Complex characteristic analysis of passenger train flow network

Train flow network is a complex network. The small-world and scale-free characteristics are analyzed. A computing example is carried out to show how to calculate the average path length and the cluster coefficient. The characteristics of the network built with all the trains of a national service plan are analyzed by the same method. It proves that the train flow network is a typical complex network and it is robust to the random disturbance while vulnerable to the deliberate attack. The analysis of the results can give valuable supporting information for the railway operators.