Abstract
To further improve the service quality and reduce safety risks in current congested metro systems during peak hours, this paper presents a load balancing (LB) approach so that available capacity can be utilized more effectively in order to alleviate peak hour congestion. A set of under-utilized yet effective alternative routes were searched using a deletion algorithm (DA) in order to share the passenger loads on overcrowded metro line segments. An optimization model was constructed based on an improved route generalized time utility function considering the penalties of both in-vehicle congestion and transfers. A detailed load balancing solution was generated based on the proposed algorithm. A real-world example of three overloaded metro line segments in the Shanghai metro network were selected and used to verify the feasibility and validity of the developed load balancing method. The results show that the load balancing method can effectively reduce the overcrowding situation to a great extent. Finally, two prospective inducing schemes are discussed to help implement the load balancing solution in the actual metro system in an efficient and effective manner.
Highlights
The metro system has been built as the backbone of urban public transportation in many large and medium-sized cities around the world due to its advantages of speed, capacity, punctuality, safety, lower-emission, etc
The load balancing (LB) approach developed in this paper aims at providing passengers a comfortable trip by relieving the in-vehicle congestion and achieving the best match between transportation capacity supply and travel demands during the peak period [T0, T1]
The LB approach as presented in this paper was evaluated and illustrated using a real-world case based on the Shanghai metro system
Summary
The metro system has been built as the backbone of urban public transportation in many large and medium-sized cities around the world due to its advantages of speed, capacity, punctuality, safety, lower-emission, etc. Peak-period extreme crowding occurs on some metro line segments and at some stations when travel demands exceed the existing metro system capacity. They prefer to use the route(s) with the shortest time and/or involving the least number of transfers. The overcrowded line segment is defined as an overloaded segment, which can be quantified using a variable: mean occupancy (i.e., the ratio of the passenger loads to train capacity in peak period). The purpose of this research is to develop an efficient and effective method to find a set of under-utilized alternative routes for use so that the heavy passenger loads on those overloaded segments can be shared and balanced.
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