Abstract:

In recent years, with the construction of high-speed railway network, regional economic development in China has entered into an "era of high-speed rail". High-speed trains have become an important part of people's travel choices. To examine the scope and structure of high-speed rail influences, this study selected 14 stations along the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway as the research objects. It introduced the concept of "passenger-flow hinterland" and "business passenger-flow hinterland" and analyzed the scope and structure of influence of these stations in terms of total and business travelers respectively. Influencing factors are discussed using the central place theory, market area theory, rational decision theory, and so on. The results show that the average radius of passenger-flow hinterland is 151 km, while the average radius of business passenger-flow hinterland is 139 km which is more limited than that of the passenger-flow hinterland. The scope of the passenger-flow hinterland is positively correlated with the scale of the station and the distance of travel outside of the hinterland area, and negatively correlated with the cost of travel within the area. Similarly, the scope of the business passenger-flow hinterland is positively correlated with the scale of the station and the distance of travel of business travelers outside of the hinterland area, and negatively correlated with the cost of travel of business travelers within the area. The "core-periphery" hinterland structure of high-speed railway station is clear. The "core-periphery" structure of passenger-flow hinterland is positively correlated with population distribution, and negatively correlated with the structure of the travel time within the hinterland area. Similarly, the "core-periphery" structure of business passenger-flow hinterland is positively correlated with the spatial structure of GDP, and negatively correlated with travel time of business travelers within the area. This paper explores a new field of the study of high-speed railway and provides a basis for high-speed rail planning and urban development planning in the future. Major drawbacks of this study include that the combined effect of influencing factors on hinterland scope is not modeled, which requires further research.

Key words: Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway stations, passenger-flow hinterland, business passenger-flow hinterland, hinterland scope, hinterland structure, influencing factor, correlation analysis