China, People's Republic of : Multimodal Passenger Hub and Railway Maintenance Project

Transport / Rail transport (non-urban)

The proposed project aims to assist China Railway Corporation (CRC) in developing modern, energy efficient and sustainable transport solutions in South Western People's Republic

of China (PRC). The project will assist CRC in developing a demonstration multimodal hub in Xichang, improve maintenance systems by introducing modern maintenance equipment and institutional capacity building and training.

The railway subsector is vital to the economic and social development of the PRC, its international trade, continued economic growth, intercity connectivity, and ability to extend the benefits of development to people living in the more remote regions of the country. The PRC is a vast country where people and goods move over long distances and railways provide the most economic means of transport.

Despite its impressive growth in recent years, the railway transport capacity is still unable to satisfy the needs of domestic and freight transportation. This constrains economic growth,

particularly in the poorer land-locked south-western region.

Railway development has lagged in the south-western region owing to the highly mountainous terrain which makes railway construction very difficult and challenging. The existing

line connecting the capital cities of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces was constructed in 1970. When completed, CKRL will improve the competitiveness of local products, enhance tourism development, and support urbanization.

South Western PRC has good economic complementarities with Southeast and South Asian countries, and bilateral trade is growing rapidly. The development of this railway line is a major initiative for this region and ADB is already providing assistance for developing the safety aspects on this line. PRC further needs assistance in ensuring that the line is properly integrated with other transport modes through well designed multimodal hubs and its sustainability is ensured by having an improved maintenance system in place.

In PRC, the new railway stations often do not satisfy the needs of the passengers. These are often located far from city centers and are not well integrated with the city transport systems. Thus, while the new railway lines will facilitate faster intercity travel, the stations also need to be efficiently linked to the existing city with well-designed multimodal transport infrastructure and high-quality integrated public transport services. This will enhance the quality of the journey experience for passengers and will encourage increased use of public transport. This will ensure a reduction in transport costs, increase travel opportunities and regional accessibility to jobs and services, and promote economic development and poverty reduction.

The government also recognizes that better integration between railways and other transport modes is important in creating an efficient transport system. A key challenge is to improve multimodal connections between railway passenger services and urban passenger transport at railway stations in medium sized and large cities. The multimodal hub can serve as the focal point for integration of various transport modes and provide seamless connectivity between and within cities, convenient passenger travel experience, and energy efficient building technology.

Railway stations or multimodal hubs play a crucial role in facilitating a good travel experience for passengers. Multimodal interchange hubs are vital for achieving sustainable transport systems. They stitch together different modes of transport and serve as the gateway to mobility and greater accessibility. A well-designed hub can significantly enhance the overall journey experience of passengers. The new line will include 18 railway stations or multimodal hubs. One important hub on this line will be developed in Xichang city which has a population of about 775,000. It is rich in agriculture products and food processing industries, is also one of the centers of the PRC's space satellite program and is a famous tourism city drawing large numbers of domestic tourists every year. Developing Xichang into a well-designed multimodal hub could have a huge demonstration impact for the region.

Sustainable railway system in south western PRC developed.

Integrated, energy efficient and sustainable railway corridor in Sichuan province developed.

Multimodal Hub developed.

Railway maintenance improved.