Temporal characteristics and reliability analysis of railway transportation networks

Abstract

Railway transportation service networks (RTSNs) are crucial components of the transportation system, and temporal network theory can be used to reveal their temporal features. In this research, the temporal features of three RTSNs are studied. Using temporal network theory, the three RTSNs are separated into a series of continued slips according to time order and the changing rules of the temporal metrics of RTSNs are analyzed. This research also discusses the reliability of the railway transportation system from a practical transportation perspective. The results show that RTSNs possess periodic temporal patterns that respond to their transportation organization modes, and the temporal network metrics can reflect these features. Furthermore, network attack experiments show that the damage caused by the failure of edges is heterogeneous and that the valley time of the railway transportation network is vulnerable.