Socioeconomic impact analysis of the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway: From a megaregion's perspective

High-speed rail (HSR) planning is typically undertaken at a megaregion-scale or beyond, because HSR has its comparative speed advantage within the travel distance between 100 and 500 miles, which coincides with the geographic extent of a typical megaregion. China is no exception. After the opening of the Wuhan-Guangzhou High- Speed Railway (Wuguang PDL), it has generated significant impacts on the socioeconomic developments for those cities along the line, even though its socioeconomic and geographic inequity will persist or even get worse. This study examines the socioeconomic impacts of the Wuguang PDL on Wuhan, Changsha, and Pearl River Delta Megaregions at both city and regional levels.