Review on regional and spatial-economic impact from high speed rails

High speed rail (HSR) has been constructed in many relatively advanced areas in China. Its social economic impact will be discussed and deserve to be studied. The impact of the regional social science includes many aspects: accessibility, cohesion, transportation market, intercity and intracity, etc. These contents have been discussed and conclusively reviewed. The conclusions reached are that as a macro economy policy, HSR construction project propelling economy growth; enhance accessibility of the station along the HSR line; at a certain distance, HSR has great advantage on air and motorway.   Key words: High-speed rail (HSR), regional impact, accessibility.