Unnecessary rush is high speed to nowhere

At least 26 newly-built high-speed railway stations across the country are either not in use or have been shut down due to poor planning or low passenger flow.

New high-speed railway stations in some less-developed regions, where the old railway stations suffice to meet local needs, are seen as vanity projects. It takes certain economic size and population within the service radius of a high-speed railway station to sustain its operation.

The local governments should be practical when it comes to constructing high-speed railway stations. The decision-making process should be based on realistic, scientific, and objective assessments of the actual needs, as well as the construction and operating costs.

As urbanization over the past two decades has siphoned about half of the previously rural population to urban areas, and the weak housing market has seriously affected government revenue, worsening the debt pressure on local governments, it takes more scientific and prudent thinking to plan and build large infrastructure projects to prevent them from becoming a debt trap, not to mention contributing to local socioeconomic development.

Local governments should be aware that it is a strong economy that boosts the upgrading of local public infrastructure, rather than the opposite. Although transportation plays an important role in boosting growth, its marginal effect would be remarkably reduced if the former outpaces the requirements of the latter.

- BEIJING YOUTH DAILY