Objectives: High concentrations of airborne particulate matters (PM) can affect the health of passengers using public transportation. The objectives of this research were to develop a PM control system for a railway cabin and to evaluate the performance of the device under conditions of an actual journey. Methods: This study measured the concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 simultaneously in a reference cabin and a cabin with the PM control device. Results: The average PM10 concentration in the reference cabin was 100 μg/m3, and the PM10 concentration in the cabin with the control device was 79 μg/m3. While the overall control efficiency of the control device was 15.4%, reduction was more effective for peak PM10 concentration. However, PM2.5 levels did not differ greatly between the reference cabin and the cabin with the control device. The ratio of PM2.5 to PM10 was 0.37. PM10 concentrations in cabins were not associated with ambient concentrations, indicating that the main sources of PM10 were present in cabins. Additionally, average CO2 concentration in the cabins was 1,359 ppm, less than the maximum of 2,000 ppm set out by the Korean Ministry of Environment’s guideline. The CO2 concentration in cabins was significantly associated with the number of passengers: the in-cabin concentration = 23.4 × N + 460.2, where N is the number of passengers. Conclusions: Application of the PM control device can improve PM10 concentration, especially at peak levels but not PM2.5 concentration.
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