Challenges of the Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation in Financing the African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network and the Way Forward: The Case of Standard Gauge Railway in Tanzania

Financing of the African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network (AIHSRN) through Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Projects is very expensive. As a result, most of the African countries seek financial supports from the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). However, conditions provided by the IFIs through the Performance Standards (PS) of the International Financial Corporation (IFC) increase cost of the projects and thus, it becomes a burden to most of the African countries. This study aimed to explore the causes of IFC-PS through the SGR Projects that escalate costs and how to address them. The Tanzania SGR Lot 1 Project that covered 205 km from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro was selected as a case study. The methods used for data collection involved literature review, focus group discussions and interviews. The results and findings show a gap between the IFC-PS and the National Laws and Regulations that escalates costs of the projects if funds from the IFIs were to be secured. To bridge the gap, it is recommended that the African countries should engage into negotiations with the IFIs to agree to waive IFC-PS conditions that escalate costs provided they are adequately covered in the national laws and regulations;engagement of locally established national and regional financial institutions;and the responsible government institutions in the African countries should sit together for assessment and review of the IFC-PS against the national laws and regulations.

Research on Experimental Teaching Reform of Railway Engineering under the Training of International Students

The railway engineering major shows extremely strong applicability,with the internationalization of railway engineering teaching and communication,how to solve the problem of cultivating the international students of the railway engineering major experimental teaching is a core problem that the railway engineering majors in universities need to solve at this stage.Through reform,a new type of experimental teaching system for railway engineering specialty was constructed,that is,the experimental course system and content system determined by the international students training program were taken as the core,the construction of teachers,experimental facilities,practice bases and other conditions as the basis,and the system construction and operation organization to build an organic whole composed of four elements for guarantee.It is closely integrated with the theoretical teaching system and relatively independent.It guarantees the realization of the goal of international students training.And it can integrate and optimize the experimental teaching links,content,methods and evaluation system,and build a“gradual experimentprofessional experiment-comprehensive experiment”progressive gradient experiment teaching system.Form a benign pattern of collaborative training of laboratories,practice bases and scientific research bases,mutual promotion of teaching and scientific research,and effectively promote the improvement of students’experimental innovation ability.

Being good or being known:International reputation of high-speed railway enterprises

With fierce competition in the global high-speed railway(HSR)market,international reputation has become essential for enterprises to venture into overseas markets.However,few studies have been performed on the international reputation of HSR enterprises.This study aims to reveal the formation mechanism of HSR enterprises’international reputation by developing a theoretical framework.The researchers identified five factors and proposed a hypothetical path model based on a comprehensive literature review.After the pilot study,questionnaires were distributed to practitioners in the international HSR industry for data collection.The path model was validated based on partial least-squares structural equation modeling.Eight of the nine paths are statistically supported.Researchers have structured a theoretical framework for the international reputation of HSR enterprises from two perspectives:Being good and being known.Subsequently,a strategic framework was developed to provide targeted promotion strategies for HSR enterprises.The findings of this study contribute to existing international reputation theories using the theoretical model and provide beneficial guidance for HSR enterprises to improve their international reputation through a strategic framework.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY RAILWAY BETWEEN CIM AND SMGS

China and some of its trade partners in Western Europe apply different legal regimes for international carriage of goods by railway -- respectively Agreement on International Railway Freight Transportation （SMGS） and Uniform Rules Concerning the Contract of International Carriage of Goods by Rail （CIM）. For transportation of goods by railway between China and Western Europe both the CIM and the SMGS are often applicable. China＇s initiative ＂the Belt and Road＂ promotes development of railway transport in Eurasia and creates new incentives for comparative study between those two international legal systems. This article provides a brief historical outline of comparative studies between the CIM and SMGS. This article also purports to show that some similarities and differences between the two regimes might be better understood from the perspective of comparative legal history. Taking into account inter alia the common origin of the current versions of the CIM and SMGS in the 4th revision of the CIM of 1933, differences and similarities between two legal regimes have been analysed with regard to the following topics： the scope of application of the CIM and SMGS, the nature of the carrier＇s liability under the CIM and SMGS; exclusivity of the CIM, exclusivity of the contract of carriage under the SMGS, period of responsibility; persons for whom the carder is liable.

Seismic response of the long-span steel truss arch bridge with the thrust under multidimensional excitation

Purpose–Under different ground motion excitation modes,the spatial coupling effect of seismic response for the arch bridge with thrust,seismic weak parts and the internal force components of the control section of main arch ribs are analyzed.Design/methodology/approach–Taking a 490 m deck type railway steel truss arch bridge as the background,the dynamic calculation model of the whole bridge was established by SAP2000 software.The seismic response analyses under one-,two-and three-dimension(1D,2D and 3D)uniform ground motion excitations were carried out.Findings–For the steel truss arch bridge composed of multiple arch ribs,any single direction ground motion excitation will cause large axial force in the chord of arch rib.The axial force caused by transverse and vertical ground motion excitation in the chord of arch crown area is 1.4–3.6 times of the corresponding axial force under longitudinal seismic excitation.The in-plane bending moment caused by the lower chord at the vault is 4.2–5.5 times of the corresponding bending moment under the longitudinal seismic excitation.For the bottom chord of arch rib,the arch foot is the weak part of earthquake resistance,but for the upper chord of arch rib,the arch foot,arch crown and the intersection of column and upper chord can all be the potential earthquake-resistant weak parts.The normal stress of the bottom chord of the arch rib under multidimensional excitation is mainly caused by the axial force,but the normal stress of the upper chord of the arch rib is caused by the axial force,in-plane and out of plane bending moment.Originality/value–The research provides specific suggestions for ground motion excitation mode and also provides reference information for the earthquake-resistant weak part and seismic design of long-span deck type railway steel truss arch bridges.

Improving Taxation of Income from International Transportation——Study on Jurisdictions Covered by the Belt and Road Initiative

The goals pursued by the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)and the role played by international transportation on the development of cross-border trade suggest a focused review of issues dealing with taxation of transportation income derived from the operation of ships,railways and trucks in international traffic.This article covers an analysis of some of the treaties concluded by certain BRI jurisdictions and the possible ways of improvement of the tax regime applicable to taxation of international transportation either through international administrative cooperation or treaty legislation.