Comprehensive Analysis of High-Speed Railway Network Based on Complex Network Theory

With the development of the high-speed railway, the topology of the railway network is becoming more and more complicated. The railway network characteristic analysis is the base of optimization of the railway network topology and the operation plan of service. So it is essential to study the characteristic of the high-speed railway network to support the construction planning of the railway and the operation decision making. This paper first lists the key indexes of a high-speed railway network – node degree, clustering coefficient, degree centrality, betweenness, closeness centrality, coreness and network efficiency. And we analyze the significance of the indexes for the network. Then we select two representative high-speed railway networks of China and calculate the indexes of the selected railway work. Analysis is carried out to find the characteristics of the networks, pointing out the key stations and the weak spots of the two railway networks respectively. Then we compared the two high-speed railway network, analyzing the merits and the shortage of them. The conclusion of this work can serve as an important useful resource for the railway constructor and the operator.