We often fail to appreciate how transformative
mega-infrastructure projects tend to be in the real world. Far too much
attention is placed on just the directly quantifiable pecuniary benefits.
However, there are extraordinary social and cultural transformations wrought by
large-scale infrastructure projects. One needs to just consider the
transformational impact that the US interstate highway system has had over the
past sixty years to fathom the power of major infrastructural programs.
Recently, China has been on an extraordinary drive to expand
high-speed railway system.
Here is an interesting piece on some of the changes that high-speed
trains are bringing to Chinese tourism/travel sector:
Foreign Policy magazine had a recent cover story on China’s
high-speed rail system:
Here is a highlight from the FP piece:
“The trains eat up the
journey from Beijing to Shanghai -- roughly the same distance as that between
New York and Chicago -- in slightly less than five hours. More than 6,000 miles
of dedicated track connect these and other major cities, and the eight-hour run
between Beijing and Guangzhou is the longest bullet-train line in the world. A
majority of Chinese cities with populations over a half-million are supposed to
be connected within the next 15 years.”