Development Of High-speed Rail Networks Research Articles

High-speed rail network and earnings management techniques usage trade-off: the moderating effects of governance and religion

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of the development of high-speed rail (HSR) network on earnings management, especially on the trade-off between the usage of accruals-based earnings management (AM) and real earnings management (RM) techniques, and consequently, examines the extent to which the HSR network–earnings management nexus is moderated by governance and religion factors.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of Chinese A-listed firms over an 11-year period, this study uses regression techniques as the baseline methodology while controlling for industry and year-fixed effects. The authors also use endogeneity tests (including instrumental variable method, Generalized Methods of Moments estimation and difference-in-difference) and different robustness checks.FindingsThe key findings are threefold. First, the HSR network development reduces AM. This suggests that the presence of HSR network is effective in reducing information asymmetry. Second, the use of RM technique increases with the HSR network development. This indicates that managers do not seem to engage in less earnings management with the HSR network development but instead appear to switch from the easy-to-detect AM to the more costly RM approach. Finally, the HSR network and earnings management nexus is moderated by governance and religion factors.Originality/valueThis study provides new evidence on the trade-off between AM and RM by managers and pioneers in examining the impacts of governance and religion factors on the relationship between the HSR network and the trade-off of earnings management techniques.

Coupling development of high-speed rail network and innovative cooperation based on travel behavior of depressed passengers

Background Depression is a common mental illness. Patients with depression show somatization symptoms such as loss of appetite, insomnia and low mood. The etiology and pathogenesis of depression are still unclear, and the pathogenesis is related to biochemical, neuroendocrine, sleep and brain electrophysiological abnormalities. This study takes depressed passengers as the research object to explore the intervention and influence of innovative high-speed rail services on patients with depressive episodes when they travel, so as to provide ideas for the coupling development of high-speed rail network and innovative cooperation.Subjects and Methods38 cases of high-speed rail passengers with depression were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group was treated with innovative psychological services of high-speed rail. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) was used to evaluate the degree of depression before and after treatment, and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) was used to evaluate the degree of anxiety.ResultsThe scores of HAMD and HAMA in the experimental group after innovative psychological intervention services were lower than those before participation (P<0.05), and the difference was statistically significant.ConclusionsThe innovative high-speed rail depression psychological intervention service has a positive impact on depressed passengers. After the intervention, depressed passengers’ depressed mood and pessimistic thoughts are improved, they no longer resist others, and their discomfort symptoms are significantly reduced. At the same time, this intervention mode opens new ideas for the coupling development of high-speed rail network and innovative cooperationAcknowledgementFoundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41301104); Foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41871108).

Does high-speed rail improve green development? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

Taking the opening of high-speed rail (HSR) as a quasi-natural experiment, this study adopts a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) method for investigating the impact of HSR on green development with the panel dataset including 281 cities in China from 2006 to 2019. According to the empirical results, HSR can facilitate green development, which holds by a series of robustness tests. HSR tends to exert a greater effect on green development in urban agglomeration cities and non-resource-based cities. Further analysis reveals that HSR can improve green development by fostering service industries’ agglomeration and urbanization. In addition, the spatial spillover effect of HSR on green development is also confirmed. Our researches offer recommendations to enhance the development of HSR network and to improve the policies related to green development.

The adjusted passenger transportation efficiency of nine airports in China with consideration of the impact of high-speed rail network development: A two-step DEA-OLS method

This paper presents a two-step method combining data envelopment analysis (DEA) and an ordinary least squares (OLS) model to analyze the passenger transportation efficiency (PTE) of nine airports in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China, and their evolution trends from 2008 to 2019. As the first step, taking the mileage of China's high-speed rail (HSR) as an external variable, a three-stage DEA was employed to obtain the adjusted airport's PTE after eliminating the impact of HSR. As the second step, a single-logarithmic OLS model was used to analyze the influence of the urban economic structure on deviations in airports' PTE before and after the adjustment, providing a clear and straightforward basis for formulating and testing policies. The essential findings included the following: (1) the development of HSR mainly inhibited the PTE of most airports due to their competition but also promoted PTE in a few airports for short periods due to their partnership; (2) various factors of the urban economic structure had different impacts on the adjusted airport's PTE and determined the trend over time.

High-Speed Rail Network Structural Characteristics and Evolution in China

Based on high-speed rail (HSR) network data from 2008 to 2020, this study explores the structural characteristics and evolution of China’s HSR network from the perspective of the overall network and urban node network centrality. We show that the overall connectivity of the HSR network has improved significantly, whereas the accessibility of the HSR network has improved slightly. Furthermore, both the density and accessibility of the HSR network in different regions gradually show a decreasing trend from the east coast zone to the southwest. We also find that from the perspective of urban node network centrality, cities with high degree centrality and high betweenness centrality are densely distributed along the northern coast, eastern coast, as well as middle reaches of both the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Finally, the node cities have shown a significant increase in both degree centrality and betweenness centrality; thus, both the hub role and radiation capacity have improved. Our study suggests that the government should closely monitor the development of HSR networks in the western region.

Sensitivity of a High-Speed Rail Development on Supply Chain and Logistics via Air-Rail-Road Freight Transportation

The casual effect and synergy of high-speed rail development on the modal transport changes in supply chain and logistics have not been considered well during the initial phase of any rail project design and development. This has impaired the systems integration and connectivity among the modes of transport in a region. In the United Kingdom, High Speed 2, a large-scale railway project with a planned completion date in 2033, affects many transport stakeholders. The project influences the existing transport systems, but the transport systems integration design has not been well depicted, resulting in a pressing concern on systems connectivity and social value. This is evident by many public protests along the planned route of the project. Therefore, it is important to evaluate different aspects for any possible changes in supply chains caused by the development of high-speed rail networks. This paper is the world's first to provide the sensitivity analysis of supply chains via air-rail-road freight transportation and logistics stemming from the High Speed 2 case by the rigorous assessments into the capacity, performance and environmental changes that may follow the project’s implementation. The research proposes a new method for estimation of consequences from a new transport project construction. The research findings demonstrate slight beneficial changes in freight transportation and logistics with a high potential for development; and reveal the project’s weaknesses and opportunities for better systems integration and business synergy.

High-speed rail network development effects on the growth and spatial dynamics of knowledge-intensive economy in major cities of China

The development of high-speed rail (HSR) is a key component of China's overall economic development policy. HSR generates external effects across economic sectors and has the potential to transform spatial-economies. Understanding these effects is, therefore crucial for long-term urban and regional development policy and planning. This paper examines the effect of HSR development on the growth and spatial dynamics of knowledge-intensive economy (KE) in major cities of China. The analysis does not only adopt the widely used proxy of total length of HRS network, but it also includes the frequency of HSR services and its interactions with network length. HSR effects on: (a) absolute KE employment growth (b) KE spatial concentration and (c) KE regional specialisation are examined, controlling for relevant socio-economic variables. The results show that HSR network development and service frequency had varying effects on KE growth and spatial dynamics at multiple spatial scales. At the national level, HSR service frequency positively affected KE employment growth, concertation and specialisation, while HSR network expansion had a small but negative association with KE regional specialisation. Among the three main regions of China, positive effects of HSR service frequency were evident in the more prosperous eastern region. In contrast, effects were negligible in the less-developed central region. The results show that HSR development combines with existing favourable regional economic conditions to generate more growth in historically prosperous regions, thereby entrenching existing economic development imbalances. These insights could inform long-term strategic regional development policy to reduce uneven development outcomes in China.

Changing accessibility and connectivity from high-speed rail development in metropolitan China

Massive development of China's high-speed rail (HSR) network has resulted in unprecedented improvement in spatial accessibility. This paper uses the Yangtze River delta (YRD), one of the most populous and developed mega-regions in China, as a case study to examine the spatial impacts of the HSR network development. It uses official train timetables to employ a weighted measurement, including rail travel time and train service frequency, to assess the changing network accessibility and connectivity at the multi-scale of provincial, regional and urban between April 2007 (pre-HSR) and October 2016 (16 HSR lines). The study finds that the introduction of the HSR network has enhanced, rather than comprehensively restructured, already-existing uneven patterns of accessibility and connectivity. Developed cities have benefited more from increases in connectivity, while the less-developed peripheral cities have experienced greater accessibility gains, which are, in part, the results of the YRD's persistent pattern of economic geographies. The research advances understanding of the impacts of HSR development in the mega-regions.

Impact of high-speed rail network development on airport traffic and traffic distribution: Evidence from China and Japan

We explore the impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) development on airport-level traffic by considering not only the availability of air-HSR intermodal linkage between the airport and HSR station but also the position of the airport’s city in the HSR network. The latter is measured by both the degree centrality (to reflect connectivity) and the harmonic centrality (to reflect accessibility). Using a sample of 46 airports in China and a sample of 16 airports in Japan over the period of 2007–2015, we conduct regression analysis and compare the effects of HSR network development on airports in these two Northeast Asian countries. We find that as HSR connectivity or accessibility increases, there is, on average, a decline in airports’ domestic and total traffic in China but little change in Japan. Meanwhile, we observe a strong complementary effect of HSR to feed international flights with the presence of air-HSR intermodal linkage. As a result, some airports may experience a total traffic increase. In China, hub airports tend to gain traffic regardless the availability of air-HSR linkage, while non-hub airports are likely to lose. In Japan, on the other hand, airports with air-HSR linkage tend to gain traffic regardless the hub status. Our analysis also reveals some differentiated impacts of HSR connectivity and accessibility in China. An important policy implication is that the investment in air-HSR intermodal linkage at busy airports may not help with realizing the benefit of congestion mitigation and emission reduction. Rather, policy makers may invest air-HSR linkage at regional airports which have the potential to be converted into international gateway hubs.

The perspectives of development of high-speed rail network in the European Union till the year 2050

The aim of the article is indication of basic development projects of high-speed rail network in the European Union. Beginning with the analysis of the length of high sped railways exploited in the 9 countries of the UE in the years 1985-2017, further there were presented the current projects of building and modernization of high-speed raiways within the 2014-2020 budget perspective. Therefore there were pointed out the projects of building and moderniation of hgh speed rail in the EU declared by the particular member states for the years 2021-2030 within TEN-T network, established in 2013. Further, the projects of buliding high-speed railways planned for the years 2030-2050 within the complex TEN-T network. As an outcome of the analyses presented in the article there emerged a complete vision of planned development of high-speed rail network in the European Union, which length in 2030 could be estimated for approximetaly 16,5 thousand kilometers.

Understanding Accessibility Changes from the Development of a High-Speed Rail Network in the Yangtze River Delta, China: Speed Increases and Distance Deductions

The rapid development of the high-speed rail (HSR) network in China has compressed intercity rail travel times. However, what is contentious is whether the expansion of HSR network has created a landscape of uneven accessibility, i.e. producing winners and losers regarding cities’ changing ability to access to the others. This paper uses the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) – one of the most populous and developed mega-regions with the high dense HSR network in China – as a case study to examine accessibility restructuring and major geographical features of winners and losers through a longitudinal comparison before and after the development of the HSR network. Analytical results show that the introduction of the HSR service network has exacerbated the uneven pattern of network accessibility formed by the conventional rail (CR) network. Aside from increased train speeds, intercity travel makes time savings thanks to significant rail distance deductions in the change from CR to HSR services because HSR needs a straighter trajectory, which is usually ignored in the literature. ‘Winner’ cities are either privileged substantially by a much higher quality of HSR service or a much shorter network rail distance. HSR cities can also lose out due to a large increase in network rail distance and a low quality of HSR service. Except for a few CR cities which neighbor HSR stations, thus winning an above average change, most CR cities are disadvantaged as a result of HSR network development. This paper extends the speed-dominated understanding of accessibility change from the network perspective of HSR services.

High-speed rail services development and regional accessibility restructuring in megaregions: A case of the Yangtze River Delta, China

Many countries have planned to improve intercity links in megaregions by developing High-speed rail (HSR) projects. The development of HSR service network in megaregions can change accessibility landscapes and create advantaged and disadvantaged cities. This study investigates how HSR service development has restructured uneven regional accessibility by developing a new regional accessibility measurement to incorporate train service frequency into the prevailing speed-dominated calculations. We conduct a longitudinal study to examine the changing patterns and relevant determinants of regional accessibility in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China, as well as the differences between conventional rail (CR) cities and HSR cities. The results indicate that the development of HSR services network has enhanced regional accessibility in the YRD rather than having the overall effect of restructuring the existing accessibility patterns formed by CR services. It has reduced the disparity of regional accessibility but has widened the gap between HSR and CR cities and increased the disparity of CR cities. Combined with a Tobit regression analysis, the results suggest that HSR network development in the YRD was highly spatially selective towards the cities that had higher CR network accessibility and better economic development performance. However, the disadvantage of regional accessibility for CR cities remains persistent, which may result in the issue of ‘peripheralisation of the periphery’. Some policy implications for an integration of the CR and HSR services for both CR and HSR cities are outlined in conclusion.

Graph theoretical analysis of the Chinese high-speed rail network over time

In this paper, we examine the development of the Chinese high-speed rail (HSR) network over the period 2003–2014. Our methodology relies on network analysis to identify changes over time in HSR network accessibility measured by node degree, strength, closeness, and betweenness. We show that sub-networks connecting regional centres with second-tier cities are first built. Once such sub-networks are mostly established, they are also connected with each other. Moreover, a simultaneous rather than a sequential schedule for multiple HSR segments is at place at any particular time. Finally, we show that the HSR network expands all the lower-elevation, more populous and prosperous regions. Although some clusters are critical politically, HSR network development is still mainly driven by economic factors, which is reflected from the fact that nodes in the more economically vibrant regions present a higher number of routes passing through and higher service quality (i.e., lower travel time). Finally, in order to illustrate the uniqueness of the Chinese HSR development pattern, we briefly discuss and compare the HSR development in other Asian markets, notably Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

Impact of High-Speed Rail Network Development on Airports: Evidence from China and Japan

We explore the impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) developments on airport-level traffic by considering not only the availability of air-HSR intermodal linkage between the airport and HSR station but also the position of the airport’s city in the HSR network. The latter is measured by both the degree centrality (to reflect connectivity) and the harmonic centrality (to reflect accessibility). Using a sample of 46 airports in China and a sample of 16 airports in Japan over the period of 2007-2015, we conduct regression analysis and compare the effects of HSR network development on airports in these two Northeast Asian countries. We find that as HSR connectivity or accessibility increases, there is, on average, a decline in airports’ domestic and total traffic in China but little change in Japan. Meanwhile, we observe a strong traffic feeding effect of HSR: that is, hub airports may experience a total traffic increase, and the magnitude is larger when air-HSR intermodal linkage is available. On the other hand, non-hub airports without air-HSR linkage experience the most traffic reduction in China, but they experience little total traffic change in Japan. Our analysis also reveals some differentiated impacts of HSR connectivity and accessibility, especially in China.

High-speed rail network development and winner and loser cities in megaregions: The case study of Yangtze River Delta, China

Using a door-to-door approach to integrate inter- and intra-city travel times, this paper simulates the changes in regional territorial and population accessibility, spatial equity, as well as the winner and loser cities resulting from High-speed rail (HSR) network development in the Yangtze River Delta, China. HSR network development has a minimal effect on decreasing the disparity in overall territorial accessibility but leads to an obvious decrease in the disparity in population accessibility. Seven types of winner and loser cities are summarised according to their net winner population and stations locations. Poor access to the city center from HSR stations is a common issue for many cities in the YRD, and more integrated development is needed for future HSR planning and construction.

Use of isochrone maps to assess the impact of high-speed rail network development on journey times: a case study of Nanjing city, Jiangsu province, China

ABSTRACTIt is well known that the increasing development of transport infrastructure will result in temporal and spatial convergence. As an important component of China’s high-speed rail (HSR) network, an ambitious HSR building program in Jiangsu province will extend the network to cover all cities and 95% of counties by 2030. This study aims to present and analyze the impacts of the evolving HSR network in Jiangsu province over the period of 2010–2030 by developing multi-phased isochrone maps of Nanjing city (the provincial capital of Jiangsu province). During the process, layered cost distance, a new method based on a door-to-door approach in actual travel time calculations, is proposed in order to draw the maps at a more detailed geographical level. Our results are expected to facilitate proactive public policy decisions related to improving the transport network.

Accessibility impact of the present and future high-speed rail network: A case study of Jiangsu Province, China

The large-scale implementation of a high-speed rail (HSR) network is often considered to have a significant effect on the spatial distribution of accessibility. In China, the development of HSR network has progressed rapidly since the first line commenced operation in 2008. As an important component of this network, Jiangsu province proposed an ambitious HSR construction program which planned to cover over 95% of its counties by 2030. Reduced travel time for passengers is one of the most important effects of HSR, and therefore this study aims to analyze the accessibility impact of the evolving HSR network in Jiangsu province from 2010–2030. A layered cost distance method, based on a door-to-door approach, is proposed to evaluate the present and future accessibility at a more detailed geographical level. The results demonstrate that, with the gradual development of the HSR network, accessibility levels across the province will be improved by about 9.6%, and the distribution of the gains will be uneven since the most significant improvements will occur in the more peripheral areas. The inequality in regional accessibility will decrease by an average of 25.7%, which will produce a more homogeneous accessibility landscape. In addition, several policy measures are suggested in order to further enhance the competitiveness of the HSR network in the transport market at a regional level. This extended period of exploratory and detailed analysis is expected to facilitate proactive public policy decisions related to improving the transport network.

English

The need for efficient and sustainable transport infrastructure has led to significant growth in the development of high-speed rail networks. However, the central question for advocates of sustainable transport is how to increase the use of high speed rail. Generation Y (Gen Y) has emerged with youthful values which will rival Baby Boomers’ market dominance. The concept of perceived value is closely linked to customers’ satisfaction, loyalty, repurchase and profitability. Therefore, the objective of this research is to identify and describe the perceived value drivers of generation Y’s perceived value on high speed rail. The data collection in this study was conducted through a series of focus group discussions. Researchers have explored Gen Y members’ perceived value and grouped into five dimensions: (1) functional value; (2) social value; (3) emotional value; (4) epistemic value; and (5) conditional value. In this endeavor, the values of this study could offer high speed rail marketers initial insight to encourage Generation Y’s use of high speed rail, and further applying in other public transit for the development of sustainable transportation. Key words: College-age generation Y, perceived value, high speed rail.

Role of the Railways in the Future of Air Transport

The role of the railways in the air transport industry is usually limited to provision of access to airports. However, the development of high-speed rail networks and the congestion and environmental problems faced by the air transport industry suggest the railways could have a greater role in working with the airlines to provide an integrated transport service for medium-distance journeys (up to 800 km). Many air journeys involve two flights and a transfer at a hub airport. The alternative being investigated here would replace air journeys by a rail journey and a flight, and a transfer between them at the hub airport. Such integration could offer a positive alternative to aircraft on some routes and lead to railway journeys to airports becoming part of air transport services, and not only to provide access to them. Integration could therefore provide a better use of available air capacity rather than duplicating some high-speed rail routes and services.

The Division of Labor is Limited by the Extent of the Market

The Division of Labor is Limited by the Extent of the Market