Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 22
The Design of Rapid Transit Networks
Gilbert Laporte and Juan A. Mesa
Abstract Metro and other rapid transit systems increase the mobility of urban
populations while decreasing congestion and pollution. There are now 191 cities
with a metro system in the world, 49 of which were inaugurated in the twenty-
first century. The design of a rapid transit system is a hard problem involving
several players, multiple objectives, sizeable costs and a high level of uncertainty.
Operational research techniques cannot fully solve the problem, but they can
generate alternative solutions among which the decision makers can choose, and
be employed to solve some specific subproblems. The scientific literature on rapid
transit location planning has grown at a fast rate over the past 20 years. In this
chapter an account of some of the most important results are provided. First the main
objectives and indices used in the assessment of rapid transit systems are described.
Then the main models and algorithms used to design such systems are reviewed.
The case of a single alignment and of a full network are treated separately. Then
follows a section on the location of stations on an already existing network.
Keywords Location ￿ Metro ￿ Network design ￿ Rapid transit ￿ Stations
22.1
Introduction
Due to the increasing population and the spread of urbanized zones, many cities
and metropolitan areas around the world are planning, constructing or extending
their transit systems. Among these, metro systems are the most efficient because
they consume less energy and are able to transport more passengers per surface unit
than any other form of public transport. Metro systems help decrease private car
traffic, therefore reducing congestion and pollution. The term metro is sometimes
used synonymously with rapid transit but the latter has a wider acceptation. In the
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