The carriage as an emotional landscape : how do passengers experience fear? Understanding fear in the Australian metropolitan railway industry

Passenger’s emotional experience of their railway journey is an issue that strongly connects both rail users and providers. This paper reports on findings from a two year Australian study using ethnographic participant observation and focus groups with rail users with ages ranging from 13-67. We postulate that the experience of fear by passengers on platforms and in carriages is influenced by a wide variety of factors, ranging from the behaviour of fellow passengers, timeliness of the train, passenger expectations of the service, the level of crowding, and the design of the carriage. Additionally, this paper presents findings around the following four fundamental research questions: 1) How does the behaviour, actions and activities of other carriage members influence passenger experience of fear and safety?, 2) How does the level of crowding and under-crowding influence passenger feelings of safety?, 3) What conditions mitigate feelings of fear?, and 4) How can we usefully understand and improve passengers’ experience of fear and safety? Our findings present implications for further research surrounding etiquette campaigns and strategies to improve the dynamic of passenger behaviour.