising areas we may see is in understanding pedestrian behavior. Traditional data collection methods, which are often labor-intensive and costly, can be replaced by real-time monitoring using computer vision and sensor technologies. The new technology can detect and predict fluctuations in circulation patterns and crowding and can support effective safety and demand-related management. As a team, we partner with our Information Technology department which continuously investigates opportunities for safe and efficient AI integration on projects.
The need for well-planned and thoughtful intermodal facilities is more pressing now than ever. Our teams are prioritizing multidisciplinary collaboration, partnerships and innovation to design smarter, more advanced and more efficient intermodal infrastructure projects to meet the demands of today and tomorrow.
Learn more about Infrastructure at EXP and contact me to discuss your next intermodal infrastructure project.