Search Results (34)

As a key transportation infrastructure, it is of great significance to ensure the seismic safety of the high-speed railway hub station. Taking Changde high-speed railway hub station as background, a comprehensive 3D numerical model of the high-speed railway station structure is proposed to consider the engineering geological characteristics of the site, soil nonlinearity, and pile-soil interactions. The results show that the hub station structural system, considering pile-soil interaction, presents the ‘soft-upper-rigid-down’ characteristics as a whole, and the natural vibration is lower than that of the station structure with a rigid foundation assumption. Under the action of three strong seismic motions, the nonlinear site seismic effect is significant, the surface acceleration is significantly enlarged, and decreases with the buried depth. The interaction between pile and soil is related to the nonlinear seismic effect of the site, which deforms together to resist the foundation deformation caused by the strong earthquake motions, and the depth range affected by the interaction between the two increases with the increase of the intensity of earthquake motion. Among the three kinds of input earthquake motions, the predominant frequency of the Kobe earthquake is the closest to the natural vibration of the station structure system, followed by the El Centro earthquake. Moreover, the structures above the foundation of the high-speed railway hub station structural system are more sensitive to the spectral characteristics of Taft waves and El Centro waves compared to the site soil. This is also the main innovation point of this study. The existence of the roof leads to the gradual amplification of the seismic response of the station frame structure with height, and the seismic response amplification at the connection between the roof and the frame structure is the largest. The maximum story drift angle at the top floor of the station structure is also greater than that at the bottom floor. Full article

The world is characterised by the growing volumes and flow of goods, which, amid benefits to economic development, result in negative externalities affecting the sustainability of cities. Although numerous studies have analysed the locational patterns of logistics facilities in cities, further research is required to examine their real estate patterns and trends. The aim of the paper is, therefore, to analyse the value of land accommodating logistics facilities in the City of Cape Town municipality, South Africa. Given the lack of dedicated geo-spatial data, logistics firms were searched on Google Maps, utilising a combination of aerial photography and street view imagery. Three main attributes of land parcels hosting logistics facilities were thereafter captured from the municipal cadastral information: property extent, street address, and property number. The latter two were used to extract the 2018 and 2022 property market values from the valuation rolls on the municipal website, followed by statistical, spatial, and geographically weighted regression (GWR) analyses. Zones near the central business district and seaport, as well as areas with prime road-based accessibility, had high market values, while those near the railway stations did not stand out. However, GWR yielded weak relationships between market values and the locational variables analysed, arguably showing a disconnect between spatial planning and logistics planning. Towards augmenting sustainable logistics, it is recommended that relevant stakeholders strategically integrate logistics into spatial planning, and particularly revitalise freight rail to attract investment to logistics hubs with direct railway access. Full article

This study focuses on the systematic conservation of historical architectural heritage in Heilongjiang Province, particularly addressing the challenges of point-based protection and spatial fragmentation. It explores the construction of a connected and conductive heritage corridor network, using historical building clusters across the province as empirical cases. A comprehensive analytical framework is established by integrating the nearest neighbor index, kernel density estimation, minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model, entropy weighting, circuit theory, and network structure metrics. Kernel density analysis reveals a distinct spatial aggregation pattern, characterized by “one core, multiple zones.” Seven resistance factors—including elevation, slope, land use, road networks, and service accessibility—are constructed, with weights assigned through an entropy-based method to generate an integrated resistance surface and suitability map. Circuit theory is employed to simulate cultural “current” flows, identifying 401 potential corridors at the provincial, municipal, and district levels. A hierarchical station system is further developed based on current density, forming a coordinated structure of primary trunks, secondary branches, and complementary nodes. The corridor network’s connectivity is evaluated using graph-theoretic indices (α, β, and γ), which indicate high levels of closure, structural complexity, and accessibility. The results yield the following key findings: (1) Historical architectural resources in Heilongjiang demonstrate significant coupling with the Chinese Eastern Railway and multi-ethnic cultural corridors, forming a “one horizontal, three vertical” spatial configuration. The horizontal axis (Qiqihar–Harbin–Mudanjiang) aligns with the core cultural route of the railway, while the three vertical axes (Qiqihar–Heihe, Harbin–Heihe, and Mudanjiang–Luobei) correspond to ethnic cultural pathways. This forms a framework of “railway as backbone, ethnicity as wings.” (2) Comparative analysis of corridor paths, railways, and highways reveals structural mismatches in certain regions, including absent high-speed connections along northern trunk lines, insufficient feeder lines in secondary corridors, sparse terminal links, and missing ecological stations near regional boundaries. To address these gaps, a three-tier transportation coordination strategy is recommended: it comprises provincial corridors linked to high-speed rail, municipal corridors aligned with conventional rail, and district corridors connected via highway systems. Key enhancement zones include Yichun–Heihe, Youyi–Hulin, and Hegang–Wuying, where targeted infrastructure upgrades and integrated station hubs are proposed. Based on these findings, this study proposes a comprehensive governance paradigm for heritage corridors that balances multi-level coordination (provincial–municipal–district) with ecological planning. A closed-loop strategy of “identification–analysis–optimization” is developed, featuring tiered collaboration, cultural–ecological synergy, and multi-agent dynamic evaluation. The framework provides a replicable methodology for integrated protection and spatial sustainability of historical architecture in Heilongjiang and other cold-region contexts. Full article

As critical hubs for long-distance transportation, railway passenger stations (RPSs) significantly influence energy conservation and CO₂ mitigation. This study investigates the spatiotemporal patterns and driving factors of CO₂ emissions across 247 Chinese RPSs (2014–2023), proposing region-specific decarbonization strategies. The key findings include: (1) Emissions increased universally during 2014–2023, with severe cold zones and developed cities hosting the most high-emission RPSs; (2) purchased thermal energy dominated the emissions in severe cold/cold zones, while purchased electricity prevailed in other zones; (3) the heating area (HA) was a primary emission driver, whereas the percentage of lighting energy consumption (PLEC) served as a key constraint, as shown by correlation and PCA analyses; (4) CO₂ emissions in severe cold zones exhibited strong correlations with heating-related factors, whereas emissions in other zones were predominantly linked to energy structure-related factors. These findings provide region-specific, actionable strategies to support CO₂ emission reduction planning for RPSs. Full article

With the acceleration of urbanization, urban regeneration has become a critical strategy for megacities to address spatial fragmentation and inefficient resource allocation. However, the mismatch between transportation nodes and land development potential remains a key barrier to sustainable urban renewal. This research takes the urban renewal areas in Changsha as a typical case. Based on the “Node–Place–Value” (NPV) model, a multi-dimensional evaluation system was constructed. Through multiple empirical analysis methods such as spatial data analysis, field research, and economic indicator evaluation, this study deeply explores how this evaluation system provides a theoretical and data basis for detailed planning and further provides guidance for meeting the needs of urban renewal. Through the empirical analysis of the urban renewal areas in Changsha, this study quantifies the matching relationship among transportation nodes, land use, and economic value and reveals the current imbalance issues of these elements in the areas. For example, there is a common mismatch between the functions of transportation nodes and the potential of land development. Specifically, the land use in transportation hub areas fails to fully utilize their transportation advantages, resulting in the waste of transportation resources and low economic benefits. The results reveal significant imbalances in the following areas: Transportation–Land Mismatch: High-accessibility areas (e.g., Martyrs’ Park and Railway Station ) exhibit underdeveloped land use and low economic conversion efficiency. Peripheral Lag: Remote areas (e.g., Wang Xin and Sunshine 100 ) lack both transportation infrastructure and land development potential, leading to resource waste. Value Dimension Impact: The added “value” dimension highlights thatareas with cultural assets (e.g., Martyrs’ Park) achieve higher comprehensive scores despite spatial constraints. The findings of this study not only provide a scientific basis for urban renewal in Changsha but also offer crucial theoretical support and practical references for other megacities in China to address similar issues and achieve sustainable development. Full article

In the years since the emergence of the railway, the main objective has been focused on trains arriving and stopping at stations, with stations being considered a secondary or even residual objective for bringing people or goods on or off. The arrival of high-speed trains at stations has allowed for the creation of integrated, environmentally friendly stations which have become mobility hubs, connecting different modes of transportation and cities, as well as being clusters of economic activities that stimulate the inclusive growth of the areas where they are located. These transport infrastructures condition the social and communication relationships of many spaces. The consequences that have been demonstrated in the stations analyzed have been strengthened intermodally with other means of transport, giving value to commercial developments and old stations, as well as the environments where they are located, a development aimed beyond the railway users themselves. From an operational point of view, the main consequence of this transformation is the necessity to absorb the increase in passenger demand. The integration of the railway within an urban space is shaped through the construction of new stations within the already existing urban framework or, in some cases, by relocating them to the periphery of the city. New stations have undergone changes compared to those built a century ago. Their conception has evolved, adapting to the architecture of their time, but the most radical change they have experienced is related to the new uses that have been developed within them and how these spaces are utilized. The introduction of high-speed trains has initiated a series of reflections on new station concepts. The new operation is characterized by journey times, frequency, and comfort. This comfort is not only perceived on board a train but also in stations during a passenger’s stay, which has a direct impact on the design of stations. Provisional railway stations are valuable tools in situations where flexibility, speed, and reduced costs are required. Although they are not designed to be permanent, their ability to adapt to specific needs makes them a strategic option for temporary projects, though not in the case studied of the Valencia station. The planning of projects makes it necessary to implement proxemic standards in the design of spaces that contribute to the diversification of economic activity around and in a station itself, such as commercial, residential, or cultural areas. Full article

Since tourism involves the movement of people, mobility and tourism are deeply interconnected, with mutual growth dynamics but also shared negative effects, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Among the wide spectrum of policies and strategies for making tourism sustainable, soft mobility has gained increasing importance, becoming more and more a widespread form of active tourism, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. A sustainable approach, aimed at maintaining a balance between economic development and environmental protection, requires greater promotion of soft mobility and integration with rail transport. To make active tourism truly sustainable, the support of the railway network, a low-emission collective transport system, is needed, allowing people to reach destinations and move between destinations, taking advantage of intermodality. This needs the improvement of the connection between the two transport systems, the creation of services for visitors, and the organization of an appropriate railway service. Within this framework, the present work defines a methodology that, starting from the analysis of the relationships between railway stations, the soft mobility network, and attractions in the surrounding territory, allows us to identify stations that could serve as intermodal hubs for connecting local resources through soft mobility, according to a priority scale defined by the Soft Mobility HUB (SMH) Index. The methodology, applied to Italian railway stations, is based on the use of GIS (Geographic Information System) and AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process), allowing a rigorous, transparent, and participatory approach. The proposed model, which is replicable in other contexts, has been effective in identifying, in different scenarios, the stations most suitable for becoming hubs for soft mobility. It can serve as a support tool for decision-makers to maximize investments by focusing on stations capable to provide the greatest contribution to the development of active and diversified tourism. Full article

The pre-departure reserved time (PDRV) for high-speed railway (HSR) passengers, which encompasses all the time between passengers leaving their origin and the departure of the HSR train they are going to take, is a crucial factor in planning intercity travel. Understanding how passengers select their PDRV is not only important for developing effective strategies to improve HSR efficiency but also for optimizing the integration between HSR hubs and urban transportation networks. However, analyzing passenger choice behavior regarding PDRV is complex due to numerous influencing factors. Despite this, few studies have explored how HSR passengers make their PDRV choices. This paper, using Nanjingnan Railway Station as a case study, presents a novel investigation into the PDRV choice behavior of HSR passengers. An integrated latent class model (LCM) and ordered probit model (OPM) are applied to identify the factors affecting passengers’ PDRV choices. The sample data are segmented based on individual characteristics using the LCM, and OPM models are then constructed for each segment to analyze PDRV choice behavior. The results reveal that several factors—such as travel purpose, the number of times passengers used HSR at Nanjingnan Station in the previous year, the duration of HSR travel, the number of companions, feeder trip duration, and departure time—significantly impact PDRV choices. The integrated LCM and OPM approach also uncovers choice heterogeneity among different passenger groups. These insights can serve as a valuable reference for forecasting HSR passenger demand and for designing integrated HSR hubs and urban transport systems. Full article

This study presents a comprehensive method for calculating the passing capacity of high-speed rail hub stations, accommodating the complexity of intersecting train paths from multiple directions. Unlike traditional models, this approach distinguishes passing capacity by assessing each train path type individually. Employing a multi-objective framework with the NSGA-III algorithm, we seek to identify optimal trade-offs (Pareto front) in station capacity under different cross-line train configurations. Through detailed numerical simulations with both a small-scale model and Jinanxi Railway Station, the methodology demonstrates its validity and effectiveness. This enhanced capacity representation offers critical insights for strategic operational planning and decision-making in managing railway transport systems. Full article

The average daily throughput of large-scale passenger high-speed railway stations is large, and the design of the inbound space connecting with the underground and other modes of transport affects the passengers’ wayfinding behaviour and time spent, which in turn affects the efficiency of the inbound station. How to optimise the design of station entry space and signage arrangement becomes the key to shortening the station entry time. In this paper, eye tracking, spatial syntax, and semantic difference methods are used to evaluate the passenger’s wayfinding process in the underground hub of a large high-speed railway station and the spatial syntax is used to quantify and analyse the wayfinding path segments, to explore the influence of the spatial attributes of different nodes and the spatial arrangement of the guiding signs on the passenger’s wayfinding behaviour data and the difference in attention, and to find out that the connectivity of the wayfinding nodes, the area of the field of view, and the passengers’ The study concludes that the connectivity and visual field area of wayfinding nodes have a strong positive correlation with the passengers’ route choice time, which has less influence on the correct rate of wayfinding and can be taken into less consideration in the subsequent design. While analysing the spatial density of signs and the correct rate of wayfinding in the sample, it is concluded that the density of guide signs is maintained in the interval of 5–11‰, and at the same time, the number is sufficient to point to the destination is a more appropriate interval, and ultimately, the impact of the correct rate of wayfinding of the weighting of the following: signage focus on the time > density of information > density of key information > diameter of the pupil. The study analyses the influencing factors affecting passengers’ wayfinding behaviour from a human factors perspective and provides feedback on the design of underground entry spaces in large passenger high-speed rail stations. Full article

Measuring the accessibility of each traffic zone to high-speed railway stations can evaluate the ease of the transportation hub in the transportation system. The utility-based model, which captures individual travel behavior and subjective perception, is often used to quantify the travel impedance on accessibility for a given origin–destination pair. However, existing studies neglect the impacts of travel time uncertainty on utility and possible choice set when measuring accessibility, especially in high-timeliness travel (e.g., railway stations or airports). This study proposes a novel integration of the utility-based model and multimodal space–time prism under travel time uncertainty to measure reliable accessibility to high-speed railway stations. First, the reliable multimodal space–time prism is developed to generate a reliable travel mode choice set constrained by travel time budgets. Then, the reliable choice set is integrated into the utility-based model with the utility function derived from a proposed mean–standard deviation logit-based mode choice model. Finally, this study contributes to measuring reliable accessibility within areas from Beijing’s 5th Ring Road to the Beijing South Railway Station. Based on the results, policymakers can effectively evaluate the distribution of transportation resources and urban planning. Full article

This study investigates the dynamics of passenger satisfaction and sustainable urban mobility within the context of multimodal railway hubs, focusing on travel behaviors at major stations in China. Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization and the nation’s initiatives to improve transportation efficiency, this research employs social media data analysis to assess passenger sentiment across six key transportation hubs in Eastern China. Utilizing methodological approaches such as keyword frequency analysis and semantic categorization of 39,061 Dianping reviews, supplemented by network visualizations with Gephi, this study reveals insights into factors influencing passenger satisfaction beyond travel efficiency. Signage quality, facility availability, queueing, and crowding emerge as significant determinants of passenger behavior. The study underscores the importance of strategic improvements in station design, navigational aids, and facility management, grounded in real-time data analytics and passenger feedback, to enhance overall passenger satisfaction and promote sustainable urban mobility. This research contributes to advancing understanding of passenger behavior and informs efforts aimed at improving urban transportation systems to meet the evolving needs of passengers and cities. Full article

The resurgence of passenger flows after the pandemic poses a significant challenge to the safe operation of rail transit. Therefore, adopting the waiting hall of an ultralarge railway station hub as an example, thermal radiation and evacuation simulations were conducted by the Fire Dynamics Simulator and Pathfinder, respectively. Island-style shops, known for their high crowd density and fire load, were defined as fire sources, and the effectiveness of a 6 m wide fire isolation zone was validated via the adoption of the dual-validation model. By comparing the relationships between the total evacuation population after passenger flow recovery and various evacuation parameters, it was shown that passengers were not evenly distributed among the exits in the waiting hall during an emergency, leading to uneven utilization. Furthermore, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the evacuation process under simulated fire conditions, an evacuation simulation involving 10,000 evacuees over a duration of 324.8 s was conducted. This study provides a theoretical basis for optimizing fire emergency evacuation plans for ultralarge railway station hubs. Full article

This study aims to fill a research gap by focusing on ride-hailing services (RHSs) as first- and last-mile (FLM) modes linking intercity hubs, which have been explored less than metro hubs. Involving 418 RHS users in the Yogyakarta conurbation, Indonesia, this study applies confirmatory factor analysis to identify the motivations for using RHSs as FLM modes and employs a seemingly unrelated regression model to analyse factors influencing RHS usage and the relationship between first-mile and last-mile use, which remains underexplored. The model’s results reveal that the utilization of RHSs for the first mile is mostly seen among younger, educated, and wealthy persons. However, these variables did not impact last-mile-mode use. The model’s results also show that in FLM contexts, vehicle ownership did not substantially impact RHS use. In addition, RHSs are less often used for trips to intercity bus terminals compared to airports and railway stations. This study also highlights the significance of user preferences, such as comfort and safety, seamless transaction and service, and cost and time efficiency, in influencing the use of RHSs for FLM modes. Increasing RHS accessibility at transit hubs, expanding e-payment options, simplifying payments, and prioritizing fairness are suggested strategies to improve urban sustainability through RHSs. Full article

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in integrating the smart grid concept into railway networks, which has been driven by the need to enhance energy efficiency and reduce air pollution in such energy-intensive systems. Consequently, experts have actively sought innovative solutions with which to tackle these challenges. One promising strategy involves integrating renewable energy sources (RESs), energy storage systems (ESSs), and electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) into current electric railway systems (ERSs). This study begins by examining the concept of implementing smart grids in railway systems through bibliometric analysis. It then delves into the realization of a hybrid railway microgrid (H-RMG) designed to enhance power flow capacities, improve energy efficiency, and address power quality issues in traditional AC railway networks. This paper introduces various future AC–DC-coupled hybrid railway microgrid (ADH-RMG) architectures centered around a shared DC bus acting as a DC hub for upgrading conventional AC railway systems utilizing interfacing static converters. Through an exploration of different possible ADH-RMG configurations, this research aims to offer valuable insights and a roadmap for the modernization and reconstruction of existing railway networks using smart grid technologies. The integration of RESs and EV charging infrastructures within the ADH-RMG concept presents a promising pathway toward establishing more sustainable and environmentally friendly railway systems. Full article