Passenger-oriented subway network capacity calculation and analysis based on simulation

ABSTRACT

The calculation and analysis of subway network capacity is one of the core issues of network operation. This paper focuses on this topic and proposes a passenger-oriented network capacity calculation method. First, subway network capacity is defined as maximum passenger demand that the network can serve under certain level of service requirement. Next, a method to calculate network capacity based on pressure test and simulation experiment is proposed. The key steps of this method such as level of service estimation and passenger demand loading in this method are studied. And then a mesoscopic model and simulation system of subway system are built as method implementation platform. Finally, Beijing subway network is taken as the case study to calculate and analyze network capacity in different level of service requirement during peak hours. It is found out that transfer stations are the bottlenecks that constrain network capacity, and congestion usually performs clustering characteristics taking transfer stations as centers.

KEYWORDS:

• Subway
• network capacity
• capcaity calculation
• mesoscopic modeling
• pressure test
• simulation experiment
• passenger flow distribution
• level of service

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the associate editor and anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation [T19E700010].