Impacts of infrastructures on reliability of urban rail bound public transport networks

Abstract

For the analysis of public transport networks, it is assumed that the network performs as planned. In reality, however, there are many disturbances influencing infrastructure networks and public transport services. In other words disturbances cause service quality variations and thus affect service reliability. These variations are more critical in rail bound public transport networks due to the fact that they need exclusive infrastructures for operation. In this article, we look at a public transport network design methodology that accounts for reliability and robustness of rail bound urban public transport service networks by considering impacts of stochastic events. The study shows the role of infrastructures such as bypasses, shortcuts and turning facilities to improve public transport network robustness. We apply the methodology in a real case study for the tram network: city of The Hague. Results show a sensible improvement in network connectivity reliability as well as total network costs.