Computer Science – Data Structures and Algorithms
Scientific paper
2010-03-21
European Physical Journal B, Volume 77, Number 2, 281-289 (2010)
Computer Science
Data Structures and Algorithms
Scientific paper
10.1140/epjb/e2010-00234-y
Timetable construction belongs to the most important optimization problems in public transport. Finding optimal or near-optimal timetables under the subsidiary conditions of minimizing travel times and other criteria is a targeted contribution to the functioning of public transport. In addition to efficiency (given, e.g., by minimal average travel times), a significant feature of a timetable is its robustness against delay propagation. Here we study the balance of efficiency and robustness in long-distance railway timetables (in particular the current long-distance railway timetable in Germany) from the perspective of synchronization, exploiting the fact that a major part of the trains run nearly periodically. We find that synchronization is highest at intermediate-sized stations. We argue that this synchronization perspective opens a new avenue towards an understanding of railway timetables by representing them as spatio-temporal phase patterns. Robustness and efficiency can then be viewed as properties of this phase pattern.
Fretter Christoph
Hütt Marc-Thorsten
Krumov Lachezar
Müller-Hannemann Matthias
Weihe Karsten
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