High-speed Rail Accessibility and Spatial Effects of Primorsky No.1 and No.2 International Transportation Corridors

Passenger satisfaction is critical to ridership growth of high speed rail (HSR). Each HSR trip includes at least four segments: access to HSR stations, waiting, line-haul, and egress from HSR stations. Satisfaction with any segment influences the HSR passenger experience. Previous studies often focus on passenger satisfaction with the line-haul segment, but overlook the effects of all four segments on overall HSR satisfaction, especially access and egress. Using a path analysis on the data collected from the Shanghai-Nanjing HSR corridor in 2016, this study explores the influence of access and egress segments on overall HSR satisfaction and the correlates of satisfaction with HSR access and egress segments. We find that HSR line-haul satisfaction dominates overall HSR satisfaction; HSR access and egress satisfaction together have an equivalent effect. Travel time and route familiarity are important to both access and egress satisfaction. Mode choice affects satisfaction with HSR egress, with egress by car carrying the largest utility of egress satisfaction, followed by rail transit, taxi, and then bus. Thus, to improve HSR experience, traveler information service and the integration of HSR with urban transportation system are critical.

Based on the panel data of 247 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2006 to 2016, this paper establishes a spatial Dubin model (SDM) to study the spatial spillover effect and mechanism of the improvement of inter-city accessibility caused by high-speed rail on urban innovation capabilities. The study found that the improved accessibility of high-speed rail improves the city's innovation capabilities as a whole, and has a significant positive spillover effect on neighboring cities. In the sub-sample regression of Tier 1 to Tier 5 cities of different scales, the spatial spillover effect of high-speed rail accessibility on urban innovation capabilities is the most significant in Tier 1 and Tier 5 cities. The text further construct the provincial-inverse distance nested spatial weight matrix to discuss the impact of administrative divisions on urban innovation, and find that the innovation factors within the province are more mobile.

The spatial equity of high-speed rail (HSR) accessibility in China has been a research topic for years. Most of current researches do not consider the impact of HSR operation frequency on accessibility. This study proposes an improved accessibility measurement taking frequency as an important factor and then analyzes the HSR accessibility and its spatial equity in China for the years of 2015, 2018, and 2021. Having defined spatial equity as the disparity of accessibility distribution, this study applies the Theil index to explore spatial equity and its changes over the three stages, as well as the regional difference among city groups based on geographical locations and administrative levels. The results demonstrated that the spatial distribution of HSR services accessibility in China was high in the East and low in the West. Only a few cities have the highest level of IAS (Improved Accessibility Score) which leads to a strong polarization in frequency-based accessibility. Spatial equity of accessibility has improved from 2015 to 2021, but HSR services developed more equally than HSR infrastructure networks from 2018 to 2021. When grouped by geographical locations, the West region has the worst spatial equity regarding IAS; however, the Northeast region has the worst spatial equity of OAS (Original Accessibility Score) in 2021. When grouped by cities’ administrative levels, the group of provincial capitals has better spatial equity regarding IAS but did not have better spatial equity of OAS until 2021.

When green transportation backfires: High-speed rail's impact on transport-sector carbon emissions from 315 Chinese cities

High-speed rail accessibility and haze pollution in China: A spatial econometrics perspective

<em>The role of high-speed rail network in the metropolitan areas is becoming more and more important, which has become one of the main ways of the city personnel contacts. This paper mainly uses the social network analysis method to revamp the six national metropolitan areas: metropolitan area of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, metropolitan area of Hachang, metropolitan area of Chengyu, metropolitan area of Yangtze River Delta, metropolitan area of Zhongyuan, metropolitan area of Beibu Gulf make a comparative analysis. The macroscopic and microscopic angles are used to calculate and compare the overall network characteristics, centrality, core-periphery structure and cohesion subgroups. It is mainly due to the fact that the high-speed rail network structure of the six major metropolitan areas needs to be improved. Metropolitan area of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and metropolitan area of Zhongyuan are relatively good the integrity and the connectivity. Metropolitan area of Yangtze River Delta is the highest utilization rate of resources. Metropolitan area of Hachang is the highest network density. Metropolitan area of Chengyu is outstanding between core and periphery. Metropolitan area of Beibu Gulf network of organizations is broken. Therefore, when layout of high-speed rail infrastructure, we should consider the high-speed rail network resource utilization, balance high-speed rail traffic within the metropolitan areas, thus enhancing the city’s high-speed rail accessibility and convenience.</em>

This study examines the impact of China’s high-speed rail (HSR) on the spatial pattern of new firm births. Difference-in-differences regressions show that both agglomeration economies and HSR access influence the spatial pattern of new firm births. New firm births decline significantly in counties with HSR access. We find more service sector firms in urban districts due to HSR while primary and manufacturing firms relocate to areas without HSR access. Geographically, the Central China is the most attractive to firms, while other regions are fell behind. Firm movement patterns, therefore, can indicate how HSR reshapes the spatial distribution of economic activities.

Taiwan does not only have a high population density; its population exhibits a strong preference for high-density downtown living. Rich Taiwanese thus live downtown, not in the suburbs. In addition, the expected negative relationship between accessibility and the spaciousness of housing is weak or non-existent in Taiwan’s metropolitan areas. Taiwan should therefore be highly suited to rail transportation investments. In 2007, a new high-speed railroad was inaugurated, connecting seven metropolitan areas. Hedonic estimates show that high-speed rail accessibility has a substantial impact on house prices in at least four of the regions. Interregional downtown-to-downtown commuting time seems to be the most important determinant of success in generating a station-centered price-distance gradient. Neighborhoods around HSR stations in suburban locations are not likely to spawn residential communities for commuters, since most Taiwanese prefer downtown residential locations.

This paper empirically investigates how local actors manage potential impacts and uncertainties associated with a new high-speed rail (HSR) access. The provision of such supra-regional transport infrastructure offers significant benefits to accessed cities and regions. However, the main challenge lies in transforming the potentials into actual local impacts. We conducted expert interviews in four German cities equipped with HSR stations to examine ways and practices of local responsible actors in this context. The study focuses on the voiced objectives and approaches, the instruments and actions used, and the factors that facilitate or impede leveraging potential impacts. Using the conceptual framework of strategic planning, we show that both linear and adaptive strategies are required to cope with uncertainties. Furthermore, anticipation of potential impacts by politicians and planners with a long-term horizon can prove advantageous in the face of complex dynamics. Promising and necessary progress could be made through enhanced cooperation and coordination with Germany's HSR operator and by taking greater account of local concerns with regard to a stronger integration of HSR-related transport and spatial planning.

Numerous studies have investigated the accessibility effect of High Speed Rail (HSR) in China based on projected rail travel time across cities. This study aims to contribute to the literature by visualizing the evolution of the accessibility surface (as measured by economic potential) of China in the HSR era based on real travel time by train between station pairs and analyzing HSR’s potential impacts on the spatial disparity of China. We find that the development of HSR has significantly increased the economic potential of Chinese cities. In the meantime, cities with HSR access and cities in the prosperous eastern region benefitted more from the HSR-induced accessibility improvement compared with non-HSR cities and cities in the hinterland. Therefore, instead of contributing to diminishing regional disparity, HSR may lead to greater spatial unevenness in China.

This paper is intended to set the context for policy discussion on HSR feasibility from the perspective of station accessibility. We compare the proposed Los Angeles – San Francisco HSR corridor to the functioning HSR line between Madrid and Barcelona to assess relative station accessibility based on urban structure. Our methodology assesses socioeconomic and spatial characteristics of mono-centric versus polycentric cities that may affect HSR accessibility. By addressing challenges of unit (urban geography), data series (normalization) and identifying four key components of HSR attractiveness (population, population density, income and employment) we have created a methodology that allows us to assess relative station accessibility in the four compared metropolitan areas. We find urban structure limits the potential accessibility of HSR in the California context, and warn HSR planners they should proceed with caution.

Disparities in high-speed rail accessibility in the Yangtze River Delta, China: A door-to-door travel time perspective

Investigating the role of green mobility in coupling coordination of urbanization and ecological environment: Evidence from high-speed rail accessibility

A model system to forecast urban rail travel demand technically supported the formulation of the Tokyo Urban Rail Development Master Plan for 2016. The model system was included in the forthcoming 15-year urban rail investment strategy for Tokyo and was used to make a quantitative assessment of urban rail projects, including 24 new rail development projects that had been proposed in response to expected changes in sociodemographic patterns, land use markets, and the government’s latest transportation policy goals. The system covered the entire urban rail network within the Tokyo metropolitan area, with approximately a 50-km radius and a population of more than 34 million. The system would have to have handled more than 80 million trips per day. Three demand models were used to predict daily rail passenger link flows: urban rail, airport rail access, and high-speed rail access. These practical models had unique characteristics, such as incorporating differences in behavior between older and younger travelers, reflecting expected influences of urban redevelopment on trip generation and distribution, highlighting urban rail access to airports or high-speed-rail stations, examining effects of in-vehicle crowding on rail route choice, and deploying mode choice models for urban rail station access–egress for rail route choice. The authors concluded that the model system would be well calibrated with observed data for reproducing travel patterns, identifying potential problems, assessing proposed projects, presenting results with high accuracy, and assisting decision making of urban rail planners.

Information consumption has been reshaping the modes of human living and production, and driving the transformation of production and trade activities traditionally dependent on land resources, thus influencing urban land green use efficiency (ULGUE). Based on the panel data of 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2023, this study employs the national Information Consumption Pilot Policy (ICPP) as a quasi-natural experiment and utilizes a double machine learning model to assess the ICPP’s impacts on ULGUE. According to the results of the causal mediating effect analysis, the ICPP has improved ULGUE through three mediating mechanisms: expanding the scale of digital transactions, nurturing future industrial developments, and promoting green consumption behaviors. Moreover, in light of the results of the heterogeneity analysis, the ICPP’s impacts on ULGUE vary significantly. Such variation can primarily be attributed to differences in urban resource endowments, disparities in transportation infrastructure development, and variations in geographical location. Specifically, the ICPP has produced more prominent impacts on enhancing land green use efficiency in resource-based cities, cities with high-speed rail access, and coastal cities. Therefore, the government should proactively establish an urban information consumption environment, enhance the role of digital transactions, strategize future industrial developments, encourage green consumption behaviors, and differentiate local policies to effectively promote the continuous improvement of ULGUE.