Development Process,Spatial Pattern and Effects of High-Speed Rail Network in China

High speed rail(HSR) is an important part of modern transport infrastructure. The construction of HSR network induces the spatio-temporal convergence and further influences the movement of production elements, the expansion of urban areas as well as the reorganization of regional spatial structure. The paper first analyzes the development process and mode of China's HSR network, and then explores the characteristics of spatial distribution pattern as well as the coupling relationship with population and economy. Finally, the paper researches the spatial effects of HSR network with GIS method, in terms of the service areas of HSR, time-space convergence effects, and core cities' commuting regions. Results indicate that: 1)The spatial expansion of HSR in China shows a core-core pattern in the early years and then a core-network pattern, which is closely related with the distribution of cluster cities; 2) The spatial pattern of HSR is inclined to serve the urban population and industry output, with 50.07% urban population, 73.47% GDP and 98.17% industry output value in 1 hour catchment area; 3) The HSR network leads to an uneven time-space convergence, and cities along the main HSR lines have relatively lower average travel time, showing a corridor effect; Meanwhile, the accessibility of hub cities are improved greatly, which leads to the expansion of hinterlands and convenient movement of production elements as well as the integration of cities in megalopolis.