Type of station with most theoretical people per hour?

Hey!

I was just wondering if any of you had any insight as to which type of station has the most theoretical people per hour. It seems like it would be a dual station, but is it one with two sides and a transfer, or one with separate loading and unloading in one long station?

[hyyyper]

If you're going purely for capacity, I would assume the transfer variant is faster. Separate unload/load will take longer because riders cannot simultaeously enter and exit the same train. First the entire unload station has to be clear before the train can advance. Meanwhile the station with the transfer track can open the gates while guests are leaving the station platform. In addtion to that, there is also the time it takes the train to go from the unload section to the load section.

Now, I think the difference is not all that big, plus I've had to make some assumptions. For example, if the transfer section takes a lot of time to switch, this could greatly reduce the capacity of the ride. Or the park could have a policy where the gates should not open before all the other guests have left the platform.

Now, if you look past capacity, the separate unload/load stations are less hectic than other variants. In stations where unloading and loading takes place at the same time, it becomes kinda chaotic and difficult for the operators to keep an eye on everything, (I've seen operators open gates at the same moment the restraints are released, complete madness). It gets especially bad when there is only a small area of a very long station where bags may be placed.
Talking about bags. If you have a separate unload/load situation, you need to find a way to re-unite guests with their left belongings. Some german parks have a double-sided closet/cabinet. One end connects to the station, the other to the exit path. Disney requires you to take everything with you and other parks simply ban loose articles past the queue entrance.

[Mikey]

Theoretical capacity makes a lot of liberal assertions as to the manner that the ride will be operated in. For instance it does not take in to account loading handicap guests, or cleaning up vomit, or having to add or remove a unit mid day for unscheduled maintenance. The most efficient type of station layout is actually the yard switcher style as there are as many station platforms as there are units available for service. The issue with hitting an actual capacity is very much dependent upon resource scheduling and being able to consistently be able to interval units with the least amount of time overhead.

The yard switcher design is generally considered the best although no ride has ever used it.

The yard switcher design is like this:

From your full stop service brakes you have a section of track that has one block brake, followed by a straight section of track that has switches in interval off set to 45 degree angles. These switches lead to dedicated platforms that feed from a single queue line. The most basic design has two or three stations, and then a service track that has a holding segment, and switches for moving units to the maintenance areas. After each station there is a holding segment of track, and then they all converges back into a single track.

This design while incredibly complicated insures the two rules of capacity:

1. Units always have somewhere to go.
2. No time is wasted because a unit has no where to go.

Lets say on a conventional roller coaster that we can launch, precluding any ut ohs or abnormal situations, one unit every 47 seconds. It is very difficult from a single station platform to cycle the ride consistently every 47 seconds. So every second wasted because a unit cannot move is capacity that goes wasted. So by setting the stations in a manner that a unit will always be sent every 47 seconds because of staging and dispatch intervals from two or more stations, then you have no wasted time.

Thanks guys!

[mkingy]

One ran by Europa Park