The Design of a Metro Network Using a Genetic Algorithm

The process of planning the metro system is very complex. This is due to the large amount of required input data originating from many domains. Additionally, the required extraordinary budget makes the design phase difficult and forces some trade-offs to meet most expectations. Designing a metro system requires often a multi-variant analysis to examine possible future ways of urban agglomeration development. In such circumstances there is a need to apply an efficient method, which allows for obtaining a draft design of a metro system. This paper presents an application of a genetic algorithm for two stages of a metro system design. The first stage determines the layout of metro stations, which optimally meets the transportations demands of the inhabitants. The second stage generates the optimal topology of lines connecting the stations, taking into account the minimization of construction costs and the total travel time of all passengers. The parameters, which control the operation of the optimization procedures, were tuned with the use of the Taguchi method.