Accessibility and Spatial Equity of Urban Agglomerations under the Scenario of High-Speed Railway Network Construction: A Case Study of the Jinan Metropolitan Area in China

Abstract As a cross-regional transportation infrastructure, high-speed railway (HSR) can reshape the spatial pattern of accessibility and spatial equity in traversed regions, disrupt the relatively static core-periphery spatial structure of urban agglomerations, and influence regional development. This study focuses on the HSR network within the Jinan Metropolitan Area (JMA), employing evaluation indicators including weighted-average travel time (WATT), economic potential index (EPI), and coefficient of variation (CV), to investigate changes in accessibility and spatial equity under three HSR development scenarios—no HSR, existing HSR, and planned HSR. The research explores how HSR affects the spatial pattern of the metropolitan area by analyzing accessibility levels using WATT and EPI and assessing spatial equity impacts using the CV based on these accessibility metrics. Results indicate that HSR construction significantly optimizes the overall accessibility spatial pattern of the JMA, enhances its economic development potential, and promotes a more balanced pattern of economic connections. Additionally, it positively affects regional spatial equity and improves the overall competitiveness of the metropolitan area. Under the assumption of planned HSR station distribution, future HSR development will help central cities leverage their advantages, address the current limitation of insufficient driving force for regional development, strengthen their core role, enhance connectivity between central cities and peripheral counties, and improve overall spatial equity. By analyzing the impacts of HSR on the JMA’s development and the selection of planned HSR station locations, this study provides insights into HSR construction and station siting in other urban agglomerations, contributing to more scientific and equitable regional transportation planning and development strategies.