Birmingham New Street Station

Atkins Fire were appointed by Network Rail to assess the fire safety implications of the proposed redevelopment at platform and concourse levels to cater for a predicted 57% growth in passenger numbers up to the year 2020. Atkins Fire modelled a number of evacuation scenarios for both the existing and proposed platform layouts using a specialised software package called Simulex.

This powerful predictive tool models the complex interaction of people in a crowd and predicts trends of how bunching and delays will occur at exits. The modelling was able to illustrate very clearly how, why and where the proposed modifications would change the time required for all occupants to reach a place of safety. The modelling was also able to show by way of numerical analysis and video footage precisely where bunching would occur. This enabled the designers to factor in the widening of selected exits to reduce this crowding.