A Fractal Analysis of the Public Transportation System of Paris

Abstract

An analysis of the railway networks of the public transportation system of Paris, based on the notion of fractals, is presented. The two basic networks, (metropolitan and suburban) which have different functions, have also a different fractal dimension: 1.8 for the metropolitan network, and 1.5 for the suburban network. By means of computer simulation, it is concluded that the true dimension of the metro network is probably 2.0. A fractal model of the suburban network, with the same features and the same fractal dimension, is proposed. This supports the conclusion that this network is fractal.