Optimizing Urban Metro Operations: A Simulation-Based Short Turning Strategy to Alleviate Overcrowding in High-Demand Areas

El-Demerdash, Basma E.; Mostafa, Nour

doi:10.21608/esju.2025.362995.1075

Optimizing Urban Metro Operations: A Simulation-Based Short Turning Strategy to Alleviate Overcrowding in High-Demand Areas

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Operations Research and Management, Faculty of Graduate Studies for Statistical Research, Cairo University, Egypt

² Director of Control Systems Maintenance Department at the Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation, Egypt

10.21608/esju.2025.362995.1075

Abstract

The urban metro system is a high-capacity public transport mode aiming at providing convenient and efficient services for passengers, which plays an essential role in commuting traffic, especially in megacities. The urban metro system generally has to deal with intractable heavy passenger loading during peak hours, which demands are huge in certain stations. However, overcrowding doesn’t ubiquitously exist for all stations and mitigation measures must be carried out on purpose, respectively. Because of the restrictions on operational costs and avoiding transportation resources, simply increasing dispatch frequency is not rational to solve the problem. Therefore, these overcrowding sections are the investigating focus of this study, to provide rational and efficient short-turning operating policies. Short turning patterns need to be coordinated with present operation strategies. As the cumulative demand in the short-turning zone is larger, the short-turning strategy could relieve overcrowding within the zone. To reduce overcrowding in a high-traffic demand area. So, the main aim of this study is to use a simulation model to determine peak times and the most crowded stations, thus determining increasing the capacity in that area by rotating trains, to reduce the occupancy rate. The model implementation is demonstrated through a case study for the first line Cairo metro in Egypt. Managers will be able to use this model to identify and remedy underperformance in the Urban metro system, as well as to design regulations intended to increase efficiency in the Urban metro system.

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