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The objective of this study was to determine the differential effects of the presentation position of the augmented reality–head worn display (AR-HWD) interface and the audiovisual-dominant multimodal learning material on learning performance and cognitive load across different learning tasks in training for high-speed train driving. We selected 48 participants to conduct an AR driving training experiment for high-speed trains. The results indicated that whether or not the AR interface was presented next to the learning target did not significantly affect learning performance and cognitive load. In complex learning tasks, such as learning to operate the controller of a high-speed train and to remember the steps of swapping the front and tail of the train, the auditory-led AR learning materials were effective in improving learning performance and reducing cognitive load compared with the visual-led AR learning materials. In the simple task of icon recognition, the visual-led AR learning materials performed better in terms of learning performance and cognitive load. The results of this study can guide the design of AR-HWD interfaces for different learning tasks in training for high-speed train driving, which can improve learning performance and reduce cognitive load during the learning process. HIGHLIGHTS We studied the position of AR interface presentation and AR multichannel learning for high-speed train-driving training. Whether or not the AR interface was presented next to the target did not have a significant effect on learning performance for that target. Auditory-dominant interfaces outperformed visual-dominant interfaces in complex learning tasks. Visual-dominant interfaces outperformed auditory-dominant interfaces in simple recognition tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in haze pollution in Chinese cities, answering the question of whether using a high-speed rail (HSR) as a green and efficient transportation system can alleviate haze pollution in China has become a research hotspot. This study empirically tests the impact of HSR network construction on haze pollution and its spatial spillover effects. (1) The construction of a HSR would have a mitigation effect on haze pollution in node cities and surrounding cities, and the more developed the HSR is, the more significant that this effect would be. (2) Haze pollution persists for a long time, the haze pollution from the previous year may have a positive promoting effect on the haze pollution in the following year. (3) The use of a HSR reduces haze pollution by replacing traditional road transportation and promoting industrial structure upgrading and technological innovation. (4) The inhibitory effect of HSR use on haze pollution varies due to regional differences and variation in city size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the difference-in-differences method combined with the propensity score matching, this study identifies the causal relationship between high-speed rail (HSR) and energy productivity in China. Furthermore, we investigate the mechanism through which HSR affects energy productivity, as well as the heterogeneity of the impact across quantiles and distances. The results show that HSR connection contributes to the improvement of energy productivity. This finding is consolidated after a potential endogeneity problem is addressed using the instrumental variable method and a variety of potential confounders are controlled through a series of robustness checks. On average, the marginal impact of HSR on energy productivity is approximately 9%. Moreover, HSR connection cannot be completely substituted by traditional railway and aviation in improving energy productivity. The heterogeneity analysis suggests that the positive energy productivity effect of HSR gradually decreases with an increasing distance to the nearest HSR station. In addition, HSR network accessibility has a significant positive effect on energy productivity, while technological innovation mediates the relationship between HSR development and energy productivity. We propose that to achieve the long-term improvement of energy productivity, policymakers should comprehensively consider both transit-oriented development and ecology-oriented development modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though the influence of high-speed rail (HSR) on innovation has drawn sustained attention, few studies have investigated the effect on technology transfer (TT), and even fewer studies have examined the structural dependency between transportation and TT. Using the exponential random graph model for multilevel networks, this study attempts to provide an in-depth analysis of the impact from a two-level network perspective, with the associated network configuration providing insights into how HSR shapes intercity TT. Our findings suggest that HSR facilitates inter-city TT and promotes innovation convergence. Specifically, cities with a higher degree centrality are more active in exporting technology rather than absorbing it. In contrast, the betweenness and closeness centrality of cities have no significant effect on TT. The effect of HSR, which is apparent among cities with direct connections along HSR lines, decays significantly in cities with indirect connections. This work allows for the identification of the conducive HSR layout for promoting inter-regional TT. • Explore the impact of HSR on inter-city technology transfer using MERGM. • HSR induces the technology diffusion effect and promotes innovation convergence. • The direct connection effect of HSR far exceeds the indirect effect. • Degree centrality of cities in HSRN can significantly promote technology export. • Digital economy and fiscal expenditure for innovation contribute to technology absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway derailments present a safety hazard, carrying the potential for severe consequences for both human lives and the economy. Implementing derailment containment provisions (DCPs) near the track centerline is essential for mitigating risks in operating high-speed rail (HSR) while providing significant advantages for the large-scale upgrade of existing railway infrastructure. Therefore, this paper investigated the feasibility of a DCP system made of steel through quasi-static experiments, aiming to enhance safety in HSR operations. Initially, single anchor tests were conducted to assess its capacity to withstand applied loads, prevent the pullout of steel anchors, and avoid the local rotation of the steel frame. Then, full-scale steel DCP systems were manufactured and tested for quasi-static load at different locations, including the mid-anchor, the mid-span, and the end-anchor. The relationship between applied load and displacement, along with the initial stiffness of the DCP specimens, was discussed. The findings revealed that the single anchor can withstand an applied load of up to 197.9 kN. The DCP specimen maintained structural integrity at the 207 kN target load under all load scenarios, showing a maximum displacement of 8.93 mm in the case of applied load at mid-span. Furthermore, the initial stiffness of the DCP systems was 1.77 to 2.55 times greater than that of a single anchor, validating a force-bearing coordination mechanism among neighboring anchors and the substantial impact of the applied load positions on their stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study elaborated an evolutionary game model to optimize the decision-making process on the interaction between civil aviation and high-speed rail under alternative passenger ticket prices (PTPs) and carbon trading prices (CTPs). First, a logit model was used to calculate the passenger flow distribution rate in civil aviation and HSR, and their revenue loss function was determined according to varying PTPs and CTPs. Second, an evolutionary game model with incomplete information was developed to assess the respective revenues. Third, the stable strategy solution of the game model was derived from replicator dynamics, and an investigation of stable conditions under variable cases was performed. Finally, the simulation of a case study on the Beijing–Shanghai corridor was conducted to validate the proposed model's feasibility. The additional revenue is shown to be the key influencing factor, mainly controlling the strategic decisions of airport and high-speed rail companies. Besides, the final strategy was strongly influenced by the alteration of PTPs and CTPs: higher PTPs promoted civil aviation and high-speed rail collaboration, while increased CTPs forced their competing behavior. The results obtained are instrumental in outlining the optimal strategy range for passenger ticket and carbon trading prices, encouraging high-speed transportation system growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-quality railway track resting on an excellent foundation is required to support high-speed railway transportation. The foundations of high-speed railway tracks are generally constructed on the lifted embankment with the improved ground using different reinforcement agents like geosynthetics and rigid lateral support. The present study performed dynamic finite element simulations on a ballasted rail track laid over a geosynthetically reinforced embankment with and without facing wall support. Three foundation geometries were analyzed to examine the effect of facing wall support and geosynthetics on the lateral resistance of the foundation. An area loaded with a constant pressure was moved at a constant speed, causing the load motion at different speeds in the 90-360 km/h range. Different parameters were calculated at node paths to help understand the lateral effect of moving load. The results showed that the lateral resistance based on nodal acceleration and velocity increased with facing wall support in the range of 40%-57%. Any increment over the minimum facing wall thickness of 300 mm does not significantly increase lateral resistance. Geosynthetics provided a vital function in the foundations with a less bulk volume of soil and increased the lateral resistance by 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is an important ecological barrier in China. From new perspectives, this paper explores the mechanism of high-speed rail (HSR) for green economic growth (GEG) in the YREB. This paper constructs 108 city panel data at the prefecture level and above in the YREB from 2003 to 2020. Difference-in-differences (DID) is adopted to research the impact of high-speed rail on GEG in the YREB. (1) HSR has significantly improved the GEG of the YREB. The effect value is 4.88%. The parallel trend test suggests that DID is valid. A time-varying instrumental variable combining average altitude and historical railway network is constructed for the endogeneity test. (2) Propensity score matching (PSM) and DID (PSM-DID) were employed to test the sample selection bias. (3) A battery of robustness tests, including the placebo test, variable replacement, and policy interference exclusion, is carried out. The conclusions are still valid. (4) HSR can promote the GEG of the YREB by encouraging technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and increasing ecological efficiency. The contribution rate from the largest to the smallest is ecological efficiency, industrial upgrading, and technological innovation. (5) Heterogeneity analysis shows that HSR has played an important role in encouraging GEG in the eastern, peripheral cities, and the downstream cities of the YREB. Finally, this paper puts forward policy suggestions for promoting GEG in the YREB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High carbon emission efficiency is an important guarantee for achieving the goals of "carbon peaking" by 2030 and "carbon neutrality" by 2060. Based on the panel data of prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2018, the spatial difference-in-difference model is used to empirically test the spatial spillover effect of the opening of high-speed rail (HSR) on urban total factor carbon emission efficiency (TFCEE). The results show that the spatial correlation of TFCEE between regions is positive, and the opening of HSR has a significant positive spatial spillover effect on TFCEE. The conclusion is still valid after a series of robustness tests. We further employ a mediating effects model to verify that green technology innovation and labour resource mismatch are two important channels of influence for the opening of HSR to improve TFCEE. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the opening of HSR significantly promotes the higher development level and the provincial capital TFCEE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government continues to contribute to tackling the global climate challenge and plans to continue lowering carbon emissions in the transportation infrastructure field. The comprehensive assessment of the impact of carbon emissions is mainly focused on high-speed railways (HSRs). This paper proposes a life-cycle cost considering carbon emissions (LCCCCE) model for HSR projects, which consists of a general life-cycle cost (GLCC) model and a quantified carbon emissions cost (CEC) model. The Beijing-Shanghai HSR is employed as a case study, in which the LCCCCE and sensitivity of carbon emission factors are analyzed using the proposed methodology. The results show that the LCCCCE of the Beijing-Shanghai HSR is 64.56 billion USD, and that its CEC is 1.04 billion USD, which contributes 1.61% to the LCCCCE. Thus, the LCCCCE analysis of HSRs or transportation infrastructure projects is an effective methodology to quantify the impacts of carbon emissions in China and around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better reconciliation of haze pollution and economic growth has become the social consensus in China. The development of China's economy and air quality will be significantly impacted by its efforts to create high-speed rail (HSR). Based on panel data from 265 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2019, this paper investigates how the opening of HSR affects the spatial mismatch of haze pollution and economic growth by using the spatial mismatch index model, multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model, and intermediary effect model. We find that the spatial mismatch in China has an overall decreasing trend. And its spatial agglomeration is dominated by low levels. Further empirical analysis shows that HSR opening can effectively restrain the spatial mismatch. Even after some robustness tests and endogenous treatment, the conclusion is still valid. In addition, population density, FDI, and industrial structure are also explicit factors affecting the spatial mismatch. Second, there is significant heterogeneity in the impact. This is reflected in the fact that HSR opening can suppress the spatial mismatch of service-oriented cities and the eastern region, while other cities and regions have no noticeable effect. Third, spatial transfer of haze pollution (STHP) and balanced development of economic growth (BEG) are two important conduction paths for the opening of HSR to affect the spatial mismatch. Specifically, HSR opening can constrain the spatial mismatch by inhibiting STHP and BEG. Based on the above findings, recommendations related to promoting a better harmony between haze pollution and economic growth are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the payment scheme and forecast information sharing issues in the express delivery logistics with the high-speed railway. The HSR carriers need to coordinate the transportation capacity between passenger and freight. It is widely recognized that the advance payment scheme (APS) using as deposit is a beneficial way for the HSR carriers to make decisions on the transportation capacity preserved for express delivery. However, the express service providers, who possess private forecast information of express delivery demand, may share inaccurate information with the HSR carriers to acquire sufficient preserved transportation capacity. This paper discusses what payment scheme is preferred by the HSR carrier, the express service provider through discussing the deposit decisions with or without forecast information sharing. We show that sharing demand forecast information can reduce the prereserved capacity and increase the profits of the HSR carrier. With the delayed payment scheme (DPS), the express service provider has no motivation to share the information; while with the APS, the HSR carrier can reasonably choose the deposit to encourage the express service provider to share the demand information. Our analysis also shows that the HSR carrier's profits with the APS is restricted by the investment returns and the express service provider's information sharing decisions. We also analyze the value range of the deposit, which is a proportion of the overall payment, that allows both the HSR carrier and the express service provider to prefer the APS, as well as to encourage the express service provider to share the demand information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the results of an effort aimed at improving train operation schedules on Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway (WG-HSR). The real-record train operation and passenger tickets-booking records of WG-HSR are used for statistical analysis on the train service quality and passenger distribution. More specifically, the train service frequency and interval time at each station are analyzed. Based on this, the temporal and spatial distribution of capacity utilization in each section are investigated. In order to get a holistic view of passenger flow characteristics, the passenger volume during different time periods and between several origin and destination (OD) pairs are investigated to characterize travellers' spatial-temporal preferences. The passenger distributions on some long-distance trains are shown to get the number and proportion of cross-line passengers travelling on the WG-HSR. Moreover, for a better understanding of the seat capacity utilization of trains, the load rates of trains in various sections and time periods are investigated. Specifically, the relationship between the average load rate of trains and trains' running distance is explored, finding that the longer the non-cross-line train travels is, the higher the average load rate is. This study provides insightful findings that help understanding HSR operation and conducting further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Express Railway Link (XRL) offers unprecedented mobility within the Pearl River Delta and connects Hong Kong to mainland China's high-speed rail network. As reflected in the pages of regional and national newspapers, the XRL figures prominently in the re-imagining of scales of community and governance in the Pearl River Delta. These 'infrastructural imaginaries' are shaped not just by the transportation infrastructure of trains and stations, but also by the migration infrastructure of travel permits and identification cards. Drawing on infrastructure studies and the politics of scale to shed light on the multi-scalar politics of infrastructure in contemporary China, this article traces how understandings of infrastructure and scale changed as the XRL went from regional project to one component of China's national high-speed rail grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-speed rail (HSR) is one of the most important, if not the most important, emerging transportation that could exert significant influences in many areas, including economic development, social development, financial development, environmental protection, etc. This paper focuses on examining the impacts of HSR on the development of the industrial structure. Since most of the studies in this area are related to central cities (provincial capitals and municipalities directly under the central government), to fill in the gap in the literature, in this paper, we investigate the impacts of HSR on non-central cities in China. To do so, we use the propensity score matching difference-in-difference (PSM-DID) method to investigate the siphoning, spillover, and moderating effects of the opening of the HSR on the development of the industrial structure in the cities along with or nearby the HSR. In addition, we conclude both the robustness tests and the heterogeneity analysis in our study. We find that the opening of HSR significantly promotes the rationalization of non-central cities' industrial structure, as well as improves the advancement of the industrial structure for non-central cities which are less than 100 km away from the central city. Moreover, the four moderating variables, the urban innovation index, the new urbanization construction level, the nearest distance from the central city, and the medical services insurance coverage rate, make the HSR has a positive impact on the rationalization level of industrial structure. Our findings are useful for both central and local governments and policymakers in accurately formulating policies related to the planning and construction of HSR, city planning, and planning the development of the industrial structure for each city nearby the HSR. • Investigate the impacts of HSR on industrial developments for non-central cities. • Propose five hypotheses in terms of the siphoning, spillover and moderating effects. • Construct econometric models and conduct empirical studies to prove the newly proposed hypotheses are correct. • Provide policy suggestions for both central and local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Competition and coopetition of airline, intercity bus, and entrant HSR operators. • The main driver for the operators' pricing competition is identified. • Non-pricing strategies may be necessary for the incumbent operators' survival. • Short-term government policies may not guarantee the passengers' full satisfaction. We investigate pricing competition between passenger transportation modes in a transportation market by using a game-theoretic approach. Airplane and intercity bus operators are considered as incumbent; while a High-Speed Rail (HSR) operator decides on whether or not to enter the market. If the incumbent operators evaluate the entrance threat of HSR as serious, they have two alternatives: a barrier pricing strategy (BPS) to deter its entrance, and an accommodation pricing strategy (APS). Their interaction involves two competitive and cooperative aspects, called the coopetition interaction. Moreover, we extend the analysis to a real-world situation in which a government, as a social welfare maximizer, intends to certify and support one operator out of two candidate HSR operators. Our analyses reveal that: (a) the passengers' heterogeneity (with respect to their perceptions on the operators' quality of services) is the main driver for pricing competition between the three operators. (b) Under certain conditions, implementing a BPS is not only precluded for the incumbent operators, but also their pricing strategies cannot even guarantee their survival in the market. To address this issue, we suggest the incumbent operators adopt non-pricing strategies. Nevertheless, an incumbent operator may freely ride on the other ones' non-pricing strategy. (c) Under a short-term (long-term) planning horizon, the government should specifically concentrate on compensating for the HSR operating cost (procurement cost of rolling stock). (d) In contrast to the short run, government expenses and the HSR's profit exploitation provide a strong foundation for the passengers' full satisfaction in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on the formation of consumer cities in China. We employ the market access (MA) approach and construct the least-cost path spanning tree network as an instrument to estimate the causal impact of HSR development on the socio-economic changes of counties from 2007 to 2016. Through a set of instrumental variable regressions, we find that districts with high MA growth experienced service sector agglomeration, manufacturing sector decentralization, and land price appreciation. These effects are relatively large for the urban districts of first- and second-tier Chinese cities. Through counterfactual analysis, we find that the absence of an HSR network decreases the growth of the number of service firms and service land price by 6.11% and 52.2%, respectively. These results suggest that HSR plays a key role in the rise of consumer cities by improving market access/integration, which transfers the economic structure from production to consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hyperloop concept is not new, but for many years it was hard for engineers to believe that it could be economically and technically feasible. Nowadays some technical solutions, which could enable construction and operation of a guided transport system based on hyperloop concept, are much more imaginable. Therefore a number of start-up companies are working on comprehensive proposals and chosen technologies aiming at creating the fifth transport mode thanks to innovative concepts, new technologies, and chosen railway, air transport, and space technologies. As new transport mode is expected to offer transport with high speed nearly equal to the speed of sound its feasibility will strongly depend also on coherency between transport means and transport infrastructure in a scale of a future fifth transport mode continent-wide transport network. To meet this challenge railway and start-up companies work together in two streams - in the formal framework of the European standardisation to prepare future hyperloop related EN standards and in research and development projects. The scale of required wide technical coherency on one side and the diversification of products and existence of different developers/producers/contracting entities providing infrastructure and transport means and creating market on the other side contradict if appropriate rules are not set precisely early enough. Such rules in railway transport are based on interoperability concept supported by agreed stable essential requirements and defined in the Railway Interoperability Directive and Technical Specifications for Interoperability. Paper presents findings regarding poor applicability of the railway interoperability to the hyperloop type transport systems at their early stage of development as well as challenges and proposed approaches for the dedicated hyperloop coherency approach - the hyperoperability as it is being discussed in the framework of the Hypernex European project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of intelligent applications of the Internet of things (IoT) is facilitating human beings up to a great extent. However, numerous applications of the IoT have an adverse impact on our society and environment as well that needs to be dealt with properly to provide smart services to the end-users. For instance, the carbon emissions of vehicles from intelligent transportation systems (ITS) driving on highways are high due to low-carbon traffic management. Therefore, this paper studies the impact of high-speed vehicles on the road causing carbon emissions. For this purpose, Ford, Volkswagen, and Toyota models were used as test subjects to count relevant parameters during May and October 2020. Carbon emissions and vehicle speed on highways were calculated. The relationship between vehicle speed and fuel consumption on the expressway was also analyzed. The results confirm that the fuel consumption of Ford, Volkswagen, and Toyota is the lowest when the vehicle speed is 70 km/h, 80 km/h, and 90 km/h, respectively. The relationship between vehicle speed and carbon emissions in sunny and rainy weather is also analyzed based on the proposed model. It was concluded that the carbon emissions of Ford, Volkswagen, and Toyota are 6.24 mg/1000 km, 6.52 mg/1000 km, and 9.29 mg/1000 km, respectively, under sunny weather conditions. In contrast, the emissions continue to increase when the car accelerates. The driving speed range corresponding to the minimum carbon emissions per hundred kilometres of the three vehicles is 60–120 km/h. However, the carbon emissions of the three vehicles change in rainy weather. The minimum carbon emission of Ford is 6.07 mg/1000 km when the driving speed is within the range of 80–100 km/h. In comparison, Volkswagen and Toyota have the lowest carbon emissions of 6.23 mg/1000 km and 9.15 mg/1000 km, respectively, when the vehicle speed is in the range of 80–120 km/h. The results obtained in this paper establish a unique relationship between vehicle speed, type of vehicle, weather, and highway conditions for any application of the ITS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of China's commitment to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, as well as its strategy to build a strong transportation country, it is of foremost importance to study the carbon emission reduction effect of the opening of high-speed rail (HSR). This paper innovatively introduces the frequency of HSR stops as an indicator of HSR operation, and uses a time-varying difference-in-difference (DID) model, a mediating effect model and a spatial DID model to assess the direct and indirect impact, transmission mechanism, and spatial spillover effects of the opening and operation of HSR on carbon emission reduction based on a panel of 279 prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2017. We found that the opening and operation of HSR significantly reduced urban carbon emissions. The direct transmission mechanism analysis shows that the opening of HSR can reduce carbon emissions by replacing highway passenger traffic. Indirect mechanism analysis shows that the opening of HSR can reduce carbon emissions through technological effect, structural effect and opening effect. The test of spatial spillover effect shows that the opening of HSR can promote carbon emission reduction not only in node cities, but also in neighboring cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-speed rail (HSR) network in China has expanded rapidly, significantly reducing transportation costs and improving accessibility. However, scholars are concerned about whether HSRs further centralize resources and intensify regional polarization. This paper studies the role of HSR in the process of urban development and regional integration in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). We use two indicators (overall connectivity and weighted centrality) to examine the impacts of HSR connection on spatial redistribution, and we adopt a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis to investigate the effects of HSR on local economic development. The results show that HSR operation enormously improves the overall connectivity of urban networks in the YRD. However, it also exacerbates the disequilibrium of urban centrality, forming a hierarchical spatial structure with Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou as hubs. HSR connections also impede local economic growth in peripheral areas. Moreover, the results confirm the existence of a dynamic time-lagged effect on local economic growth, and the heterogeneous impact of HSR also aggravates regional economic disparities. This paper highlights the effects of HSR on the development of cities and regions, and suggests that government should exert greater efforts to reduce the negative effects of the development of HSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) on knowledge economy were analyzed in Japan. • The study used difference-in-differences specification with multiple timeframes. • HSR development had a significant positive effect on regional innovation. • Propensity score matching and instrumental variable analysis results are robust. • The innovation effect of HSR is larger in small town/villages than in large cities. This study investigates the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on regional innovation through an empirical analysis that uses municipal-level panel data covering all 1,741 municipalities in Japan, and spanning the period from 1976 to 2016. The study assumes that the number of patent applications serves as a proxy for regional innovation and follows a negative binomial distribution. A difference-in-differences specification with multiple timeframes is employed for the empirical analysis. The results reveal that HSR development has had a significant positive effect on regional innovation, supporting the companion innovation hypothesis. Robustness checks, such as through combining propensity score matching and the instrumental variable methods with difference-in-differences analysis, are also conducted. The results suggest that the effect of HSR on regional innovation in small towns and villages is larger than that in large cities. This implies that inter-regional communication opportunities for employees could play a key role in fostering innovation in small rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to develop a partner selection approach for the high-speed rail (HSR) firms from the perspective of achieving competitive advantage in the international competitive bidding sphere. Design/methodology/approach: The current study developed a partner selection approach based on the evolutionary game theory. Firstly, the current study identified the influencing variables and logical formation path of competitive advantage on the international HSR project by literature review and case analysis. After that, a pay-off model was developed based on the theoretical foundation. Meanwhile, the evolutionary stable strategy was analyzed for different combinations of initial pay-offs. Findings: A real-world case was simulated to verify the effectiveness of the developed approach. The simulation results secured support from three industry professionals, indicating the developed approach is valid. Originality/value: The current study can help HSR firms to select their partners and develop a cooperation strategy from the perspective of winning awards. Also, the proposed approach is based on the advantage driving variables and formation path, which can contribute to HSR firms' understanding of the sources of competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether high-speed rail (HSR) can promote the coordination between the economy and environment is a critical issue that needs to be investigated. We used balanced panel data of 281 prefecture-level or above cities in China from 2005 to 2017 to consider the opening of HSR as a quasi-natural experiment. We integrated the difference-in-differences (DID) model, the spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model, and social network analysis (SNA) to empirically investigate the impact of HSR on urban environmental efficiency (UEE). The results showed that HSR significantly improved UEE by 4.6% annually during the study period, although the effect of HSR on UEE exhibited a time lag and varied dramatically in different cities. An analysis of the mechanism showed that the effect of technological innovation and the structural effect brought by the opening of HSR were the main contributors to the improved UEE. Further analysis showed that HSR service centrality also significantly improved UEE and HSR opening and HSR service centrality both had positive spatial spillover effects on the UEE of neighboring cities. Several policy implications are proposed accordingly to make full use of the advantages of HSR to improve UEE for China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies globally have been trying to alter existing transportation systems to maximize public transport benefits, especially in the sector of high-speed (HS) ground transportation. The latest invention of such is Elon Musk's ultra-high-speed rail (UHSR), hyperloop. This technology enables a rail service to operate at a potential speed of 1,200 km/h. Hyperloop's ambitious speed goal has the potential to result in time-space shrinkage, which would then make distant cities more accessible with greatly reduced travel times. Since 2013, several companies have been vigorously promoting hyperloop development in various locations worldwide and competing to construct the world's first functional and commercially viable hyperloop. India, a country struggling with existing public transportation and urban mobility needs, agreed to construct a hyperloop through the company “Virgin Hyperloop One.” This paper first investigates the key technical, environmental, economic and human considerations in assessing the applicability of hyperloop to a particular location. It also considers in some detail the likely urban and regional planning and transport policy implications of the hyperloop technology based on the known effects of existing high-speed rail (HSR) systems. The paper concludes that many of the claims about hyperloop are subject to contrary information, meaning that great caution and prudence are currently needed regarding attempts at commercial deployment.

Air and high-speed rail (HSR) intermodal service (AHIS) breaks through the barriers of aviation and HSR, which builds a modern integrated transportation system. However, this system also poses a challenge to operators to provide satisfactory travel services for passengers. This paper aims to identify the service indicators that influence travelers' overall satisfaction with AHIS and the relationships between them based on research data acquired from a passenger behavior survey at Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (SJW) in 2019. First, a Bayesian network (BN) is constructed by integrating the greedy thick thinning (GTT) algorithm with expert knowledge. Then, sensitivity analysis and overall satisfaction prediction are conducted to determine the correlation and influence effect between service indicators and overall satisfaction. The research findings are as follows: (1) Compared to a binary logit model, the Bayesian network shows high fitting and prediction accuracies. (2) Transfer time is negatively correlated with satisfaction, for AHIS with the same total travel time, travelers tend to choose services with less transfer time since this choice increases their satisfaction. Interestingly, passengers are more tolerant of the travel time of airline than HSR. (3) Service indicators such as real-time information, arrival punctuality and ticket price have the highest sensitivity values for overall satisfaction. The results can provide useful suggestions for AHIS operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nowadays, a gradual change in customers' attitudes towards transport service makes it more challenging to understand the reasons behind customers' travel decisions. High-speed rail (HSR) has been mentioned recently and is expected as the best and most modern transport option in long-distance trips in Vietnam. However, research studies have paid scant regard to how HSR's attributes may affect potential users, and therefore the motivations and barriers to adopting HSR are still unknown. Objectives: This study aimed at examining motivations and barriers to take-up HSR for considering customers' preference on the proper attributes and levels of HSR. Method: This study drew on a nationwide survey and conjoint analysis to investigate customers' behaviour. Results: In Vietnam's context, HSR ticket was found to be the principal barrier to adoption, whereas the speed of HSR was identified as the least important behavioural driver amongst potential HSR users. The results show that HSR design and planning should provide a combination of minimum check-in and waiting time, a 20-min frequency, average speed of 250 km/h, all add-on services and facilities, ticketing of approximately VND 500–700 thousand per 300–500 km and nearby all-day parking. Conclusion: This investigation has demonstrated the value of conjoint analysis to compare a wide range of attributes associated with consumers' decision to use HSR. The findings indicate that in countries such as Vietnam, in particular, where train usage is low, policymakers and transportation agencies seeking to boost the use of HSR must take attributes other than fare into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of urban and regional impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) has drawn much attention in the research literature over the last few years. Previous studies have mostly used traditional tools (cost–benefit analysis, hedonic models, discrete choice modeling, and so on) to conduct ex ante analyses of potential HSR impacts. However, little attention has been paid to know the views of representatives from different economic sectors and their potential contribution to the participatory phase of the planning process. To address this limitation, this paper developed an ex ante participatory approach for analyzing HSR's urban and regional impacts, which fed into and complement other traditional assessment tools. This approach was applied to the case study of San Sebastian and its province in Spain, which should be linked to the Spanish HSR network by 2025. The research found that different economic sectors agree on some economic impacts triggered by HSR but disagree on many social and regional equity impacts. The paper discussed the potential of this approach for policymaking, highlighting its value in complementing traditional impact assessment methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses the China Health and Nutrition Survey data to investigate the relationship between infrastructure construction and health inequality, particularly by exploring a quasi-natural experiment, namely, high-speed rail (HSR) projects. We find that HSR accessibility improves the health of local residents with a coefficient of 0.298, which means that HSR operation will lead to a 2.30% increase in health. HSR accessibility also increases individual income, per capita household income, and the probability of purchasing medical insurance, thereby increasing the health level of individuals. Further analysis shows that HSR reduces the health gap across gender and urban–rural areas. Unfortunately, HSR also increases the health gap among different income groups. • This paper evaluates the health effects of high-speed rail (HSR). • HSR accessibility improves the health of local residents. • HSR accessibility have increased the health gap among different income groups. • HSR layout should be complementary with medical resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analytically reviews the performance of massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system for communication in highly mobility scenarios like high speed Railways. As popularity of high speed train increasing day by day, high data rate wireless communication system for high speed train is extremely required. 5G wireless communication systems must be designed to meet the requirement of high speed broadband services at speed of around 500 km/h, which is the expected speed achievable by HSR systems, at a data rate of 180 Mbps or higher. Significant challenges of high mobility communications are fast time-varying fading, channel estimation errors, doppler diversity, carrier frequency offset, inter carrier interference, high penetration loss and fast and frequent handovers. Therefore, crucial requirement to design high mobility communication channel models or systems prevails. Recently, massive MIMO techniques have been proposed to significantly improve the performance of wireless networks for upcoming 5G technology. Massive MIMO provide high throughput and high energy efficiency in wireless communication channel. In this paper, key findings, challenges and requirements to provide high speed wireless communication onboard the high speed train is pointed out after thorough literature review. In last, future research scope to bridge the research gap by designing efficient channel model by using massive MIMO and other optimization method is mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts a comprehensive comparative analysis of regression-based multinomial models and artificial neural network models in intercity travel mode choices. The four intercity travel modes of airplane, high-speed rail (HSR), train, and express bus were used for analysis. Passengers' activity data over the process of intercity travel were collected to develop the models. The standard multinomial logit (MNL) regression and Bayesian multinomial logit (BMNL) regression were compared with the radial basis function (RBF) and multilayer perceptron (MLP). The results show that MLP performs best in terms of predictive accuracy, followed by BMNL and MNL, and RBF is the least accurate. The performances of all models were examined against changes in data balance, and it was found that rebalancing can improve fitting performance while slightly reducing the predictive performance. This comparative study and its parameter estimation shed new light on the comparison of traditional and emerging models in travel behavior studies, and the findings can be used as heuristic guidance for all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An equivalent circuit method (ECM) is developed to analyse the linear eddy current braking system (ECBS) of the maglev train. The distribution of eddy current in the rail is represented by dividing the rail into a series of small segments in which the current is assumed to be uniform. Each segment is described as an equivalent circuit with parameters of resistance and inductance. The circuit parameters, such as self‐inductance and mutual inductance, are evaluated from the geometry parameters using an analytic method. The state equation derived from the circuit equations and the Newton's equations is solved using the Runge–Kutta method, from which the dynamic performance of the linear ECBS can be obtained. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed ECM are verified by comparing the results with the one obtained from the finite element method. By adopting the developed ECM, the influence of parameters, such as speed, the exciting current and air gap of the linear ECBS, are analysed. The variation law of the linear ECBS with parameters is roughly grasped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Hyperloop. One of the most restrictive conditions in ground transportation at high speeds is aerodynamic drag. This is even more problematic when running inside a tunnel, where compressible phenomena such as wave propagation, shock waves, or flow blocking can happen. Considering Evacuated-Tube Trains (ETTs) or hyperloops, these effects appear during the whole route, as they always operate in a closed environment. Then, one of the concerns is the size of the tunnel, as it directly affects the cost of the infrastructure. When the tube size decreases with a constant section of the vehicle, the power consumption increases exponentially, as the Kantrowitz limit is surpassed. This can be mitigated when adding a compressor to the vehicle as a means of propulsion. The turbomachinery increases the pressure of part of the air faced by the vehicle, thus delaying the critical conditions on surrounding flow. With tunnels using a blockage ratio of 0.5 or higher, the reported reduction in the power consumption is 70%. Additionally, the induced pressure in front of the capsule became a negligible effect. The analysis of the flow shows that the compressor can remove the shock waves downstream and thus allows operation above the Kantrowitz limit. Actually, for a vehicle speed of 700 km/h, the case without a compressor reaches critical conditions at a blockage ratio of 0.18, which is a tunnel even smaller than those used for High-Speed Rails (0.23). When aerodynamic propulsion is used, sonic Mach numbers are reached above a blockage ratio of 0.5. A direct effect is that cases with turbomachinery can operate in tunnels with blockage ratios even 2.8 times higher than the non-compressor cases, enabling a considerable reduction in the size of the tunnel without affecting the performance. This work, after conducting bibliographic research, presents the geometry, mesh, and setup. Later, results for the flow without compressor are shown. Finally, it is discussed how the addition of the compressor improves the flow behavior and power consumption of the case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing the speed of transportation has been a subject that human beings have been working on for many years. Because of insufficient traffic corridors, the interest of more passenger in limited time and the advancement of railway technology, the high-speed ground transportation systems have developed. Nowadays, these time-saving transportation systems are becoming important increasingly and systems that will ensure these are implemented and new ones are being researched. High speed ground transportation systems can be divided into three categories: Conventional high-speed railway, Maglev and Hyperloop transportation system. Within the scope of this study, it is aimed to investigate the advantages and disadvantages aspects of high speed transportation systems by comparing in terms of speed, capacity, energy consumption, cost and environmental effects. Conventional high-speed railways can provide high capacity, comfort and safety and reliability thanks to enormous operational experience as regards other systems. The Maglev technology can offer more remarkable travel times, energy efficient and better operational performance. However, high investment cost and incompatibility with other modes are seen the disadvantage features of this technology. The Hyperloop technology is a considerable innovative transportation system which is popularized with publishing design document by Elon Musk in 2013. Projected high-speed and appealing travel times can be evaluated as the advantages of the Hyperloop transportation system. However, there are safety, reliability, comfort and engineering design challenges to overcome in this technology. Taking everything into consideration, the Hyperloop transportation system has potential to be an alternative mode to other systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The COVID-19 emergency and the cities lockdown have had a strong impact on transport and mobility. In particular, travel demand has registered an unprecedented overall contraction, dramatically dropping down with peaks of - 90%-95% passengers for public transport (PT). During the re-opening phase, demand is gradually resuming the levels before the crisis, although some structural changes are observed in travel behaviour, and containment measures to reduce the risk of contagion are still being applied, affecting transport supply. Objective: This paper aims at assessing to what extent keeping a one-meter interpersonal distancing on-board trains is sustainable for public transport companies. Method: The analysis is based on travel demand forecasting models applied to two case-studies in Italy: a suburban railway line and a High-speed Rail (HSR) line, differentiated by demand characteristics (e.g. urban vs. ex-urban) and train access system (free access vs. reservation required). Results: In the suburban case, the results show the need of new urban policies, not only limited to the transport domain, in order to manage the demand peaks at the stations and on-board vehicles. In the ex-urban case, the outputs suggest the need for public subsidies in order for the railways undertakings to cope with revenue losses and, at the same time, to maintain service quality levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For high speed multiplier implementation, the recursive architecture is a parallel and modular approach with low complexity. However, compared to the conventional array multiplier, it costs more area due to the interconnection between sub-modules. In this study, the multiplexer based multiplier is adopted as the lower-level multiplier in the recursive architecture because it outperforms the conventional array multiplier in terms of speed, area, and power consumption. To further improve the speed performance, the proposed hybrid architecture exploits the carry-select adders (CSL) for partial products accumulation. The design is synthesized using TSMC 0.18μm standard cell process. According to the experimental results, the propagation delay is reduced by 20.5% and 40.9% respectively, compared to the optimized mux-multiplier and the conventional array multiplier. In addition, we reduce the proposed architecture to a partially truncated circuit for error tolerant applications. Without affecting the speed, both the power consumption and circuit area are further reduced by 25% approximately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the legal issues over the use of hyperloop one technology in underwater tunnel construction by analyzing the proposed submerged floating tunnel project connecting Estonia and Finland. Also cited are the various forms of underwater tunnel construction like subsea bored rock tunnel, immersed tunnel, and submerged floating tunnel, as well as some relevant international laws like the International Seabed Authority Regulations (ISA).

High-speed rail (HSR) has emerged as a significant mode for intercity transport in several countries, particularly China, setting an environment that may promote integration between air and HSR networks. To better measure the current level of integration of China's air-HSR intermodal network and identify implementation issues, this paper establishes a novel assessment framework that considers three primary areas: service capability, network connectivity and transfer potential. The framework is based on a comprehensive literature review of network measurement and assessment methodologies. Then, fractal theory is used to establish an assessment model that associates the fractal dimension to the level of intermodal integration, which can serve as an important complement to traditional weighting methods. The model and framework are applied to the 10 cities in China with the potential for air-HSR integration. The results show that international hub airports, together with their closest HSR station, do not necessarily perform at a higher integration level than regional hubs. The paper also proposes policy and practical recommendations to enhance air-HSR network integration levels from service supply, network coordination and transfer design perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We study high-speed rail travelers' train choices for revenue management purposes using online booking data. • A new metric for quantifying a transport product's attractiveness is proposed incorporating booking lead time. • We apply two nonparametric machine learning methods requiring no utility maximization assumption. • Performances of SVR and ANN are comparable, and both methods clearly outperform the benchmark method. • Choice preferences of travelers in the Shanghai-Beijing rail market in China are revealed for the first time. Abstract This study explores two nonparametric machine learning methods, namely support vector regression (SVR) and artificial neural networks (ANN), for understanding and predicting high-speed rail (HSR) travelers' choices of ticket purchase timings, train types, and travel classes, using ticket sales data. In the train choice literature, discrete choice analysis is the predominant approach and many variants of logit models have been developed. Alternatively, emerging travel choice studies adopt non-utility-based methods, especially nonparametric machine learning methods including SVR and ANN, because (1) those methods do not rely on assumptions on the relations between choices and explanatory variables or any prior knowledge of the underlying relations; (2) they have superb capabilities of iteratively identifying patterns and extracting rules from data. This paper thus contributes to the HSR train choice literature by applying and comparing SVR and ANN with a real-world case study of the Shanghai-Beijing HSR market in China. A new normalized metric capturing both the load factor and the booking lead time is proposed as the target variable and several train service attributes, such as day of week, departure time, travel time, fare, are identified as input variables. Computational results demonstrate that both SVR and ANN can predict the train choice behavior with high accuracy, outperforming the linear regression approach. Potential applications of this study, such as rail pricing reform, have also been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We propose an effective way of managing reliever gateways when catastrophe occurs. • We deal with the case where the airports are connected by the high speed rail. • The fare restriction of HSR is needed to regain sufficient passenger flow. • The fare support is effective to regain the passenger flow using reliever gateways. Abstract On the basis of model analysis, this study proposes an effective method for managing reliever gateway airports when the main gateway airport is completely dysfunctional owing to a catastrophe. In particular, we deal with the case where the main and reliever airports are connected by high-speed rail (HSR), and we discuss a desirable and effective support policy for regaining passenger flow from/to the affected area. First, we analyze the market behavior under the usual condition as the base case by adopting the bi-level model, which is a supply-demand interaction model. Second, under the supposition of a catastrophe, we set up some scenarios of management policies, i.e. (i) no special policy and (ii) providing support to HSR passengers to induce them to the reliever gateways. Through such scenario analyses, we show that (i) HSR fare restriction is required to regain sufficient passenger flow and (ii) providing fare support to HSR passengers is an effective way to regain passenger flow using reliever gateways, which can contribute toward building a robust air transport network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper quantifies the substitution and complementary effects of high-speed rail (HSR) on air travel demand in terms of both route traffic and airport enplanement. Employing the difference-in-differences (DID) method, the first part of the analysis measures the effect of new HSR routes on parallel air route traffic with a focus on East Asian regions (Mainland China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan). The second part examines the effect of air-HSR integration on passenger enplanement at East Asian airports and compares with that in the Central European market. We find that in general the airport's access cost (reflected by the distance from central city) has a negative impact on the air traffic. The substitution effects of HSR are the most significant on short- and medium-haul (below 1000 km) air routes while introducing HSR services has encouraged long distance (over 1000 km) air travels in Mainland China. The complementary effect is investigated in the context of air-HSR integration, which has significantly positive impacts on airport enplanement at primary hub airports when fitted with on-site HSR links. The benefit is limited at secondary hubs and regional airports possibly by locations and HSR service frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]