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Abstract
Constructing the Qinghai–Tibet Railway (QTR) was a landmark project and was beneficial to the sustainable development of the Third Pole. To understand the sustainable development of remote regions by the provision of railway, we studied the QTR’s impact on accessibilities and economic linkages for four cities in the Third Pole, Xining, Golmud, Nagqu, and Lhasa, and between these four cities and 29 capital cities in mid-eastern China. First, employing average shortest travel time (ASTT) and weighted average travel time (WATT) as indicators, we calculated the railway-based accessibilities for June 2006 and January 2013. Then, using a gravity model, railway-based economic linkages were determined. The results demonstrate that: (i) ASTT for Xining–Golmud decreased by 4.14 h from June 2006 to January 2013. Both ASTT and WATT indicated that the accessibilities of the four cities and between these four cities and 29 capital cities in mid-eastern China improved significantly, and the spatial disparity in accessibility for the four cities decreased, which increased the balance and sustainability of the transportation system; (ii) the average contribution rate of the QTR to improving economic linkages for six routes among the four cities was 25.29%, with the Xining–Nagqu and Nagqu–Lhasa linkages improving most significantly; (iii) the QTR strengthened economic linkages between the four cities and mid-eastern cities. Because of the QTR, the economic linkages between the four cities and 29 capital cities increased 27.58% on average. The spatial disparity in interurban economic linkages also decreased. Transporting products from Tibet should be promoted to strengthen the sustainability of economic growth.
Highlights
The Tibetan Plateau is known as the Asian Highlands and Third Pole of the world [1,2]
Both average shortest travel time (ASTT) and weighted average travel time (WATT) indicated that the accessibilities of the four cities and between these four cities and 29 capital cities in mid-eastern China improved significantly, and the spatial disparity in accessibility for the four cities decreased, which increased the balance and sustainability of the transportation system; (ii) the average contribution rate of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway (QTR) to improving economic linkages for six routes among the four cities was 25.29%, with the Xining–Nagqu and Nagqu–Lhasa linkages improving most significantly; (iii) the QTR strengthened economic linkages between the four cities and mid-eastern cities
The number of cities on the Tibetan Plateau is very small compared with the mid-eastern regions, and the gross domestic product (GDP) and population of Lhasa and Xining rank low compared with other capital cities in China
Summary
The Tibetan Plateau is known as the Asian Highlands and Third Pole of the world [1,2]. The main body of the Tibetan Plateau lies in western China. Compared with mid-eastern China, the Tibetan Plateau has a harsh natural environment, sparse population, and lagging economic level. The population of Qinghai Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region (hereafter shortened to Tibet) only accounted for 0.63–0.67% of China’s population from 2006 to 2016 [3,4,5]. The gross domestic product (GDP) for the two provinces only accounted for 0.42–0.50% of China’s national GDP for 2006–2016 [3,4,5]. The number of cities on the Tibetan Plateau is very small compared with the mid-eastern regions, and the GDP and population of Lhasa and Xining rank low compared with other capital cities in China
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