Intercity travel behaviors with the introduction of high-speed rail

As high-speed railway (HSR) in China has experienced rapid development in recent years; China has entered a high-speed rail era. Thus, it's interesting and necessary to investigate the intercity passengers' travel behavior before and after the introduction of high-speed rail. Taking Beijing-Tianjin intercity high-speed rail for example, this paper starts from the basis of 1666 passenger surveys collected in Beijing South Railway Station in April 2011. The before-and-after data demonstrate how intercity travel behavior has changed with the introduction of high-speed rail. Specifically, shifts in four travel behavior variables (intercity mode split, trip activity, round-trip frequency, and round-trip return time) are analyzed. Several striking shifts are apparent. Firstly, Beijing-Tianjin intercity high-speed rail has mainly attracted passengers who selected conventional rail previously. Then, passengers' trip activities have changed from single to multiple trips. Finally, there is a considerable increase in round-trip frequency and a decrease in round-trip return time.