MTF operation and systems theory
Rail Mass Transit : a Specific Rail Operation

The MTF can be described as a system comprising :

• two sets of state variables: passenger flows in stations, train flows on tracks;

• an extremely intense coupling between these two series of flows, the intensity of which can be measured by dockside exchange times. This coupling leads to narrow zones of stability in the system, and exponential instability dynamics when the bifurcation boundary (in the sense of systems theory) is crossed, with very rapid snowball effects (of the order of the theoretical time between two trains, i.e. 2 to 5 minutes), large-scale propagation (over a dozen stations in less than 10 minutes) and ricochet effects on other transport lines in the interchange hubs;...