6. The international experience of effects of the
high speed railway on urban development:
summary of findings
To conclude this part of the paper, and before moving
on to discuss the Chinese context, we shall summarize
the impact of HSR on urban development as discussed
in Sections 2–5 (see also Table 14). Twenty years ago,
Banister and Hall (1993) cherished HSR as a harbinger
of a second railway age, a prophecy which seems to
have come true as HSR has been pursued by many
countries and regions. The technical features of HSR,
with its ability to link directly city centre to city centre
at high speed, have led to drastically reduced travel
times, and have reduced the environmental impact of
long-distance journeys. All of this, in combination with
a burgeoning knowledge economy, with its increasing
demands for face-to-face interaction, and a leisure
economy, with its search for new destinations and
experiences, means that HSR has had a marked effect on
urban development.
The complex factors underlying the process of
developing HSR, and related impacts that go beyond
HSR are now better understood. As far as the direct
transport effects of HSR, discussed in Section 2, a
consensus has been reached about the need to see HSR as
part of an integrated transport system. Although HSR has
been the single outstanding new factor in transport
development in many regions, it is still just one among
many transport modes. In most countries, slower trains
and other transport modes continue to dominate the
market. Many examples of successful and less successful
practices offer proof of the importance of integration
between HSR and other modes of transport, both public
and private, as a key factor in the traffic growth of HSR.
Examples of integration include air–rail connectivity,
links with local public transport, availability of parking,
or seamless transfer between modes in stations.
As discussed in Section 3, the spatial redistribution
of urban development opportunities is the main topic of
indirect effects of HSR at the regional level. Based on
empirical comparisons of economic–social indicators
before and after or with and without HSR, as well as on
model measurements of accessibility changes induced
by HSR, many researchers have shown that the gap
between the cities connected to and not connected to
HSR is enlarged. Along the HSR lines, central cities
seem to get most of the opportunities, while the
dynamics in smaller cities shows more complexity,
importantly depending on city size, network location
and distance from central cities. Smaller cities along an
HSR line often develop into commuter centres of
central cities. Some cases also suggest that smaller
cities within commuting distance of central cities might
show spill-over effects of high-value-added activities
from central cities. However, studies remain uncertain
about the direction of causation: is it HSR determining
growth or is it growth (or cities with better conditions
for growth) attracting HSR? On this basis, it seems fair
to conclude that HSR is, in the best case, a catalyst
rather than a determinant of growth.
A similar picture emerges at the urban level, as
discussed in Section 4. Here HSR has shown itself to be
a catalyst for the restructuring of urban systems. HSR
has been recognized as an important factor in boosting
the local economies of many cities, but in cities with
poor conditions for economic development the risk of
backwash effects (economic activity being drained
away) has also been noted. In many instances, HSR
stations have proven conducive to the regeneration of
old city centres, or for developing new centres,
depending on the location of the station. The examples
of Euralille and Amsterdam Zuidas suggest that the
fine-tuning between HSR and urban dynamics is a
crucial factor for the city and station area in benefiting
from HSR.