How to minimise motion sickness
Do you suffer from motion sickness? Then you probably don’t like travelling on the X2000. At present, a research project at KTH is underway which will alleviate motion sickness on high-speed trains. The idea is to examine how the X2000 can run as fast as possible through corners without running the risk of causing nausea among passengers.
Thirteen percent feel varying degrees of nausea when they travel on the X2000. Nine percent feel unwell and approximately one percent suffers severely from motion sickness. That is the reality according to a study by John Förstberg at VTI, the National Road and Transport Research Institute.
This is something that KTH researcher Richard Persson has picked up on. He is currently conducting research on how motion sickness on trains can be reduced.
“Previous research at EU level indicates a connection between train movements and motion sickness. That’s where I took over and conducted further research. During the past summer, studies were carried out with 200 people on board the X2000 train. These people were susceptible to motion sickness, and the studies were based on comparing the train’s tilt in the curves with the degree of motion sickness,” says Rick Persson.
He adds that motion sickness and ride comfort are linked. The greater the tilt of the train in the curves, the greater the ride comfort but there is also an increased risk of motion sickness. In addition, every curve on a railway line is unique - to be able to adjust the tilt of the curve to the maximum speed to achieve minimal motion sickness is the desire of train operators as well as for those people who suffer from motion sickness.
The evaluation of the studies has just begun, and the results will be presented in the spring, 2011.
For more information, contact Rick Persson at 070-499 44 50 or 08-790 76 36
Peter Larsson