High-speed railway brings challenges
July 31, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE advent of new high-speed railway lines will bring new opportunities to Minhang District, especially with the development of the Hongqiao Transport Hub.
On July 1 when Huning Inter-City Railway was formally opened to public traffic, the travel time from Shanghai to Nanjing has been reduced to 73 minutes.
This October 1, the Huhang Inter-City Railway will also be put into use. It will only take 38 minutes to travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou.
Next year, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway will cut rail travel between the two cities to just four hours.
The effect of the rail infrastructure will be to connect cities on the east coast and change the regional economic structure.
And Minhang District officials are now considering carefully the opportunities and challenges that improved rail traffic will bring to the district.
Wang Shengyang, vice president of Shanghai Institute of Development and Reform, has no doubt the new rail lines will transform economic growth and social development.
"To realize the great significance of the inter-city railway, we shall first understand the value of Hongqiao Hub," says Wang.
"Originally the central axis of Shanghai's development was Yan'an Rd. At one end of it there is Hongqiao Airport and at the other it's Pudong Airport. It's a line segment that resources gather along from the two ends to the center," he explains.
"But now, the Hongqiao Hub brings some changes," says Wang.
"It's no longer a simple line segment, but a radial that radiates across the entire Yangtze River Delta Area. And Minhang is no longer a simple suburban district. Since Minhang is located in the intersection point of the radial, it's now facing new challenges and opportunities."
In Wang's eyes, Minhang should become more "international" in the future. Although now the district enjoys a good international environment -- there are international schools, communities, and an international medical industry zone which will be built up in the future -- it's not just enough, he says.
"After the global financial crisis, it's very obvious that good resources flow to the more efficient places, and Shanghai is one of the most popular directions," says Wang.
"But we should not be satisfied with our current condition.
"Compared with the central urban area, Minhang still has some weakness in fields such as the social industries."
One of the district's major projects this year is to carry out the construction of Hongqiao CBD. This is one of the main focuses to improve the area surrounding the high-speed railway.
"There's one situation that Minhang should prevent -- and that would be to put only industrial zones in the CBD with no residential areas, no commercial business, and no public spaces. These three would make it a boring area. I think a good CBD shall be comprehensive. A single-functional CBD will hardly succeed," Wang says.
Wang agrees that the high-speed inter-city railway is a double-edged sword.
"The railway will promote the flow of capital and human resources to the better places. Now the question is, can Minhang be the better place?
"If the answer is no, then it will be a huge trouble because of a great loss of resources. While if the answer is yes, a great leap forward development is just waiting for Minhang in the near future."
On July 1 when Huning Inter-City Railway was formally opened to public traffic, the travel time from Shanghai to Nanjing has been reduced to 73 minutes.
This October 1, the Huhang Inter-City Railway will also be put into use. It will only take 38 minutes to travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou.
Next year, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway will cut rail travel between the two cities to just four hours.
The effect of the rail infrastructure will be to connect cities on the east coast and change the regional economic structure.
And Minhang District officials are now considering carefully the opportunities and challenges that improved rail traffic will bring to the district.
Wang Shengyang, vice president of Shanghai Institute of Development and Reform, has no doubt the new rail lines will transform economic growth and social development.
"To realize the great significance of the inter-city railway, we shall first understand the value of Hongqiao Hub," says Wang.
"Originally the central axis of Shanghai's development was Yan'an Rd. At one end of it there is Hongqiao Airport and at the other it's Pudong Airport. It's a line segment that resources gather along from the two ends to the center," he explains.
"But now, the Hongqiao Hub brings some changes," says Wang.
"It's no longer a simple line segment, but a radial that radiates across the entire Yangtze River Delta Area. And Minhang is no longer a simple suburban district. Since Minhang is located in the intersection point of the radial, it's now facing new challenges and opportunities."
In Wang's eyes, Minhang should become more "international" in the future. Although now the district enjoys a good international environment -- there are international schools, communities, and an international medical industry zone which will be built up in the future -- it's not just enough, he says.
"After the global financial crisis, it's very obvious that good resources flow to the more efficient places, and Shanghai is one of the most popular directions," says Wang.
"But we should not be satisfied with our current condition.
"Compared with the central urban area, Minhang still has some weakness in fields such as the social industries."
One of the district's major projects this year is to carry out the construction of Hongqiao CBD. This is one of the main focuses to improve the area surrounding the high-speed railway.
"There's one situation that Minhang should prevent -- and that would be to put only industrial zones in the CBD with no residential areas, no commercial business, and no public spaces. These three would make it a boring area. I think a good CBD shall be comprehensive. A single-functional CBD will hardly succeed," Wang says.
Wang agrees that the high-speed inter-city railway is a double-edged sword.
"The railway will promote the flow of capital and human resources to the better places. Now the question is, can Minhang be the better place?
"If the answer is no, then it will be a huge trouble because of a great loss of resources. While if the answer is yes, a great leap forward development is just waiting for Minhang in the near future."
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