Improving Interchanges: Toward Better Multimodal Railway Hubs in the People’s Republic of China

New best practice guide: Improving Interchanges in China

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has surpassed the rest of the world in building its high-speed rail (HSR) network in the last 10 years - the country has built nearly 10,000 km of high-speed rail lines since 2007. Chia-Lin Chen, Robin Hickman and Sharad Saxena have published a best practice guide on 'Improving Interchanges: Toward Better Multimodal Railway Hubs in the PRC' (Asian Development Bank, 2015). The guide focuses on HSR hubs to analyse key issues, lessons learned, and national and international best practices, in developing and managing multimodal interchange railway hubs.

The illustrated guide has been developed to provide advice and guidance to all stakeholders—including public authorities, funding organisations, consultants, and developers—who may be involved in designing and refurbishing multimodal passenger rail interchange hubs in the PRC. The objective of the guide is to improve the quality and efficiency of the interchange experience from the perspective of the user. Instead of the passenger viewing time spent travelling as an inconvenience, the aim is to have the interchange perceived as a positive and enjoyable experience. It seeks to raise awareness of the importance of interchange hub design, leading to future design improvements and, in time, better hubs in the PRC.​

View and download the publication here.

Dr Chia-Lin Chen is a Research Associate in Transport and Development for the European Union's SINTROPHER project at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. 

Dr Robin Hickman is a Senior Lecturer at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London and Visiting Research Associate at the Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford, UK.

Dr. Sharad Saxena is the Principal Transport Specialist in the East Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank.