Rapid Transportation and Green Technology Innovation in Cities—From the View of the Industrial Collaborative Agglomeration

This research uses a two-way fixed effect model to examine the correlation between the development of high-speed rail and the growth of green technology innovation by adopting the panel data of 284 Chinese cities between 2004 and 2013. The empirical results show that the supply of high-speed rail services has a significant promoting influence on the advance of urban green technology innovation capabilities. In particular, cities located in central and western China, along with those cities with relatively little government support or relatively backward public cultural infrastructure, have more chances to benefit from the supply of high-speed rail services. In addition, by employing a mediating effect model, this article finds that the industrial collaborative agglomeration plays an important mediating role between high-speed rail and regional green technology innovation. Therefore, this article suggests that the Chinese central government should continue to accelerate the construction of the rapid transportation network and expand the coverage of high-speed rail services in China to increase the growth of green technology innovation and achieve steady and sustained economic growth in China. Meanwhile, local governments should actively guide the collaborative agglomeration of manufacturing and related producer service industries under local conditions to stimulate the expansion of the green technology innovation market.

Mutual Gains From Eurasian Railway Connectivity

This paper analyzes the relationship between Eurasian rail services (especially the China–EU services that have flourished since 2011) and the overland “Belt” part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The initial market-driven stimulus was from car and electronics firms linking their East Asian and European production networks, and the establishment of Eurasian value chains remains an important theme. As regular rail freight services between China and Europe became more frequent, between more termini and offering more ancillary services, trade costs were reduced along the BRI Belt with mutual benefits for Asian and European countries. The paper first documents the growth and current status of the overland rail freight services; the sound economic foundation for the rail services and the continued growth of traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic indicate the sustainability of this part of the BRI. It then discusses the relationship of the Eurasian rail services to the wider BRI, emphasizing the importance of multiple routes and of connections to ports. Finally, the paper reviews the literature on the economic gains from improved rail connectivity and on the relationship between hard and soft infrastructure. The principal conclusion is that market-driven commercial incentives, public policies and the BRI have contributed to the success of the Belt mainlines and links to Indian Ocean ports are expected to integrate the currently separate Belt and Road.

Ensuring the reliability and safety of the upper structure of the track in railway transport

The article deals with the problems of quality management, reliability and safety at railway transport infrastructure facilities, from the standpoint of quality management and reliability theory, to ensure the quality and safety of transport services for the consumer. A method for managing the quality and safety of the upper structure of the track is proposed based on monitoring the fiow of failures and recoveries, using an automated system for accounting and analyzing the reliability of transport infrastructure facilities. An example of the implementation of the developed methods on Aksakov track Kuibyshev infrastructure Directorate of JSC «Russian Railways», which leads to the improvement of the quality and reliability of freight and passenger rail services to the consumer on the track.

Analysis and assessment of the risks of dangerous failures of the upper structure of the building on railway transport

The article deals with the problems of quality management, reliability and safety at railway transport infrastructure facilities, from the standpoint of quality management and reliability theory, to ensure the quality and safety of transport services for the consumer. A method for managing the quality and safety of the upper structure of the track is proposed based on monitoring the fiow of failures and recoveries, using an automated system for accounting and analyzing the reliability of transport infrastructure facilities. An example of the implementation of the developed methods on Aksakov track Kuibyshev infrastructure Directorate of JSC «Russian Railways», which leads to the improvement of the quality and reliability of freight and passenger rail services to the consumer on the track.

HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY AND TOURISM: IS THERE AN IMPACT ON INTERMEDIATE CITIES? EVIDENCE FROM TWO CASE STUDIES IN CASTILLA-LA MANCHA (SPAIN)

The expectations of cities served by High Speed Rail are numerous. Improvements in a destination’s accessibility could lead to an increase in transport demand and the revitalization of urban and business tourism. However, High Speed Rail services do not automatically affect the choice of destination even if they improve accessibility. Even so, they can improve visitation rates when tourist amenities are located near High Speed Rail stations becoming therefore easily accessible. The development of tourism is also influenced by the collective strategies of local stakeholders. Larger cities also appear able to leverage higher tourist volumes from the construction of High Speed Rail and most analyses to date have focused upon them. Thus we focus here on how the arrival of High Speed Rail services has impacted tourism on medium sized cities. Using a diachronic study of different socio-economic variables and tourist features, this article analyses the impact that the new rail infrastructure can have on tourism in two selected cases in Spain: Cuenca and Toledo.

Sigma Rail Services: From Executive to Entrepreneur

North American Rail Services is a leading rail and track maintenance and construction service company in North America. The leading investor in the company wishes to have its investment returned which requires North American Rail Services to sell the company or start selling business units. The case presents students with questions about which business units to buy and for how much and also to provide compelling acquisition rationale. The case will take students 8–10 hours to complete and is suitable for advanced entrepreneurship and business undergraduates and first year master’s students. Students are provided with a tangible corporate context to evaluate business unit choice utilizing detailed case data. The case contributes to entrepreneurship case pedagogy through the use of corporate context for students to practice business due diligence, analytics, valuation and entrepreneurial decision making.