Measuring multi-modal connections and connectivity radiations of transport infrastructure in China

This study develops a Connectivity Utility Model that can be used to assess the connectivity of an airport, a train station, a city or a region in multi-modal transport networks involving multiple quality dimensions of transport services. This new connectivity measure considers both direct connections, and single- and multi-modal indirect connections. A novel feature of our model is the use of various radiation functions that not only help aggregate the overall connectivity of different transport modes’ terminals in a city, but also capture their contribution to neighbouring cities’ connectivity. This makes it possible to assess a region’s or a country’s overall transport connectivity. The methodology of this model is illustrated using the 2016 Chinese air and rail schedule data. The high concentration in transport services at large cities suggests that there exists a certain degree of inertia in the overall geography of China’s transport infrastructure