Between Tao and Instruments:Railways,China,and the World From the Perspective of Modern Thought(1875-1936)

In the evolution of modern railway thought,it includes not only the discussion of railway planning,sovereignty,debt,and construction,but also the discussion of spiritual guiding ideology such as“Tao,body and utility”and“material and spirit”.From the perspective of the relationship between road and equipment,the development of modern railway thought in China has experienced three stages.During the Westernization Movement,Li Hongzhang and other people expounded the benefits brought by railway construction from the angle of“utility”,and believed that there was still a unity of“Tao and style”.After the Sino-Japanese Naval Battle,with the emergence of the theory of railway sovereignty and the theory of dividing China,Kang Youwei and others questioned the thought of Westernization school.The unified Tao body was divided into two parts:China and the West.After the May Fourth Movement,railway,as a product of western material civilization,was compared with Eastern spiritual civilization by Liang Shuming,Li Dazhao,and others.The conflict between material and spirit made the Western“Tao style”evolve into the Europe-American way of pursuing“scientific spirit”and the Soviet-Russian way of exploring the ideas of revolution and transformation.The railway has thus become an important carrier of the“scientific spirit”and socialism.

Can Trade Facilitation Prevent the Formation of Zombie Firms?Evidence from the China Railway Express

Using data on firms listed on Chinese A-share markets from 2009 to 2017,this paperapplies the difference-in-difference model to test the effect of trade facilitation onpreventing the formation of zombie firms.We find that the China Railway Express(CRE)significantly prevented the formation of such firms.Mechanism tests show:(i)the CRE has accelerated the speed of sales,which increased the overseas salesrevenue of firms;(ii)the economies of scale and the capital accumulation effectcaused by the CRE can help increase firms'solvency and development ability.Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the effect of the CRE on preventing theformation of zombie firms is mainly reflected in non-state-owned firms,firms inhighly competitive industries,and firms in the eastern region of China.We suggestthat China should continue to promote trade facilitation by expanding the CRE andstrengthening the market's dominant role in preventing the formation of zombie firms.Disadvantaged firms should seize the development opportunities brought by the CRE.

Bayesian network-based risk evaluation model for the operational requirements of the China Railway Express under the Belt and Road initiative

The operation of the China Railway Express features numerous links across several regions and countries. Effectively controlling therisks involved in the operation of the China Railway Express is crucial for ensuring safety and efficiency and promoting the sustainabledevelopment of the China Railway Express. The Bayesian network-based risk-management model was built corresponding to theactual operation of the China Railway Express;the model used an advanced risk-management theory. The sensitivity analysis of riskfactors and Bayesian network inference were realized using the expectation-maximization and clique-tree propagation algorithms.Using the risk-checklistmethod, 17 risk-related factors were analysed on 17 nodes of the Bayesian network fromthree perspectives—safety, efficiency and effectiveness—based on expert opinions and the actual operating conditions of the China Railway Express.Data from a sensitivity analysis and evidence inference of the Bayesian network model indicated that the sensitivity coefficients ofnodes N01, N04, N07, N08 and N17 of the network were high. Moreover, the risk-occurrence probabilities for nodes N01, N04, N06,N07 and N09 were higher in the case of reverse inference. Our results revealed the crucial factors influencing the risk. The identifiedrisk factors included the stability of the political environment in countries along the route, conditions of station infrastructures andthe complexity of the process of changing rails and reloading. Further, risk-management suggestions were provided. By establishinga sound risk-management framework, reliable assessment and management could be realized in accordance with changes in theoperating conditions of the China Railway Express.

New Railways in China

Beijing-Kowloon Railway The Beijing-Kowloon Railway (Beijing-Shenzhen linking up with Kowloon) runs from north Beijing, through Bazhou, Hengshui, Liaocheng, Heze, Shangqou, Fuyang, Macheng, Jiujiang, Nancheng, Xiangtang, Jian, Ganzhou, Longchuan to Shenzhen, linking up with Kowloon. It is 2, 538 km in length, consisting of a normal railway of 2, 370 km, a secondary railway of 77 km from Tianjin to Bazhou and another secondary railway of 91 km from Macheng to Wuhan. It runs through nine provinces and municipalities——Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shangdong, Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Jiangxi and Guangdong. It will be built by the end of 1995, and begin trial operation in 1996. It has an

SPEEDING UP THE CONSTRUCTION OF HIGH-SPEED RAILWAYS IN CHINA

High-speed railways have the merits of high speed, high transport capacity, low consumption of energy, less pollution, less occupation of land, and greater safety. The development of high-speed railways is suitable for the national conditions in China.The authors suggest that, with the Hu-Ning (Shanghai-Nanjing) section of the Jing-Hu (Beijing-Shanghai) Railway as the starting point, a high-speed dedicated passenger railway line be built to realize the separate transportation of passengers and goods, thus easing the strain on transport in East China, accumulating experience for the future development of high-speed railways, and bringing along the development of high and new technology industries.

The Study on the Framework and Implementation Scheme of the Railway Intelligent Cold Chain Logistics System

With the development of intelligent and communication technology, traditional logistics has gradually transformed into intelligent logistics. The construction of the railway intelligent cold chain logistics system is an effective measure to implement the structural adjustment of supply, which conforms to the times. Firstly, basic features and design principles of the railway intelligent cold chain logistics system were described. Secondly, target functions and the system framework of the railway intelligent cold chain logistics were put forward, which takes information service as a foundation, management service as a guarantee, business capability as kernel and expansion capability as support. Subsequently, the technical approaches were studied at the hardware, processing and software levels. Finally, development strategies of the railway intelligent cold chain logistics were discussed, including optimizing the layout of infrastructure, improving the performance of equipment, extending the reach of services, deepening the cooperation of technologies and promoting the formulation of standards which provides feasible references for the railway cold chain logistics to explore modern business models.

Path selection and mechanism innovation of improving railway energy efficiency–from foreign experience and Chinese practice

Purpose–Under the dual pressure of resources and environment,many countries have focused on the role of railways in promoting low-carbon development of integrated transportation and of even the whole society.This paper aims to provide a comprehensive study on methods to improve railway energy efficiency in other national railways and achievements made by China’s railways in the past practice,and then to propose ways in which in the future China’s railways could rationally select the path of improving energy efficiency regarding the needs of the nation’s ever-shifting development and carry out the re-engineering for mechanism innovation in energy conservation and emission reduction process.Design/methodology/approach–This paper first studies other national railways that have tried to promote the improvement of railway energy efficiency by the ways of technology,management and structural reconstruction to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.Among them,the effect of structural energy conservation and emission reduction has become more prominent.It has become the main energy conservation and emission reduction measure adopted by foreign railway sectors.The practice of energy conservation and emission reduction of railways in various countries has tended to shift from a technical level to a structural one.Findings–Key aspects in improving energy efficiency include re-optimization of energy structure,reinnovation of energy-saving technologies and optimization of transportation organization.Path selection includes continuing to promote electrified railway construction,increasing the use of new and renewable energy sources,and promoting the reform of railway transportation organizations.Originality/value–This paper provides further challenges and research directions in the proposed area and has referential value for the methodologies,approaches for practice in a Chinese context.To achieve the expected goals,relevant supporting policies and measures need to be formulated,including actively guiding integrated transportation toward railway-oriented development,promoting innovation in energy-saving and emission reduction mechanisms and strengthening policy incentives,focusing on improving the energy efficiency of railways through market behavior.At the same time,it is necessary to pay attention to new phenomena in the railway industry for track and analysis.

Intelligent construction technology of railway engineering in China

Intelligent construction technology has been widely used in the field of railway engineering.This work first analyzes the connotation,function,and characteristics of intelligent construction of railway engineering(ICRE)and establishes its system structure from three dimensions,namely,life cycle,layers of management,and intelligent function,to deeply understand the development situation of intelligent railway construction in China.Second,seven key technical support systems of ICRE,which include building information modeling(BIM)standard system for China’s railway sector,technology management platform and life cycle management based on BIM-hGIS(geography information system),ubiquitous intelligent perception system,intelligent Intemet-of-Things(IoT)communication system based on mobile interconnection,construction management platform based on cloud computing and big data,unmanned operation system based on artificial intelligence,intelligent machinery and robot,and intelligent operation and maintenance system based on BIM and PHM(prediction and health management),are established.Third,ICRE is divided into three development stages:primary(perception),intermediate(substitution),and advanced(intelligence).The evaluation index system of each stage is provided from the aspects of technology and function.Finally,this work summarizes and analyzes the application situation of ICRE in the entire railway sector of China,represented by Beijing-Zhangjiakou and Beijing-Xiong’an high-speed railways.Result shows that the technical support systems of the ICRE have emerged in China and are still in the process of deepening basic technology research and preliminary application.In the future,the ICRE of China’s railway sector will develop toward a higher stage.

Connecting the Belt and Road through sea-rail collaboration

As part of China's "the Belt and Road"strategy, China Railway Express provides alternative shipping routes and transportation modes from Asia to Europe and creates new opportunities for intermodal transportation in the shipping industry. A time–distancebased cost(time cost) function was proposed to compare China Railway Express with traditional transportation modes. Time cost was related to different types of cargoes,which exhibit distinct sensitivity to time. Using the proposed cost function as basis, we identified the cost indifference area where total costs are equal. Further analysis was performed for selecting the transportation mode and supply area for a specific cargo. This study provides various parties, such as business owners, the government, and the shipping industry, with many valuable insights.