Functional connectivity networks for transportation delay analysis: From theory to software

• DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2026.102187

Within the endeavour of modelling and understanding the propagation of delays in transportation networks, an approach that has attracted increasing interest in the last decade is the creation of functional network representations. These graphs map elements of interest (e.g. airports or stations) as nodes, and derive pairwise dependency patterns from their dynamics through correlation and causality tests. In spite of multiple notable results, this approach still lacks a coherent framework, with decisions related to many fundamental steps being left to the judgement of the researcher. We here provide an introduction to the theory behind functional networks for transportation systems, detailing the main steps and the associated pitfalls. We further introduce a Python package, delaynet, designed to support the researcher in the reconstruction and analysis of such networks. We finally present an analysis of the propagation of delays in the Swiss train system; and discuss future research steps.

Related research projects

ARCTIC

Air Transport as Information and Computation

I.P.: Massimiliano Zanin

This project is an ERC Starting Grant of panel SH2, "Institutions, Values, Environment and Space". Air transport has by and large been studied as a transportation process, in which different elements, e.g. …