INDECS, Vol. 23 No. 3, 2025.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.7906/indecs.23.3.8
Fractal Dimension of the Railway Networks of Hungarian Counties
Győző A. Szilágyi
; Óbuda University, Budapest, Hungary
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
From a transportation point of view, one of the defining networks is the railway network. The railway network connects important points in terms of traffic or the transport of goods in a given area. Therefore, one of the characteristics of the railway network is how well it covers the points of the given area. The aim of the research was to use a quantitative method to examine how well the railway networks of the Hungarian counties involved in passenger traffic cover the areas of the counties, and how well a given county can be traveled by rail. During the research, the fractal dimensions of the railway networks of the Hungarian counties were determined with the help of chaotic mathematics, including the box counting method. The fractal dimension can be used to show the extent to which a line-like shape can cover a flat area. With the help of the values obtained for each county, the extent of the railway coverage of the county can be examined, i.e. the length of the railway network of the given county and the proportion of the area covered by it. Based on the results, the railway network of the counties of Hungary can be ranked in terms of railway coverage, which can create an opportunity to use the fractal dimension as a quantitative analysis method in railway development strategies. The research showed that the railway network of the counties of Hungary shows a fractal nature, and to what extent the fractal dimensions of the individual counties differ from each other. The results can be used during railway network development in the areas of safety, economy and optimization.
Keywords
railway networks; chaotic mathematics; fractal dimension; box counting method
Hrčak ID:
332937
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2025.
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