Simulation and evaluation of urban rail transit network based on multi-agent approach
Abstract: Urban rail transit
is a complex and dynamic system, which is difficult to be described in a global
mathematical model for its scale and interaction. In order to analyze the
spatial and temporal characteristics of passenger flow distribution and evaluate
the effectiveness of transportation strategies, a new and comprehensive method
depicted such dynamic system should be given. This study therefore aims at
using simulation approach to solve this problem for subway network.
Design/methodology/approach: In this thesis a simulation model based on
multi-agent approach has been proposed, which is a well suited method to design
complex systems. The model includes the specificities of passengers’ travelling
behaviors and takes into account of interactions between travelers and trains.
Findings: Research limitations/implications: We developed an urban rail
transit simulation tool for verification of the validity and accuracy of this
model, using real passenger flow data of Beijing subway network to take a case
study, results show that our simulation tool can be used to analyze the
characteristic of passenger flow distribution and evaluate operation strategies
well.
Practical implications: The main implications of this work are to provide
decision support for traffic management, making train operation plan and
dispatching measures in emergency.
Originality/value: A new and comprehensive method to analyze and evaluate
subway network is presented, accuracy and computational efficiency of the model
has been confirmed and meet with the actual needs for large-scale network.
Keywords: urban rail transit
network, agent-oriented modeling, dynamic passenger flow distribution, decision
support
Author: Xiangming Yao, Peng
Zhao, Ke Qiao
Journal Code: jptindustrigg130072
