Network Centrality Analysis of Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway System

TL;DR

This paper models Tehran's urban railway as a complex network and analyzes station centrality to optimize overcrowding management and system design.

Contribution

It applies graph theory to identify key stations in TUSRS, offering insights for system improvement and future urban transit planning.

Findings

Identified central stations using centrality measures

Provided strategies for overcrowded station management

Suggested improvements for future metro system designs

Abstract

Nowadays, Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway System (TUSRS) is going to be completed by eight lines and 149 stations. This complex transportation system contains 168 links between each station pairs and 20 cross-section and Y-branch stations among all eight lines. In this study, we considered TUSRS as a complex network and undertook several analyzes based on graph theory. Examining e.g. centrality measures, we identified central stations within TUSRS. This analysis could be useful for redistributing strategy of the overcrowded stations and improving the organization of maintaining system. These findings are also promising for better designing the systems of tomorrow in other metropolitan areas in Iran.