Search Results (38)

This paper investigates the coordination between logistics and policy decisions for electric vehicle (EV) exports under the Belt and Road Initiative. Focusing on the two modes—maritime shipping and the China Railway Express (CR Express)—along with government production subsidies, import tariffs, and service premium, a Stackelberg game model for a cross-border supply chain comprising a domestic manufacturer and an overseas retailer is constructed. The equilibrium outcomes under four scenarios formed by combining subsidy policies and transportation modes (Models NM, NR, GM and GR) are compared theoretically and numerically, with further evaluation of capacity constraints and power structures, as well as the robustness verification of the core findings. Results show that the CR Express mode exhibits a service-driven nonlinear cost pattern, where its service premium amplifies positive market responses. Its appeal to the manufacturer, however, is tightly constrained by fixed cost. Furthermore, government subsidies can overcome this barrier by synergizing with the service premium, turning the CR Express into a relatively advantageous strategy. Moreover, subsidy efficacy is conditional, depending heavily on the service premium level and logistics cost coefficient, leading to a proposed differentiated subsidy framework. This study offers a theoretical basis for corporate logistics strategy and targeted policy design. Full article

The China Railway Express (China-Europe container railway freight transport) is pivotal to Eurasian freight, yet its transcontinental railway faces escalating cascading risks. We develop a coupled map lattice (CML) model representing the physical infrastructure layer and the operational traffic layer concurrently to quantify and mitigate cascading failures. Twenty critical stations are identified by integrating TOPSIS entropy weighting with grey relational analysis in dual-layer networks. The enhanced CML embeds node-degree, edge-betweenness, and freight-flow coupling coefficients, and introduces two adaptive cargo-redistribution rules—distance-based and load-based for real-time rerouting. Extensive simulations reveal that network resilience peaks when the coupling coefficient equals 0.4. Under targeted attacks, cascading failures propagate within three to four iterations and reduce network efficiency by more than 50%, indicating the vital function of higher importance nodes. Distance-based redistribution outperforms load-based redistribution after node failures, whereas the opposite occurs after edge failures. These findings attract our attention that redundant border corridors and intelligent monitoring should be deployed, while redistribution rules and multi-tier emergency response systems should be employed according to different scenarios. The proposed methodology provides a dual-layer analytical framework for addressing cascading risks of transcontinental networks, offering actionable guidance for intelligent transportation management of international intermodal freight networks. Full article

In the context of globalization and the Belt and Road Initiative, maintaining the stability and security of the China Railway Express network (CRN) is critical for international logistics operations. However, unexpected events can lead to node and edge failures within the CRN, potentially triggering cascading failures that critically compromise network performance. This study introduces a Coupled Map Lattice model that incorporates cargo flow dynamics, distributing cargo based on distance and the residual capacity of neighboring nodes. We analyze cascading failures in the CRN under three scenarios, isolated node failure, isolated edge disruption, and simultaneous node and edge failure, to assess the network’s vulnerability during emergencies. Our findings show that deliberate attacks targeting cities with high node strength result in more significant damage than attacks on cities with a high node degree or betweenness. Additionally, when edges are disrupted by unexpected events, the impact of edge removals on cascading failures depends on their strategic position and connections within the network, not just their betweenness and weight. The study further reveals that removing collinear edges can effectively slow the propagation of cascading failures in response to deliberate attacks. Furthermore, a single-factor cargo flow allocation method significantly enhances the network’s resilience against edge failures compared to node failures. These insights provide practical guidance and strategic support for the CR Express in mitigating the effects of both unforeseen events and intentional attacks. Full article

As a crucial component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China Railway Express (CR Express) plays a pivotal role in enhancing regional connectivity and economic integration. However, the systematic evaluation of CR Express node cities remains understudied, hindering the optimization of logistics networks and sustainable development goals. This study pioneers a data-driven approach by integrating multi-source geospatial data and advanced machine learning algorithms to develop a comprehensive evaluation framework spanning five critical dimensions: economic vitality, ecological sustainability, logistics capacity, network connectivity, and policy support. By comparing the evaluation performance of six machine learning models, an optimal decision-making model is identified, and the evaluation indicators are rigorously screened to provide robust decision-support for the establishment of CR Express assembly centers. The Random Forest model outperformed comparative algorithms with 99.5% prediction accuracy (8.33% higher than conventional classification models), particularly in handling multi-dimensional interactions between urban development factors. Feature importance analysis identified 11 decisive indicators from node city evaluation empirical indicators, where CR Express trade volume (weight = 0.1269), logistics hub classification (weight = 0.1091), and operational frequency (weight = 0.0980) emerged as the top three predictors. Spatial predictions highlight five strategic cities (Changsha, Wuhan, Shenyang, Jinan, Hefei) as prime candidates for CR Express assembly centers, providing actionable insights for national logistics planning under the BRI framework. Full article

Amid global challenges like COVID-19 and trade wars, resilient logistics networks are crucial. The China Railway Express (CRE) offers a sustainable alternative to sea and air transport, supporting China’s national logistics strategy and strengthening links between China and Europe. This study applies a three-stage Social Network Analysis (SNA) to CRE using a “point–line–network” approach. It evaluates city logistics with the entropy weight method, modifies the gravity model to assess intercity logistical gravity, and constructs a weighted network to analyze centrality evolution through SNA. The results show that cities such as Zhengzhou, Wuhan, and Chongqing have emerged as central logistics hubs, benefiting from strategic investments in infrastructure and multimodal systems. However, regional disparities persist, with cities like Harbin, Lanzhou, and Urumqi facing challenges in integration due to infrastructure deficits and geographic constraints. Furthermore, inefficiencies in border logistics, inconsistent customs procedures, and limited multimodal integration hinder the CRE’s potential. Addressing these challenges through infrastructure investment, unified customs standards, multimodal hub development, and advanced technologies like IoT and blockchain is crucial for enhancing connectivity and competitiveness. The findings offer actionable recommendations for policymakers, logistics firms, and researchers, contributing to the sustainable optimization of the CRE within global supply chains. Full article

The China Railway Express (CR Express) is an important component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The sustainable development of CR Express provides critical support for regional economic integration and promotes a balanced development of the supply chain. Infrastructure reliability and trade facilitation greatly impact the operation of CR Express and are crucial for improving the competitiveness of transnational trade and cross-border efficiency. Inconsistent transportation infrastructure standards and low-efficient transportation service procedures affect the cross-border movement of cargo among countries. This paper integrates quantified metrics of infrastructure reliability and trade facilitation into a spatial friction model based on the electrical resistance theory, estimating the impact of these factors on the transportation flow of CR Express. Additionally, three scenarios of infrastructure reliability and trade facilitation are established for the four trade routes from Zhengzhou to Hamburg. Numerical experiments show that compared with inland river routes and traditional ocean routes, infrastructure reliability and trade facilitation significantly influence the transport flow of CR Express. These research results can provide a reference for the improvements of CR Express transportation efficiency and the simplification of customs clearance processes, potentially promoting the sustainable development of the CR Express supply chain to some extent. Full article

The China Railway Express (CRExpress) is a vital international transportation infrastructure for the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative and the expansion of international commerce, providing a significant opportunity for Chinese companies to undergo a sustainable transformation. We use a multi-period differences-in-differences model to investigate the relationship and mechanism between the opening of the CRExpress and green innovation of enterprises, based on the panel data of Chinese A-shared listed companies from 2007 to 2020. The results show that the opening of the CRExpress can significantly increase the logarithmic number of green patent applications by at least 5% in enterprises with a spoke radius of 250–450 km, and it also has a significant positive effect on different types of green patents to varying degrees. By examining the sub-items of ESG ratings, the opening of the CRExpress can promote the green innovation of enterprises through the improvement of E-score. Additionally, three pivotal mechanism pathways have been identified: the promotion of regional economic development, the alleviation of corporate financing constraints, and the reduction of corporate logistics expenses. Furthermore, we find that the effect of the CRExpress turns out larger on the green innovation of enterprises in the Secondary Industry and the Tertiary Industry, manufacturing industry, state-owned enterprises, and firms located in the eastern and central regions. Based on the empirical study, we provide policy implications for deepening the correlation between the CRExpress and green innovation. Full article

The China Railway Express stands as a crucial facilitator of trade across the land routes of Eurasian countries. During its initial developmental phase, the China Railway Express heavily relied on subsidies to establish a market presence. This dependency hindered its independence and sustainability. Hence, there exists a paramount need to regulate the subsidy market and institute more rational operation strategies. This study focuses on the dynamics of the subsidies and operations in the market for the China Railway Express under different types of development models. It uses evolutionary game theory and the Activity-Based Costing (ABC) method to describe the dynamic evolution of four cases between local governments and operating-platform enterprises. Four corresponding lines were selected as instances: from Xiamen, Wuxi, Changsha, and Zhengzhou to Malaszewicze, Poland. The findings conclude that the optimal conditions for the development of the China Railway Express market exist when operating-platform enterprises possess higher assets and the local government’s supervision and punishment of the market are relatively weaker. This study offers valuable insights for guiding subsidy and operational decision-making processes for the China Railway Express. Full article

The China–Europe Railway Express (CRE) plays a crucial role in promoting local economic development and bolstering regional connectivity. Quantitative assessments of urban changes along the CRE are essential for understanding its influence on the local eco-environment and the economy, which is a cornerstone for fostering sustainable growth. Urban boundaries are vital indicators of city development; however, accurately extracting these boundaries over multiple years at a large scale and fine granularity remains challenging. On the basis of a global impervious surface area (GISA2) dataset from 2010 to 2019, this study extracted fine-scaled city boundaries annually for European countries and analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of urbanization in areas along and not along the express during the past decade. The generated enhanced urban boundaries (EUBs) show strong agreement with the Landsat time-series data and align well with existing global urban time-series products (GUB, GAUD, and NTL). From 2010 to 2019, urban areas and clusters expanded across the entire region, with notable disparities observed between areas along the express (noted as ON-CRE) and those not along (noted as OFF-CRE). ON-CRE cities experienced more substantial urban growth near the express, resulting in new mega urban agglomerations and expansion in small and moderate cities. In contrast, most OFF-CRE cities exhibited stable development with limited urban sprawl. Dynamic proportions of the impervious surface area (ISA) within the EUB indicated more compact impervious areas within ON-CRE boundaries compared to OFF-CRE. This study contributes to understanding urban expansions driven by the long-term CRE operations. The EUB dataset developed herein provides a valuable resource for future investigations into the impacts of urbanization on biotic stress and urban health in European countries, thus supporting the achievement of sustainable development goals. Full article

This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the robust optimization of the China–Europe freight train transportation organization under uncertain cargo transportation demand. The study commences by constructing a robust optimization model tailored for specific environments, which is further extended to address the complexities of uncertain freight demand. A notable aspect of this research is the adoption of an innovative approach to manage the uncertainties in freight transportation demand at each node, employing a box-type uncertainty set distribution. This methodology allows for an effective and balanced optimization strategy that accommodates the dynamic nature of demand fluctuations. The research findings underscore that increased robustness in the optimization model is associated with higher transportation costs within the China–Europe freight train network, especially under conditions of variable demand. The model demonstrates a preference for adjusting transportation costs to maintain the stability of the transportation scheme, particularly in response to wider variations in cargo demand. This strategy, prioritizing cost-effectiveness and adaptability, highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to managing demand uncertainties. The significant contributions of this paper include the development of a robust, economically viable, and efficient transportation organization plan for China–Europe freight trains, equipped to navigate the challenges posed by uncertain cargo demand at the originating nodes. The study’s emphasis on the practical application of advanced optimization techniques and uncertainty management methods marks a notable advancement in the field of freight train transportation. Additionally, the paper suggests avenues for further research in the intricate and evolving landscape of freight transportation, providing valuable insights for future studies. Full article

The Russia–Ukraine conflict has had a significant shock to the global political and economic stable and sustainable order. The various sanctions it has triggered are accelerating changes in the world’s power structure. This paper is a conference report regarding the seminar titled “The One-Year of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict and Global Shipping Safety,” which was held on 25 February 2023 at Dalian Maritime University, China. The seminar made creative discussion surrounding the following topics: the impact of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on the safety and sustainability of shipping, the predictions and impact assessment of geopolitical relations, and sustainable economic development changing under the Russia–Ukraine conflict. Furthermore, this seminar also mentioned the opening of the Arctic shipping route and Arctic shipping safety, the application of ship insurance sanctions, the relationship between the China Railway Express and maritime cargo transportation, the significant relationship between economic sanctions and China’s energy security, and naval and maritime safety. This conference report is relevant because it presents the full picture of the constructive discussion on the impact of the Russia–Ukraine conflict in the seminar and includes a literature review and further discussion surrounding the topic. A broader discussion on this subject matter attracted by this conference report is expected. Full article

This paper intends to clarify whether launching a cross-border freight railway project will cause adverse impacts on cities’ green innovation intensity. Based on the construction and operation of the China Railway Express, the impact mechanism of this cross-border freight railway project on cities’ green innovation is theoretically analyzed. Through using the data of 284 prefecture-level cities in China from 2017 to 2019, the effects of the China Railway Express on green innovation intensity are empirically tested by adopting the differences-in-differences method. The results show the following: 1. launching the China Railway Express project has a direct negative impact on cities’ green innovation intensity; 2. the China Railway Express has indirect positive impacts on green innovation intensity through increasing the foreign trade volume of cities as well as reducing the level of industrial specialization, and has an indirect negative impact on green innovation intensity through reducing the strictness of environmental regulations; 3. the radius of the impact coverage of the China Railway Express is 150 km, and its impact on surrounding cities is funnel-shaped; 4. the China Railway Express will cause a negative impact on green innovation intensity in large cities, cities with lower pollution emissions, and cities of Eastern China and Western China. Taking these findings into account, some policy implications are proposed. Full article

In this paper, we investigate the government’s optimal subsidy strategy for the China–Europe Railway Express (CERE) considering environmental impacts and industry competition. Specifically, we consider three subsidy options: no subsidies, subsidies to CERE carriers, and subsidies to shippers. A game theory framework is developed to analyze the problem of developing a sustainable supply chain consisting of the government, competitive carriers, and shippers. First of all, we find that for the government, indirect subsidies to CERE carriers and direct subsidies to shippers lead to the same total social welfare. We then examine the conditions for phasing out government subsidies. Our results indicate that the government’s optimal subsidy strategy switches at a threshold level of CERE’s environmental advantage. In particular, when the environmental advantage of CERE is high, the government should subsidize CERE by subsidizing either the carrier or shipper. In contrast, when the environmental advantage of CERE is low, the government should opt out of subsidies. At last, we find that this threshold of CERE’s environmental advantage is further impacted by CERE’s capacity and marginal operating costs. This study differs from prior research by investigating various subsidy strategies while taking into account CERE’s emission advantage and the timing of subsidy withdrawal. Full article

The global express market has expanded significantly in recent years. High-speed rail express freight transportation has been implemented between multiple cities in China, significantly improving transportation efficiency and effectively meeting demand. In this paper, an optimization model for HSR (high-speed railway) express transport plan is constructed using a space-time-state network, and an improved adaptive genetic algorithm is designed to solve the model. Reasonable transport schemes could be arranged for each cargo flow with the objective of maximizing operational revenue. The numerical experiment based on the Harbin–Dalian high-speed railway in China verifies the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed model. The results show that for HSR operators, appropriate transport strategies can be planned in terms of delivery priorities and transportation mode selection to make full use of the remaining capacity of HSR trains and increase operational revenue. Full article

Based on the perspective of regional resource mismatch, we explore the impact of the China Railway Express (CRE) opening by applying the difference-in-difference method (DID). The study found that the CRE has aggravated the degree of regional resource misallocation, and this conclusion was still valid after robustness tests. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the role of CRE in the western region and large-scale urban resource mismatch is more obvious. In terms of impact mechanism, the large subsidies and disorderly competition of local governments have a negative impact on the market-oriented normal operation of CRE, which is an important mechanism to aggravate the degree of regional resource mismatch. Therefore, in order to alleviate the policy impact of CRE on regional resource misallocation and improve the quality of the development of the CRE, the state, local governments, enterprises, and other forces should work together to establish a benign interaction between the government and the market. Full article