Accessibility-oriented performance evaluation of high-speed railways using a three-layer network model

• The high-speed railway network is modeled as a three-layer network. • Network-specific characteristics are considered in performance evaluation instead of pure complex network analysis. • Railway stations are prioritized and compared within different layers of the network. • The current physical rail network in China is generally sufficient to satisfy the requirements of its transportation accessibility. • Management implications are provided to facilitate the rail network planning, transportation organization and operations. High-speed railways, as dominant transportation patterns, constitute a large-scale complex network. Network performance is critical for high-level transportation services in transportation management. However, existing studies generally adopt pure topological indicators to evaluate performance in a single network and without considering the specific characteristics of rail transportation. This paper modeled the high-speed railway as a three-layer network including topological, functional, and service layers and assessed the integrated network performance from the view of transportation accessibility. In addition, the rail stations were prioritized and their performances in different layers were compared to analyze whether the total integrated performance was restricted by its connection abilities, functional capacities, and transportation service level. Finally, a case study of the high-speed rail network in China and comparisons with other traditional evaluation methods were conducted to verify the feasibility and superiority of the model. The findings of this study enable to provide management implications for rail transportation planning, organization, and operations.