Belt and Road Initiative: How does China’s BRI encourage the use of international rail transport across the Eurasian continent?
This chapter first reviewed the intercontinental container railway networks and services to/from China that have been promoted under China's ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ policy. Next, the input data used to develop the model was presented. After the results calculated from the developed model were shown, the model was applied to the Eurasian continental area to simulate the potential impact of policies related to China's belt and road initiative policy, such as the China-Europe Railway Express and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, on the competitiveness of land transport (LT) in container transport between China and the western countries of the Eurasian continent, including Europe, the South Caucasus, and Iran. For consideration of the competition between maritime container shipping (MCS) and LT across the continent, the model was modified to include the cargo for which MS is not used.