By Ho Ai Li, China Correspondent
This is likely if they drop off at one of the 22 stations in between. Many were built in haste, away from town centres and sometimes in the middle of vegetable plots and duck farms. Those who stop at Yuanding in central Anhui province, for example, will find themselves in the countryside with no easy path to Yuanding city 18km away.
There are plans to build an expressway from the station to the city, but for now, farms, rivers and forests stand where the new road should be, the China Economic Weekly reported.
Another station, Tianjin West, is located 25km away from the busy Tianjin inter-city station, making connections difficult.
'The Railways Ministry wants to go into the town centre for larger passenger flow. But local governments want stations that are farther out, so as to use the high-speed rail to spur development,' said Professor Zhao Jian of Beijing Jiaotong University.
Most stations on the 1,318km line were built from scratch. Workers scrambled to try to finish building them a year ahead of schedule and in time for the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party last week.
But the scaffolding has yet to come off for some. At Nanjing South station, floor tiles were still being laid a week after it opened, local media reported.
The Bengbu South station in Anhui looks like it is sited on a messy construction site, with pieces of wood scattered all over.
While local governments have justified having far-flung stations as a way to develop outlying areas, critics say this also serves as an excuse for them to acquire land cheaply. 'You can get land at a cheaper price from peasants,' noted Prof Zhao, a critic of China's high-speed rail.
Some villagers from places like Jinan and Suzhou whose houses were demolished for the line were unhappy with the compensation they received.
But Professor Li Ping of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences disagreed that it was a way to profit at the expense of peasants. 'Building stations in remote areas is to cut costs. If you build them in city centres, the cost will be quite massive,' he said.
Other high-speed lines in China have the same problem. The Luoyang station along the Xi'an-Zhengzhou line, for example, is far from the city centre and separate from the city's other rail operations. Passengers find it difficult to even get a taxi after disembarking the trains.
Most observers agree that ridership was likely to be affected if travelling to remote train stations was going to be a hassle. This may in turn spell trouble for the 220.9 billion yuan (S$42 billion) Beijing-Shanghai line, which goes at a top speed of 300kmh and halves rail travel time between China's biggest cities to under five hours.
Designed to be the showpiece of the country's break-neck high-speed rail development, the line has been dogged by doubts over its safety and commercial viability.
Already, the authorities have set ticket prices at levels lower than expected to try to boost demand for the service. Second-class tickets, which make up the bulk of about a thousand seats on board each train, cost 410 yuan to 555 yuan.
For Taiwan, which also has high-speed trains, the relative remoteness of its rail stations has meant average ridership levels of below 50 per cent in the first three years since its launch in 2007.
In general, property prices are expected to rise in areas along a rail line, said a Morgan Stanley report on China's high-speed rail plans. But whether such a station will help a less developed area take off depends on overall planning, observers say.
'To really expand and develop the place, local governments need to plan industries. How can they just rely on a train station?' asked Prof Zhao.
hoaili@sph.com.sg
Additional reporting by Lina Miao
Remote train stations on Beijing-Shanghai line may hit ridership: Observers
By Ho Ai Li, China Correspondent
High-speed rail passengers can zip between China's top two cities, but may get stuck at stations in outlying areas. -- PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING: Passengers on the new Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail can zip between China's top two cities in double-quick time, but may also be stuck for ages in no man's land.
This is likely if they drop off at one of the 22 stations in between. Many were built in haste, away from town centres and sometimes in the middle of vegetable plots and duck farms. Those who stop at Yuanding in central Anhui province, for example, will find themselves in the countryside with no easy path to Yuanding city 18km away.
There are plans to build an expressway from the station to the city, but for now, farms, rivers and forests stand where the new road should be, the China Economic Weekly reported.
Another station, Tianjin West, is located 25km away from the busy Tianjin inter-city station, making connections difficult.
'The Railways Ministry wants to go into the town centre for larger passenger flow. But local governments want stations that are farther out, so as to use the high-speed rail to spur development,' said Professor Zhao Jian of Beijing Jiaotong University.
Most stations on the 1,318km line were built from scratch. Workers scrambled to try to finish building them a year ahead of schedule and in time for the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party last week.
But the scaffolding has yet to come off for some. At Nanjing South station, floor tiles were still being laid a week after it opened, local media reported.
The Bengbu South station in Anhui looks like it is sited on a messy construction site, with pieces of wood scattered all over.
While local governments have justified having far-flung stations as a way to develop outlying areas, critics say this also serves as an excuse for them to acquire land cheaply. 'You can get land at a cheaper price from peasants,' noted Prof Zhao, a critic of China's high-speed rail.
Some villagers from places like Jinan and Suzhou whose houses were demolished for the line were unhappy with the compensation they received.
But Professor Li Ping of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences disagreed that it was a way to profit at the expense of peasants. 'Building stations in remote areas is to cut costs. If you build them in city centres, the cost will be quite massive,' he said.
Other high-speed lines in China have the same problem. The Luoyang station along the Xi'an-Zhengzhou line, for example, is far from the city centre and separate from the city's other rail operations. Passengers find it difficult to even get a taxi after disembarking the trains.
Most observers agree that ridership was likely to be affected if travelling to remote train stations was going to be a hassle. This may in turn spell trouble for the 220.9 billion yuan (S$42 billion) Beijing-Shanghai line, which goes at a top speed of 300kmh and halves rail travel time between China's biggest cities to under five hours.
Designed to be the showpiece of the country's break-neck high-speed rail development, the line has been dogged by doubts over its safety and commercial viability.
Already, the authorities have set ticket prices at levels lower than expected to try to boost demand for the service. Second-class tickets, which make up the bulk of about a thousand seats on board each train, cost 410 yuan to 555 yuan.
For Taiwan, which also has high-speed trains, the relative remoteness of its rail stations has meant average ridership levels of below 50 per cent in the first three years since its launch in 2007.
In general, property prices are expected to rise in areas along a rail line, said a Morgan Stanley report on China's high-speed rail plans. But whether such a station will help a less developed area take off depends on overall planning, observers say.
'To really expand and develop the place, local governments need to plan industries. How can they just rely on a train station?' asked Prof Zhao.
hoaili@sph.com.sg
Additional reporting by Lina Miao
