Railway Reform in China.

The purpose of this working paper is to consider the current situation of Chinese Railways, the progress of reforms to date, and possible future developments. The first section describes the current problems of Chinese Railways, as a vast organisation subject to strong central control, facing enormous and rapidly growing demands which it is unable to satisfy. The progress of reform in Chinese Railways to date, and in particular the Economic Contract Responsibility System instituted in the late 1980's and the development of joint venture companies to build new lines, are then described. In the following section the key reform models found in other countries - deregulation and privatisation of vertically integrated regional companies; separation of infrastructure from operations with open access andlor franchising competitors; or reorganisation on the basis of business sectors - are then described. None is fully suitable for China, but it is suggested that a combination of sectorisation, more commercial independence, further development of joint public/private partnerships and more contracting out, is the most likely way forward

Evaluation of management strategies for the operation of high-speed railways in China

High-Speed Train (HST) operations have recently been introduced in rail passenger transportation markets worldwide. Although the technologies for such operations have levelled at speeds of around 300 km/h, the operating parameters to be adopted in each application will differ from country to country. The operating environment will be one of the crucial success factors for the implementation of HST operations in China. This paper compares three different management/ownership models which might be used in China. The paper analyzes the characteristics of each model and proposes an optimal plan of an operational system to develop HST operations in China by using a hierarchy goals achievement matrix approach

Sustainability analysis of Chinese transport policy

Whilst the world economy is developed, the life and development of human beings have been threatened by the imbalance among environmental and ecological aspects. Thus sustainability is becoming increasingly the focus of various social fields. For most developing countries, a strategy with good sustainability for social development is of long-term significance to keep the economy in expansion. This paper first reviews the conceptual framework and up-to-date development of sustainability. Second, it reviews the current transport situation of China and its future demands. Third, the paper analyses transport policy from the viewpoints of energy consumption and environment pollution caused by transportation. It finally summarises suggestions for transport policy that China should consider in the future

International Lessons for Promoting Transit Connections to High-Speed Rail Systems

As the California High-Speed Rail (HSR) project becomes reality, many communities involved in, or affected by, the California HSR project have considered how to connect the new HSR passenger services to local urban transportation systems – such as bus and light rail systems – and how they can take advantage of HSR accessibility and speed throughout the state. European and other overseas systems have decades of experience in forging connections between HSR and various transportation options. This study examines international HSR stations and identifies patterns in transit connections associated with stations on the basis of size, population levels, and other characteristics. Additionally, a closer examination is made of the lessons that can be learned from a strategic sample of overseas HSR stations, correlated to similar cities in the planned California system. Generally, the findings from the comparison suggest that California cities must make significant strides to approach the level of integration and ease of access to other modes that systems outside the U.S. now enjoy

The Use of Value Capture for Transport Projects in China: Opportunities and Challenges

Value capture (VC) could be a useful tool to address the huge demand for public transport infrastructure funding in China. This research identifies the opportunities and challenges faced by VC implementation in China and explains how local governments and local transit agencies dealt with the regulatory barriers. The findings of this research offer insights including: (1) macro environment, regulatory framework, and supportive policy environment provide opportunities to adopt VC projects, while the risk of acquiring land vale cannot be isolated from the global political and economic situations; (2) the regulatory challenges of land transactions and lack of property tax system restrict the application of VC; (3) evidence from the case study of Shenzhen demonstrates that local government may creatively deal with the regulatory challenges to do VC and benefit local community; (4) institutional capacity is vital to implement VC. The analysis of Shenzhen experience can provide a reference for other Chinese cities to implement VC.fals

Rail, rivers, road or air : which infrastructure promotes growth in China?

We examine the relationship between growth in transportation and economic output across Chinese provinces from 2005-2014. Panel GMM methods evaluate the impact of changes in air, conventional rail, HSR, roads, and waterways turnover volume on provincial output growth. GMM estimates demonstrate that rail and roads significantly affect economic growth; rail’s impact is particularly significant and its estimates are economically large for agriculture and manufacturing output. In contrast, air, HSR and water usage do not contribute to economic growth. Impulse responses indicate that rail and roads considerably affect GDP growth across China, and there is bi-causality between transportation and economic growth. Cost-benefit analysis highlights that the benefit of roads, and particularly rail, outweigh the costs of infrastructure spending.peer-reviewe

Airport Development and Regional Economic Growth in China

Air transport has experienced phenomenal growth in China over the last 30 years, but studies on China’s airport development are few. This paper aims to fill in this literature gap by focusing on the determinants of airport development in the Chinese regions using the most up-to-day and comprehensive data on China’s airports and their related economic and geographical variables. The empirical results based on an augmented production function indicate that airport development is positively related with economic growth, industrial structure, population density, and openness, but negatively related with ground transportation. The growth of airport transportation in the eastern region is slower than in the inland areas, implying a more significant substitution effect of air transport on ground transport in the less densely populated areas, irrespective of economic activities. The results have useful policy implications as any regional transportation development plan has to simultaneously consider the competitive and supplementary effects of both air and land transports in a specific location.Airport Development, Regional Economic Growth, China

Strategies for sustainable socio-economic development and mechanisms their implementation in the global dimension

The authors of the book have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to effectively use modern approaches to developing and implementation strategies of sustainable socio-economic development in order to increase efficiency and competitiveness of economic entities. Basic research focuses on economic diagnostics of socio-economic potential and financial results of economic entities, transition period in the economy of individual countries and ensuring their competitiveness, assessment of educational processes and knowledge management. The research results have been implemented in the different models and strategies of supply and logistics management, development of non-profit organizations, competitiveness of tourism and transport, financing strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises, cross-border cooperation. The results of the study can be used in decision-making at the level the economic entities in different areas of activity and organizational-legal forms of ownership, ministries and departments that promote of development the economic entities on the basis of models and strategies for sustainable socio-economic development. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in modern concepts and mechanisms for management of sustainable socio-economic development of economic entities in the condition of global economic transformations and challenges

The role of infrastructure investment location in China's western development

Development of the western region is vital to the balanced growth of China. The author studies the impacts of infrastructure investment that may most efficiently alleviate the burden of geographical remoteness of the West. Having constructed the ?adjusted distance? to approximate the transport cost, which takes into account the effects of real distance and infrastructure development, the author defines the ?peripheral degree? to measure the effective remoteness of a province to an economic center. Using panel data for 1979?99 from the Chinese provinces, she shows that geographic attractiveness plays a significant role in aSolow-type growth determination model. Given the invariability of pure geographic position, progress in transportation facilities is essential to reduce the geographic handicap and to encourage the catching-up of the western region. The author?s simulation results show that the central transportation hubs (Hubei, Henan, and Hunan) merit most infrastructure investments, for they favor the development of many provinces, if regional balanced growth is considered as the prime objective. In particular, improvement in the transportation facilities in central hubs will have greater effects on western development than that in the western region by itself. Improvements in the transportation facilities of the central hubs substantially improves the geographic attractiveness of the western region by reducing the transport cost from the West to the Coast and by promoting the emergence of new economic centers in such hubs, which tends to modify the national economic geographic structure.Decentralization,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Health Promotion,Economic Theory&Research,Achieving Shared Growth,Trade and Regional Integration,Economic Conditions and Volatility,Health Monitoring&Evaluation