Rapid transit construction projects are major endeavours that require long-term planning by several players, including
politicians, urban planners, engineers, management consultants, and citizen groups. Traditionally, operations research
methods have not played a major role at the planning level but several tools developed in recent years can assist
the decision process and help produce tentative network designs that can be submitted to the planners for further
evaluation. This article reviews some indices for the quality of a rapid transit network, as well as mathematical
models and heuristics that can be used to design networks.Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council 39682-10Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación MTM 2009-14243Junta de Andalucía P09-TEP-502
