Proposal of guideline for the development of announcement at a railroad station in Japan with consideration for an elderly people

In Japan, the birthrate is declining, and the population is aging rapidly. It is estimated that the percentage of the population aged 65 and over will reach about 38% by 2065. The use of railroads by the elderly will increase in the future. For smooth transferring at railroad stations, it is necessary to acquire not only visual information but also audio information. Hearing levels tend to decline with age, and the elderly are more likely to have difficulty acquiring audio information than younger people. For reasons such as improved safety and convenience of platforms and concourses, diversification of information provided to railroad users, and the necessity to provide an environment that considers various types of disabilities, it is desirable to provide easy-to-hear voice information to all users. Especially for the elderly, station announcement is one of the most effective support methods for guiding and directing them along routes that are becoming increasingly complex. In this paper, the author comprehensively summarizes the results of research on control methods for station announcements at railroad stations for an aging society and proposes a guideline for the development of announcement at railroad stations from the perspective of universal design.