Policy analysis for high-speed rail in China: Evolution, evaluation, and expectation

The success of HSR development can be attributed to strong policy support from the Chinese government, whose policies have various effects on HSR development due to several complex factors. This paper investigates HSR policies launched by the Chinese government based on policy text analysis. To put forward proposals for the development of HSR in China, we trace the evolution of HSR policies, compare the policy tools, and identify the prospects for HSR policy. The main results are as follows: (1) The progress of HSR development in China can be grouped into five major phases: preliminary planning, technology improvement, large-scale construction, stagnation, and going global; (2) based on our policy keywords analysis, we identify the core policy themes of HSR, which include technology development, financial support, engineering projects, and safety system; (3) regulatory policy tools are most often used, followed by information tools and economic tools. Furthermore, we investigate different types of policy tools that can be used in the four HSR policy themes; and (4) this paper proposes that future HSR policy should coordinate with other policies to construct a modern transport system, use integrated policy tools, stimulate demand-side policy, and build a policy system supporting global development.