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Givoni, Moshe. Chen, Xueming.

integration model should give Chinese carriers a significant competitive advantage, largely
by substantially increasing the number of domestic destinations served by Chinese airlines
(using rail services).
Even if the wheel cannot be turned back, the potential for air and rail integration at Shanghai’s
Hongqiao hub can still be realized, at least partly. Considering future demand for services to/
from Hongqiao, the potential for air-rail integration is still large and thus the potential for
much more efficient utilization of Hongqiao’s facilities in the face of future growth in demand.
This will require a move away from the uni-modal nature of governing and planning transport,
which is currently the dominant approach worldwide. Given China’s political nature, it is
expected that a move away from such unimodal approach will be easier to adopt. With the
infrastructure for air–rail integration in China very much in place, especially in Shanghai, the
potential for air–rail integration can be more easily realized and in turn can act as a catalyst
for the creation of a truly integrated transport system.
Latest planning announcements in China suggest the idea of air–rail integration as part of the
future development of HSR still has merit and that it might have been recognized. According
to the medium- and long-term railway network plan, which was approved during the State
Council executive meeting on June, 2016, the HSR network should be extended to include
eight vertical and eight horizontal lines that will link many large- and medium-sized cities of
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1–4 h apart . This can substantially increase the scope for HSR services to complement air
services at air-rail hubs. In the Shanghai area, according to the Shanghai-Nantong Intercity
Railway Phase II Plan, the Pudong Airport will be directly connected to the HSR network via
a new HSR station at the airport. The plans also include a direct rail line connecting Pudong
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and Hongqiao Airports . This suggests the importance of connecting the main international
airport to the rail network has been recognized, but not yet the benefits of fully adopting the
integrated hub model at Hongqiao.

7. Notes

1. See http://baike.baidu.com/view/3119844.htm (last accessed on 6/7/2016).
2. A random test by one of the authors revealed that it is possible to walk from the airport
to the railway station without using any other modes of transportation, in about 10 min.
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_busiest_ airports_in_China#cite_note-1.

4. Based on ACI data, published on Wikipedia (https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_
the_world%27s_ busiest_airports_by_passenger_traffic – accessed 18 October 2015).

5. Passengers who, for example, used the metro to get to the airport are counted twice:
first arrival from Metro, followed by second departure from airport.

6. The forecast assumes the construction of interairport (Hongqiao–Pudong) and Shanghai-
Hangzhou Maglev project, which to date has not been approved.

7. See Li 2014 and Qian et al. 2014 for the mode split on access journey to other large
airports in China.
8. China Northern Airlines, China Southwest Airlines and China Northwest Airlines
were integrated into China Southern Airlines, Air China, and China Eastern Airlines,
respectively, in 2002 as part of the CAAC reorganization strategy.
9. The interviewees included: An Urban Planning Professor of Tongji University; the
Deputy Director of Shanghai Comprehensive Transportation Planning Institute; and the
Planning Manager of Hongqiao Airport. The interviews were conducted in the Summer
of 2014.

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