Passenger capacity of S7/S8 and DLR trains

[ijmad]

Wikipedia article for S7 stock says:
"Capacity: S7: 865; S8: 1003"

FOI information sheet (probably more accurate) says about the S7:
"256 seats (+44 tip-ups)... 789 at 5/m^2, 953 at 6/m^2, 1112 at 7/m^2"

Wikipedia article for DLR stock says:
"70 seats and has a total capacity of 284 passengers"

This later figure would put a 3-car DLR train's capacity at 852 passengers. Can this really be correct? Even a 3-car DLR train is considerably shorter and slightly narrower than the S7. I can only imagine this number for the DLR is just wrong, or calculated at a different number of passengers per metre squared than the numbers given for the S-Stock.

Does anyone have a more accurate number for the DLR?

I assume when we see the new 6-car walkthrough stock (which I'm imagining will have more longitudinal seats), the crush capacity will increase a little, but they're still physically smaller trains.

 

[moogal]

I only make it 56 seats per current DLR vehicle - 28 in each half counting the tip-ups.
(8 at the driving end, 8 sideways "priority" seats and 8 facing seats in the bays, plus 2 tip-ups and 2 facing per half = 28 seats per half unit, 56 per unit.)

Not sure about the standing space though - they have very large set-back areas around the doors where you can cram in quite a few people.

 

[rebmcr]

Be careful to say whether your figures refer to B2K or B07 stock. They have very different layouts.

 

[Taunton]

We live on the DLR.

It would be good if such figures represented actual maximum capacity, from observation, rather than some theoretical figure, because the point at which passengers become "unable" to board the trains is some way short of the theory.

The B07 used to have a similar layout to the B2K, with transverse facing seat pairs in the main saloon between the doors, but have been rejigged in recent times to have wholly longitudinal seats here. This was claimed to be the "same number of seats as before, just more efficient" (there was a whole poster campaign about this). However the seats are now only really of a size for children, two passengers together tend to spill over at the outer extremities and so people decline to squish in between two pairs of people. It's embarrassing. However, more significantly, it was claimed to increase the standing area. This can only be done by taking the floorspace that was previously between the facing pairs and now counting it as standing area. Guess what - that floorspace was previously very much occupied by the seated passengers feet. Look at the B2K stock for proof. Now, according to the "official" calculation, it miraculously becomes standing area as well. Where do the seated passengers put their feet? Are they meant to detach them and put them on the roof?

The saving grace is that the car ends where they couple together still have transverse seats. These are obviously now the most popular seats, even those in the middle of the formation. Presumably, like most good things about existing stock designs, those will be the first things to be got rid of in the New Wonder "walk through" units.