Network design for personal rapid transit under transit-oriented development

This study addresses guideway network design for personal rapid transit (PRT) favoring transit-oriented development. The guideway network design problem seeks to minimize both the guideway construction cost and users' travel time. In particular, a set of optional points, known as Steiner points, are introduced in the graph to reduce the guideway length. The model is formulated as a combined Steiner and assignment problem, and a Lagrangian relaxation based solution algorithm is developed to solve the optimal solution. Numerical studies are carried on a real-sized network, and illustrate that the proposed model and solution algorithm can solve the PRT guideway network design problem effectively.