## 6 Conclusions  
The main objective of this research was to analyze the impact of platform typology on the efficiency and capacity of the metro station. To achieve this, all the relationships and interactions within the platform were analyzed, and its behavior was modeled and evaluated under different design scenarios. This allowed for an understanding of how the various variables interact with each other and how they impact efficiency and capacity.  
It was observed that the platform configuration, its accesses, and connectors strongly affect the station's transfer capacity, and this configuration must be aligned with the environmental conditions and the station's role within the metro network.  
The average operating speed of the metro network linearly determines the network's capacity. The stations, however, are the main restrictions on the operating speed. Therefore, the impact on the network's capacity is strongly influenced by the efficiency with which each and every station operates. The average speed of the network is conditioned by the least efficient station within the circuit, which is usually the transfer stations. Improving the efficiency of a station enhances its operation, reduces the train's dwell time at the station, increases the average speed, and thus, increases the overall transportation capacity of the entire network.  
It is often mistakenly believed that an efficient station is a larger one. But in fact, even a station that is larger than necessary becomes less efficient, as the passengers have to travel longer distances, increasing their dwell and travel times.  
By using the same volume of space, platform width, and stairways, it has been demonstrated that a station with mixed platforms is almost twice as efficient as a central-platform station. The central platform station is slightly more efficient than a station with lateral platforms, but this difference varies depending on the station's usage, its surroundings, and its position within the network.  
Station design should allow for phased construction, with the goal of expanding it to increase its capacity as passenger demand grows over the years. A modular station design will enable a generic station to be transformed into a high-capacity or transfer station.  
The lateral platform station or the mixed-platform station is capable of handling medium-to-high passenger flows, but only the latter allows for transformation into a mixed station, thus doubling its capacity to handle very high passenger flows  
This research also contributed to solving an urban-planning issue related to the current planning tools' inability to predict passenger demand at a station over the long term. By using the tools applied in this research, the design of modular stations with phased construction is proposed, allowing stations to adapt in a planned manner to future requirements.  
Further studies will expand upon the current study to analyze passengers both entering and exiting the station simultaneously by considering the most unfavorable passenger flow patterns for different types of platforms.  
Conceptualization, A.L., S.S. and V.A.; Methodology, A.L., S.S., V.A. and A.P.; Software, A.L.; Validation, A.L. and S.S.; Formal analysis, A.L.; Investigation, A.L. and S.S.; Resources, A.P.; Data curation, A.L. and B.A.; Writing--original draft, S.S.; Writing--review and editing, A.L., V.A., A.P. and B.A.; Visualization, A.L. and B.A.; Supervision, S.S.; Project administration, S.S.; Funding acquisition, A.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
**Funding:** This research received no external funding.  
**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Data Availability Statement:** The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors upon request.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflicts of interest.