Search Results (135)

This paper presents a comparative analysis of selected economic indicators within the Italian railway passenger transport sector during the 2010–2024 period. Characterized by high-speed rail (HSR) saturation and advanced market liberalization, the Italian railway system serves as a reference model for investigating structural shifts within mature transport networks. The study aims to quantify the dynamics of transport performance through a synthesis of multiple analytical dimensions: passenger volume, transport performance (passenger-kilometers), modal split, average transport distances, and indicators of general and dynamic population mobility. The methodological framework is based on the application of chain and base indices, enabling the precise identification of cyclical fluctuations, exogenous disruptions (primarily the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic), and the subsequent degree of systemic resilience. The analysis suggests a significant shift in demand composition after 2014, characterized by an expansion of short- and medium-distance segments alongside a transformation in travel behavior. The research findings determine the correlation between infrastructure investment and the actual positioning of rail transport within a multimodal system. This work provides an analytical foundation for strategic planning in transport policy and sustainable mobility within the context of European transport integration. Moreover, these insights are practically applicable for transport operators and planners in forecasting demand, optimizing network capacity, and enhancing infrastructure resilience against future exogenous shocks. Full article

Transit connectivity is a critical indicator for evaluating the transfer efficiency and network performance of hub airports within integrated transport systems. However, conventional connectivity models primarily rely on flight frequency and schedule coordination, while passenger path choice behavior and multimodal competition effects are often overlooked. To address this limitation, this study develops an enhanced transit connectivity evaluation framework that incorporates passenger path choice preferences and air–rail intermodal effects. A novel air–rail intermodal gain coefficient is introduced to capture the context-dependent interplay between aviation and high-speed rail, quantifying synergistic effects when HSR complements air transfer and substitution effects when it competes with it. The proposed model integrates direct transfer connectivity ($C^{\mathrm{d}}$) and indirect transfer connectivity ($C^{\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{d}}$) within a unified quantitative framework, embedding transfer time compliance and detour factor constraints to improve behavioral realism and operational applicability. A case study of Xi’an Xianyang International Airport demonstrates that the introduction of the intermodal gain mechanism increases overall transit connectivity from 3606.3 to 3664.1, with the gain concentrated in the 500 to 800 km distance band where HSR journey times are most competitive with door-to-door air travel. The results reveal strong polarization in direct transfer connectivity and the limited effectiveness of indirect transfer routes due to transfer time constraints. The proposed framework offers a replicable assessment tool for hub airport network connectivity and multimodal transport planning, with potential for broader application across hub airports operating within integrated air–rail networks. Full article

This study examines how high-speed rail (HSR) hubs shape public space vitality in central-city station areas, using Shapingba Station (Chongqing, China) as a representative case of station–city integration. We delineated pedestrian catchments using Baidu Map walking isochrones (300–1200 s) and integrated multi-source data, including Public Space Public Life (PSPL) field observations (eight monitoring points, 07:00–24:00), Baidu heat maps, point-of-interest (POI) records, streetscape semantic segmentation, and a perception questionnaire. Indicators were synthesized via entropy weighting, and multivariate associations between perceived vitality and environmental variables were examined using Mantel tests. Pedestrian flow exhibits a clear double-peak pattern (09:00–11:00 and 15:00–16:00), averaging 42,248 pedestrians per day (2347 per hour) and showing strong spatial heterogeneity across monitoring points. POIs show a pronounced core–periphery structure: totals increase from 803 (300 s) to 4365 (600 s) and 7539 (1200 s), while overall density declines from 7477 to 2492 POIs/km², highlighting a 600 s core where accessibility and functional agglomeration are most strongly coupled. Overall, this study contributes a replicable multi-source evaluation framework and quantitative evidence on accessibility–function coupling and micro-scale design effects in HSR station areas, enabling theory-informed comparisons across station typologies and urban contexts. Full article

While pricing policy has emerged as a critical demand-side lever for decarbonizing mobility, its bidirectional effects on modal shift remain unexplored. Dynamic pricing in high-speed rail (HSR) creates a double-edged environmental outcome: advance discounts attract passengers from aviation, yet last-minute premiums may reverse these gains. Using 2.4 million price observations from Madrid–Barcelona (2019), we introduce a carbon leakage framework that quantifies this phenomenon within a multi-source validated framework. Our analysis reveals a structural tension: while early-bird pricing attracts 274,431 annual passengers from aviation—saving 23,650 tonnes CO₂/year—last-minute scarcity premiums systematically drive passengers back to air travel. Multi-source calibrated elasticity ($\epsilon =-0.95$, validated through triangulation across CNMC corridor data, meta-analytic evidence, and recent empirical studies within the range $[-1.91,-0.75]$) shows that 22.3% of last-minute tickets exceed the EUR 120 aviation threshold, creating 1511 tonnes CO₂ leakage annually (6.4% offset of gross savings). Critically, this leakage ratio is shown to be structurally independent of elasticity specification, being determined by the price distribution shape rather than demand parameters. Scenario analysis suggests that under static assumptions, price caps at EUR 110–120 would eliminate leakage while preserving an estimated 94% of operator revenue, though general equilibrium effects remain unmodeled. These findings identify illustrative scenario thresholds for carbon-aware revenue management, demonstrating that demand-side decarbonization requires not only attracting passengers to sustainable modes but also preventing their reversal to high-carbon alternatives. Full article

Within a spatial-economics framework, this paper extends a general-equilibrium model to examine how high-speed rail (HSR) openings reduce migration costs and thereby alleviate regional factor misallocation. The model predicts that improved connectivity lowers labor mobility frictions, facilitates cross-regional reallocation of productive factors, and reduces misallocation. Using a panel of China’s prefecture-level cities from 2006 to 2016 and a difference-in-differences design, we estimate the causal effects of HSR on the misallocation of labor and capital. The results show that HSR openings significantly improve both labor and capital allocation, and the findings remain robust to a range of endogeneity checks and alternative specifications. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the improvement is concentrated in eastern cities, while the effects are statistically insignificant in central and western regions. We also find that the reduction in misallocation occurs in both provincial capital and non-capital cities. These results imply that HSR can enhance resource-use efficiency and support sustainable regional development by reducing spatial frictions and promoting more balanced factor allocation. From a policy perspective, accelerating HSR network expansion can lower cross-regional mobility costs and enable freer flows of labor and capital, thereby improving allocative efficiency and fostering inclusive and sustainable growth. Full article

By expanding the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework to match the Complex Adaptive System (CAS) characteristics of high-speed rail (HSR) enterprises, this study adopts fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) to investigate the driving mechanisms and configuration paths of high-quality development (HQD). Using data from 137 listed Chinese HSR concept companies during 2018–2023, the results reveal that HSR enterprises operate as CAS, where HQD emerges from the synergistic interaction of technology, organization, and environment subsystems rather than isolated factor contributions. Four equivalent configuration paths to HQD are identified, categorized into three models: Technology-Dominant, Dual-Driven Technology + Environment, and Multi-Collaborative Technology + Organization + Environment. Policy support is a necessary condition for system evolution, digital intelligence empowerment serves as the core “order parameter” driving subsystem adaptation, and high-quality human resources act as the key coordinating element for inter-subsystem coupling. The degree of subsystem synergy has a significant positive correlation with HQD levels. This study enriches the application of CAS theory in the transportation equipment manufacturing industry, expands the TOE framework’s analytical boundary from linear dimension division to systematic synergy, and provides theoretical insights for understanding the nonlinear, emergent mechanisms of HSR enterprise HQD. It also offers practical references for governments to optimize policy supply and for enterprises to enhance adaptive capacity. Full article

Although numerous studies have examined the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on regional economic development, few have explored this relationship from a network perspective—a research gap this paper seeks to fill. Specifically, this paper aims to clarify the theoretical mechanism through which the HSR network affects the spatial evolution of regional industries, focusing on the new industry entry. We improve the local spread model by incorporating the HSR network as a key component and perform empirical analyses using the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) and spatial mediation effect model, drawing on data from Chinese A-share-listed companies. The findings indicate that China’s regional industries underwent spatial evolution characterized by “diffusive agglomeration”. In terms of direct effects, connectivity ranks as the most influential HSR network indicator; however, when both direct and spillover effects are taken into account, accessibility becomes the primary factor, underscoring its vital role in reshaping the spatial distribution of industries. Additionally, the HSR network exerts a slightly stronger impact on industrial spatial diffusion (fueled by knowledge spillovers) than on industrial agglomeration (driven by market size), and its attraction to new industry entry is notably greater in peripheral regions than in core regions. These results demonstrate that HSR, characterized by “transporting people rather than goods”, mainly facilitates the exchange of knowledge, technology and information instead of reducing freight costs, offering valuable insights for optimizing regional industrial layouts. Full article

To assess the market competitiveness of high-speed rail (HSR) express and forecast its freight volume, this paper develops an integrated framework combining strategic analysis, market forecasting, and competition assessment. A hybrid SWOT-AHP model identifies and quantifies key strategic factors, clarifying HSR express positioning. Considering macroeconomic and consumption factors, a GM(1,N) model forecasts intercity express volume. Based on a generalized cost function covering timeliness, economy, safety, and stability, an improved Logit model calculates HSR’s mode share against road and air express, deriving future HSR freight volume. Using China as a case study, results show: (1) A proactive strategy leveraging intrinsic strengths is recommended, supported by rapid intercity express growth; (2) HSR can capture over 20% mode share initially, showing strong competitiveness in medium-long distance transport; (3) Transport cost is the most sensitive factor, a 20% reduction raises mode share by 10%, while rising timeliness demands enhance long distance advantages. This study offers a quantitative basis for HSR express strategic planning. Full article

This paper reviews the role of high-speed rail (HSR) and other fast rail technologies in decarbonising inter-urban transport. It first outlines the global deployment of HSR, with particular emphasis on Europe and China, and situates these networks within the wider geography of fast rail systems. The paper then compares HSR with competing modes such as air transport and passenger cars along key dimensions including door-to-door travel time, energy use and emissions. Building on a qualitative synthesis of the international literature, it discusses the environmental, economic and social impacts of HSR, highlighting conditions under which HSR can deliver substantial modal shift and life-cycle greenhouse gas savings, as well as situations where benefits are more limited or unevenly distributed. Finally, the review briefly considers emerging fast rail concepts such as Maglev and Hyperloop and argues that they should currently be treated as complementary, long-term options rather than immediate substitutes for conventional HSR. Full article

Concrete remains the most widely used construction material globally; however, its intrinsic limitations—low tensile strength, brittle behavior, and susceptibility to microcracking—necessitate performance enhancement for demanding structural applications. Hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete (HFRC) offers a promising solution, yet the optimal balance of steel fibers (SF) and polypropylene fibers (PF) for structural elements such as slabs remains insufficiently understood. This study experimentally investigates the flexural behavior of 42 reinforced concrete slabs (21 one-way and 21 two-way) incorporating systematically varied SF–PF volumetric ratios, advancing current knowledge by identifying performance-optimal hybrid configurations for each slab type. One-way slabs were tested under four-point bending and two-way slabs under three-point bending, with structural responses evaluated in terms of load capacity, cracking behavior, deflection characteristics, and failure modes. The results demonstrate that fiber dosage does not proportionally enhance strength, as excessive content leads to fiber balling and reduced workability—highlighting the need for optimized hybrid proportions rather than indiscriminate addition. Quantitative findings confirm significant performance gains with properly tuned hybrid mixes. For one-way slabs, the optimal combination of 0.7% SF + 0.9% PF achieved 115% of the ultimate load of the control specimen, demonstrating a substantial improvement in flexural resistance. Two-way slabs exhibited even greater enhancements: first-crack load increased by up to 213%, and ultimate load improved by 40.36%, while deflection capacity rose by 44.81% at first crack and 39.80% at ultimate load with the optimal 0.9% SF + 0.1% PF mix. Comparatively, two-way slabs outperformed one-way slabs across all metrics, benefiting from multidirectional stress distribution that enabled more effective fiber engagement. Overall, this study provides new insight into hybrid fiber synergy in RC slabs and establishes quantified optimal SF–PF combinations that significantly enhance load capacity, ductility, and crack resistance for both one-way and two-way systems. Full article

Elevated stations are essential auxiliary structures within the high-speed rail (HSR) network. The newly constructed integrated elevated station for bridge building possesses a distinctive construction and intricate force transmission pathways, complicating the assessment of the dynamic coupling of train vibrations. Consequently, it is essential to examine the dynamic reaction of trains at such stations. This study utilises numerical simulation and field measurement techniques to examine the dynamic features of the newly constructed integrated elevated station for bridge building. Initially, vibration tests were performed on existing integrated elevated stations for bridge construction to assess their dynamic properties. The collected data were utilised to validate the modelling approach and parameter selection for the numerical model of existing stations, yielding a numerical solution method appropriate for bridge-station integrated stations. Secondly, utilising this technology, a numerical model of the newly integrated elevated station for bridge construction was developed to examine its dynamic features. Moreover, the impact of spatial configuration, train velocity, and operational organisation on the dynamic characteristics was analysed in greater depth. The vibration response level in the waiting hall was assessed. Research results indicate that structural joints alter the transmission path of train vibration energy, thereby significantly affecting the vibration characteristics of the station. The vibration response under double-track operation is notably greater than that under single-track operation. When two trains pass simultaneously at a speed of 200 km/h or higher, or a single train passes at 350 km/h, the maximum Z-vibration level of the waiting hall floor exceeds 75 dB, which goes beyond the specification limit. Full article

Within the innovation-driven development paradigm, transportation infrastructure is playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping innovative activity. This paper examines the impact of transportation infrastructure on firm innovation by exploiting the staggered expansion of China’s High-Speed Rail (HSR) network as a quasi-natural experiment. Using a difference-in-differences framework, we show that the introduction of HSR significantly increases firms’ patenting activity, and the effect remains robust across a battery of alternative specifications and checks. Mechanism analyses suggest that HSR alleviates financing constraints, facilitates the mobility of highly skilled workers, and enhances the efficiency of industry-level resource allocation, thereby fostering firm innovation. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the effect is most pronounced among firms with stronger R&D capacity, located farther from banks, non-state-owned enterprises, and SMEs. Finally, we document that the innovation-enhancing effect of HSR translates into higher firm competitiveness and profitability, underscoring the broader economic implications of transportation infrastructure development. This study deepens understanding of the mechanisms through which transportation infrastructure shapes innovation and offers important implications for optimizing the HSR network and enhancing the efficiency of innovation resource allocation. These findings offer valuable insights into how enhancing transportation infrastructure can drive firm innovation, boost corporate competitiveness, and contribute to the coordinated and sustainable development of regional economies. Full article

Background: This paper develops a novel, interdisciplinary framework for optimizing high-speed rail (HSR) freight logistics hubs in the Ottawa–Quebec City corridor, addressing critical gaps in geospatial mismatches, static optimization limitations, and narrow sustainability scopes found in the existing literature. Methods: The research methodology integrates a hybrid graph neural network-reinforcement learning (GNN-RL) architecture that encodes 412 nodes into a dynamic graph with adaptive edge weights, fractal accessibility (α = 1.78) derived from fractional calculus (α = 0.75) to model non-linear urban growth patterns, and a multi-criteria sustainability evaluation framework embedding shadow pricing for externalities. Methodologically, the framework is validated through global sensitivity analysis and comparative testing against classical optimization models using real-world geospatial, operational, and economic datasets from the corridor. Results: Key findings demonstrate the framework’s superiority. Empirical results show an obvious reduction in emissions and lower logistics costs compared to classical models, with Pareto-optimal hubs identified. These hubs achieve the most GDP coverage of the corridor, reconciling economic efficiency with environmental resilience and social equity. Conclusions: This research establishes a replicable methodology for mid-latitude freight corridors, advancing low-carbon logistics through the integration of GNN-RL optimization, fractal spatial analysis, and sustainability assessment—bridging economic viability, environmental decarbonization, and social equity in HSR freight network design. Full article

High-speed rail (HSR) makes a significant contribution to green innovation (GI), thereby supporting high-quality economic development. However, prior studies have mainly focused on the impact of HSR on regional innovation, ignored the influence on GI from the micro perspective, as well as the mechanism through which HSR affect GI. Using the data from manufacturing companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges during the period of 2004 to 2023, we treat HSR as a quasi-natural experiment and employ a multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) approach to explore the effect of HSR on GI. The regression results are presented as follows. (1) HSR significantly enhances GI in enterprises, and the results still hold after several robust checks. (2) HSR has a greater impact on the improvement of GI in lightly polluting SOEs of developed cities. (3) The mechanism by which HSR can improve GI is to promote the mobility of talent and alleviate financing constraints faced by enterprises. The policy recommendation is to focus on the heterogenous effect on GI in enterprises to promote the ability of sustainable development. Full article

To accurately assess the development potential of a high-speed rail (HSR) express in the logistics system, this study constructs a forecasting method for HSR express volume. Grey relational analysis is used to identify key influencing factors, and a multiple regression model is established to predict intercity express volume. A generalized cost model for road, HSR, and air express is developed, considering infrastructure availability and delivery timeliness. Cost differences between supply and demand sides are analyzed, and a Logit model is applied to quantify mode share, deriving HSR express volume. A gravity model allocates the volume between cities. The method is validated in Henan Province, China. Results show that: (1) Intercity express volume in China will continue growing over the next decade, with HSR forming a stable share, and Henan playing a significant role as a central hub; (2) Suppliers prefer HSR for medium-to-long distances with lower timeliness demands, while consumers prefer it for shorter, time-sensitive deliveries; (3) Lower consumer prices significantly increase HSR mode share, urging suppliers to balance cost and infrastructure investment. This method supports HSR express forecasting and promotes sustainable logistics. Full article