Classifying High-Speed Rail Stations in the Yangtze River Delta, China: The Node-Place Modelling Approach

Following the rapid expansion of the high-speed rail (HSR) network in China, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been widely introduced in HSR station areas of both large and small cities. However, as most HSR stations are new construction, some problems have emerged, e.g., over-planned station areas, airport-like stations above local demand, lack of vitality in station areas, and long distances between stations and city centers. This paper examines the HSR-TOD pattern in the Yangtze River Delta, China, with the densest HSR networks in regional China. We employed the classic node-place model through multiple data sources to classify HSR stations and examine their features. The results show that 123 HSR stations can be classified into eight clusters. Each cluster has typical development characteristics of node and place values and their relations. Given increasing cities with multi HSR stations, the classification results are further analyzed to explore the functional division of HSR stations in the city. The results show that only large cities can accommodate the primary HSR station with high node and place values, suggesting the challenges of HSR-TOD approaches in the YRD. It further highlights that the node-place relation is a dynamic process that necessitates coordinating short- and long-term station area development in the context of rapid urbanization.