A Study On The Characteristics Of Scale Economies And The Strategy Of The Development Of Rail Industry In China

The contents of this paper can be summed up to three main respects: a) the economic characteristics analysis on railway transportation; b) the demonstrative analysis on the scale economies of rail industry; and c) the discussion on the strategy about the development of the railway transportation in China. The economic characteristics of railway transportation are analyzed in the first part, and the main conclusions are drawn as following: a) the transportation characteristics of rail industry , different from other industries ,mainly are a kind of labor service; b) some characteristics of technological economics in railway transportation are superior to other transportations; c) network economics, scale economics,natural monopoly and so on, exist in railway transportation, which are balanced with each other and results in the border of the rail industry; d) the characteristics of derivation and spontaneity are involved in the demand of railway transportation. The achievement in the research of scale economics of rail industry domestic and international are summarized in the second part, meanwhile the author's viewpoint is also put forward; through the empirical analysis on the economics of scale in railway transportation in China, it is demonstrated that the scale economics does not exist in the railway transportation in China. The causes for none-economics of scale in rail industry are analyzed in the third part, and some relevant suggestions about the reform on the railway transportation are proposed as well: To expand the scale of railway, utilize the technology and strengthen the transport capability; to reform price system,marketing management and management system. To promote the competitive ability in the market of transportations, a series of measures needs to be taking as well.