Metro rail vehicles are commonly called cabins, but they are technically known as Metro Rolling Stock (MRS) saloons. They have been considered as the most appropriate transportation system for urban commuters. The MRS saloons can provide a time-bound and comfortable journey and reduce superficial traffic congestion and gasoline consumption (Xu, and Hao, 2017). According to the World Metro figure, 2018 approximately 168 metro systems operate in 56 different countries. In addition, about 53.76 billion passengers use these systems annually. In general, the ‘Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning’ (HVAC) systems which belong to the category of ‘SID-3300R’, and relevant sensors have been equipped in all MRS saloons to provide a comfortable journey (thermal) and improve the quality of indoor environment. This HVAC system has three main functional compartments: supply fan compartment, mixed air compartment, and condenser compartment. Through the employment of these three functional compartments, the system can help control and optimize the indoor comfort level (temperature, relative humidity, concentration of carbon dioxide) and receive sufficient fresh air from the ambient environment by considering the number of passengers and the climate. In addition, during the travelling time, all doors and windows of MRS saloons are closed to avoid contact with outside air and to allow air circulation to be fully controlled by the HVAC system. Despite all this attention, particle contamination in MRS saloons remains a significant concern around the world.
PM2.5 is one of the significant pollutants which reduces the air quality inside MRS saloons. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, the acceptable limit for PM2.5 concentration in the indoor environment is 35µg/m3 within 24 hours. As more people are utilizing the public transportation system, the quality of the microenvironment in MRS saloons with regards to PM2.5 concentration is a concern especially in the contemporary social context of Covid-19. The human respiratory system can not filter PM2.5, and due to lower size of particles, it can easily enter the lungs and mix with blood. This situation can lead to numerous respiratory-cardiovascular diseases in commuters and staff (Tan et al., 2017; Kumar et al., 2018; Betancourt et al., 2019; Onat et al., 2019; Camacho et al., 2020; Manojkumar et al., 2021; Maji et al., 2021). In addition, increasing the concentration of PM2.5 in the indoor environment can accelerate the spread of airborne infectious diseases like Nasopharyngitis, Influenza, Chickenpox, Measles, and Covid-19 etc (DeFelice et al, 2020; Wang et al., 2020 (A); Wang et al., 2020 (B); Zoran et al., 2020). Some recent studies about the spread of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in the indoor environment reveal that the increase of PM2.5 concentration has been positively correlated with the extent of Covid-19; moreover, they suggested that the increase in just 1µg/m3 of PM2.5 corresponding to a 15% increase in Covid-19 deaths (Mehmood et al., 2020; Xie et al., 2020; Wu et al., 2020). The piston wind is a phenomenon commonly experienced in underground or tunnel-shaped metro stations; which is a primary source of PM2.5 in the MRS saloons. The piston wind is formed due to the friction between the metro rolling stock's braking systems, wheels, and rails (Martins et al., 2016; Minguillon et al., 2018). Therefore, the piston wind contains various elements like Fe, Cr, Ca, Al, Na, Ba, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, Pb etc (Mohsen et al., 2018; Chen et al., 2020; Roy et al., 2020). In addition, many other factors such as passenger density, operational time, ambient concentration of PM2.5, and seasonal variations, directly or indirectly influence the PM2.5 level in MRS saloons (Chang et al., 2021). The added advantage of using the portable IAQ monitor during the in-cabin air quality studies can accurately understand the PM2.5 concentration and its spatio-temporal variation which can speed up the mitigation/ policy-making process (Xu et al., 2017; Kumar et al, 2018; Zhang et al., 2020). The present study aims to investigate the spatio-temporal variation of PM2.5 concentration in metro rolling stock saloons of Kochi Metro Rail Limited, Kerala, India using IAQ monitor (ENVITUS ESAIA1001W, AirU, India). The other variables such as indoor temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide concentration and the number of occupants were investigated for statistical correlation studies through an in-transit survey using a locally made real-time IAQ monitor. Ambient PM2.5 concentration, temperature and humidity have been measured from three air quality monitoring stations (Vytila, Kacheripady, and Eloor) to determine the impact of these parameters on the air quality of the in-cabin environment of MRS saloons. Most importantly, this is one of the pioneer studies of in-cabin air quality concerning the spatio-teporal variation of PM2.5 levels in MRS saloons, India.