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3 May, 2015

ADB Report: Toward Better Multimodal Railway Hubs in China

Asian Development Bank media release — The People’s Republic of China has surpassed the rest of the world in building its high-speed rail network in the last 10 years. The country has built nearly 10,000 kilometers of high-speed rail lines since 2007.

The development of high-speed rail (HSR) is one of the key priorities in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Over the past decade, the PRC has developed a long-term vision for rail modernization and network development and implemented it within a short period of time. By 2014, the PRC has built and put into operation the world’s largest HSR network. Though there has been impressive progress in developing transport infrastructure, the PRC still faces critical challenges in establishing a more integrated approach to transport and urban planning. This requires strategic multimodal transport planning, institutional collaboration, and financial sustainability.

Against this background, the Asian Development Bank and the PRC executed a technical assistance project that conducted a study on “developing multimodal passenger transport hubs.” This study focused on HSR hubs to implement a comprehensive analysis of key features, issues, lessons learned, and national and international best practices in developing and managing multimodal interchange railway hubs.

This illustrated guide has been developed to provide advice and guidance to all stakeholders—including public authorities, funding organizations, consultants, and developers—who may be involved in designing and refurbishing multimodal passenger rail interchange hubs in the PRC. The objective of the guide is to improve the quality and efficiency of the interchange experience from the perspective of users.

Instead of the passenger viewing time spent traveling as an inconvenience, the aim is to have the interchange perceived as a positive, and perhaps even a rewarding, experience. The guide can be viewed as a complement to established standards for the design of transport modes and interchanges. It seeks to raise awareness of the importance of interchange hub design, leading to future design improvements and, in time, better hubs in the PRC.

Click here to view the publication on Scribd: Improving Interchanges: Toward Better Multimodal Railway Hubs in the People’s Republic of China