Formulation of a Resilience Index for Metropolitan Rapid Transit Networks

Abstract

Rapid transit systems form a crucial transport mode in modern cities today due to their ability to sustain high passenger volume throughput with low carbon footprint. The resilience and robustness of these systems are therefore crucial in maintaining a high quality of life in urban cities. However, there is currently no globally accepted indicator that can comprehensively and holistically quantify the resilience of rapid transit networks. Previous efforts in this area have been usually restricted to adapting network centrality measures or by making various assumptions on the flow dynamics. In this article, the authors propose several indicators that capture the main essential attributes related to transit system resilience including vulnerability, and redundancy. These attributes then direct the development of resilience indicators, which compose the composite resilience index presented in this paper. Their framework is also able to account for non homogenous rail networks incorporating considerations of lines with different capacities and stations with different demand characteristics. The authors apply their framework to multiple past, present and future configurations of the Singapore rapid transit network and show that their proposed framework effectively captures not only the overall improvements in resilience but also highlights areas within the network that require additional attention. They hope that this framework can be utilized by various transport planners around the world adding a new dimension to the process of future planning of rail networks.