A study of influence zone for railway stations of different hierarchy in the Indian Railways: analyzing passenger travel patterns

ABSTRACT

The transportation planning of Indian Railways has become increasingly complex due to the growing population and increasing demand for mobility. To develop an efficient and effective last-mile transportation system, it is important to identify the extent of the influence zone of railway stations. This can guide policy decisions and infrastructure development. This research paper focuses on mapping the influence zones of 40 railway stations across the Northern Railway Division of India. It uses the travel length frequency distribution to analyze the distribution of passengers’ travel distances. The study shows that influence zones for railway stations vary significantly based on their hierarchy level. Higher-hierarchy stations tend to have larger and more dispersed influence zones, while those of lower-hierarchy stations tend to be smaller and more localized. The findings can be used to guide the expansion of existing stations and the improvement of transportation services. Overall, this study provides a valuable contribution to the field of transportation planning for Indian Railways. It demonstrates the importance of influence zone mapping in developing an efficient and effective transportation system.

KEYWORDS:

• Railway station influence zone
• univariate clustering
• last mile connectivity
• accessibility

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of the research, supporting data is not available.

Author contributions

In the current situation, Indian railways is growing at a rapid speed and expected to handle 15 billion passengers by the end of 2030, but with this increase in patronage there will be an impact on the infrastructure capacity associated with the station, especially with the accessibility infrastructure. The need of an hour is to develop a robust supporting infrastructure for an efficient operation of a railway station, for this it is important to identify the extent to which a railway station influences the region. This article discusses an appropriate influence zone for railway stations of different hierarchies in India, which will help policymakers and planners to develop a suitable infrastructure for accessibility.