Railway reform in China

Jian >Hong Wu and Chris Nash

Transport Reviews, 2000, vol. 20, issue 1, 25-48

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to consider the current situation of Chinese Railways (CR), the progress of reforms to date, and possible future developments. The first section describes the current problems of CR as a vast organization subject to strong central control, facing enormous and rapidly growing demands which it is unable to satisfy. Comparisons are drawn between CR and those of India, Japan, North America and Western Europe. The progress of reform in CR to date, and in particular the Economic Contract Responsibility System instituted in the late 1980s and the development of joint venture companies to build new lines, are then described. In the following section the key reform models found in other countries- deregulation and privatization of vertically integrated regional companies; separation of infrastructure from operations with open access and/or franchising competitors; or reorganization on the basis of business sectors- are briefly considered. None is fully suitable for China, but it is suggested that a combination of sectorization, more commercial independence, further development of joint public/private partnerships and more contracting out, is the most likely way forward.

Date: 2000
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DOI: 10.1080/014416400295329

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