To achieve train operation that meets transport demand, it is necessary to grasp passenger flow in detail (i.e. number of passengers on each train and that for each destination). In Japan, some railway operators can grasp the number of passengers on each train by the reports from their train conductors, and recent rolling stock can calculate number of passenger on board from their suspension air pressure. However, these data provide the total number of passengers however, no information as to their destinations or travelling routes. On the other hand, social surveys regarding public transport (e.g. Transportation Census of Urban Cities that the Japanese government conducts) provide detailed information on passenger flow; however, there is a problem in that the frequency of such surveys is five years or more because of their scale.
   We therefore have developed a method to estimate detailed passenger flow based on a route choice model of passengers with OD (i.e. Origin and Destination) data aggregated during each time period and train timetables. With this method, it is possible to obtain the number of passengers on each train for each destination (Fig 1), the number of passengers boarding and alighting at each station and traffic volume between two stations. We have estimated passenger flow of an urban railway network that contains approximately 300 stations with the method, and the estimated number of passengers on board has a close correlation with the number reported by train conductors.