Comparison analysis on vulnerability of metro networks based on complex network

Abstract

This paper analyzes the networked characteristics of three metro networks, and two malicious attacks are employed to investigate the vulnerability of metro networks based on connectivity vulnerability and functionality vulnerability. Meanwhile, the networked characteristics and vulnerability of three metro networks are compared with each other. The results show that Shanghai metro network has the largest transport capacity, Beijing metro network has the best local connectivity and Guangzhou metro network has the best global connectivity, moreover Beijing metro network has the best homogeneous degree distribution. Furthermore, we find that metro networks are very vulnerable subjected to malicious attacks, and Guangzhou metro network has the best topological structure and reliability among three metro networks. The results indicate that the proposed methodology is feasible and effective to investigate the vulnerability and to explore better topological structure of metro networks.