Connectivity and Accessibility of the Railway Network in China: Guidance for Spatial Balanced Development

Abstract

Good connectivity and accessibility help to enhance the competitiveness of regions and countries. This research provides a detailed analysis of the connectivity and accessibility of the Chinese railway network. The studied period starts in 1949 and ends in 2017. The research scope covers the railway system of the entire country (except Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao). Instead of focusing on main cities as research objects, this paper provides more detailed insights by using counties as the basic research units. The analysis shows that the achieved connectivity has been increasing continuously over the study period. Four accessibility indicators (temporal location indicator, weighted average travel time, daily accessibility, and potential indicator) provide comprehensive and complementary results, indicating that the most accessible cities and units are located in the southeastern part of the Hu line. In addition, higher economic level, or higher population density, is correlated with higher accessibility. Furthermore, the current network exhibits an unbalanced spatial distribution pattern, with an underdeveloped west. All the indicators show that the accessibility of the northwest and southwest regions is the lowest. Based on these conclusions, regional policy-making suggestions can be made to guide a rational railway network expansion and facilitate the equality and sustainable economic development of regions. The future railway system development is suggested to focus more on enhancing inner and inter-region communication in the west of China and attach importance to poverty-stricken counties in support of balanced regional growth and development. The railway development of the eastern regions needs to focus on optimizing the structure of the network as well as reasonably organizing railway routes.