Urban Rail Hub Planning: A Case Study of Bangkok BTS

King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Prachinburi, Thailand

^* Corresponding author: ornurai.s@itm.kmutnb.ac.th

Abstract

Urban rail mass transit systems play an important role in sustainable infrastructure development, both in terms of reducing environmental impacts, alleviating traffic congestion, and promoting intra- city tourism. This research applies the Uncapacitated Single Allocation p- Hub Median Problem (USApHMP) model to the BTS Skytrain network in Bangkok to plan the optimal hub station locations, with the purpose of reducing the total travel time of passengers and supporting the connectivity between the main tourist areas in the city. This research applied the Random - Key Memetic Algorithm (RKMA), an effective optimization technique, to solve the USApHMP problem. The results show that increasing the number of hubs can significantly reduce the total system cost. However, the rate of cost reduction decreases as the number of hubs increases, reflecting the characteristics of diminishing returns. Accordingly, the results of this research can be applied to planning rail infrastructure investment, designing efficient transportation networks, and developing cities that focus on mass transit systems to promote the systematic and sustainable connectivity of tourist attractions within the city.