Analysis of the Social Benefits Impact of High-Speed Rail from a Case Study Perspective

This chapter examines domestic and international situations. High-speed rail has produced enormous societal advantages both domestically and internationally. From a domestic standpoint, China’s high-speed rail has rapidly developed since 2008, yielding several notable high-speed rail examples and delivering specific social advantages. This has increased industrialization and urbanization, created a large economic multiplier effect, and encouraged regional economic development. The impacts of high-speed rail on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the central Yangtze River cities, and the Chengdu-Chongqing cities are all typical cases. From an international perspective, the Shinkansen in Japan, TGV in France, AVE in Spain, ICE in Germany, and other related cases in regional economic and social development also have significant social benefits impacts.