Indoor Environmental Quality Assessment of Train Cabins and Passenger Waiting Areas: A Case Study of Nigeria

John Omomoluwa Ogundiran (), Jean-Paul Kapuya Bulaba Nyembwe, Anabela Salgueiro Narciso Ribeiro and Manuel Gameiro da Silva ()
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John Omomoluwa Ogundiran: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ADAI, University of Coimbra, Rua Luís Reis Santos, Pólo II, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Jean-Paul Kapuya Bulaba Nyembwe: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ADAI, University of Coimbra, Rua Luís Reis Santos, Pólo II, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Anabela Salgueiro Narciso Ribeiro: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra, Rua Sílvio Lima, Pólo II, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal
Manuel Gameiro da Silva: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ADAI, University of Coimbra, Rua Luís Reis Santos, Pólo II, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-24

Abstract: The adequacy of the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in mass transit microenvironments is crucial to the well-being of exposed commuters. By 2050, many developing tropical countries will host even more megacities, which will feature an increase in people mobility and higher occupancy density. The paucity of IEQ studies, the technology gap, and inadequate policy measures to assure safer and sustainable mobility in many developing tropics have reinforced the current study objective. Also, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the IEQ links and risks to health in transport, which, given the climate peculiarities, transport reforms, and huge commuter traffic in Nigeria, inform the study motivation. The indoor air quality (CO 2 , PM, VOCs, NO 2 ), thermal, acoustic, and visual environments were objectively assessed in train passenger cabins and waiting areas, during 15 trips in the dry and rainy seasons in Nigeria. The results were analyzed by following the IEQ requirements defined in the ISO, CEN, ASHRAE, and SAE standards. The results indicate gaps in the IAQ (inadequate ventilation in 9 trains), defective thermal comfort (9 trains), exceedance in the PM limit (PM 10 : 47.9–115 μg/m 3 , PM 2.5 : 22.5–51.3 μg/m 3 ), noise (L eq range: 64–85 dBA), and low illuminance levels (10 trains), hence the need for IEQ, interventions, stakeholder awareness, and broader IEQ studies on transport cabins in these regions.

Keywords: indoor environmental quality; thermal comfort; indoor air quality; particulate matter; noise; visual comfort; trains; Nigeria; developing tropical countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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