*Article* **The Distribution Pattern of the Railway Network in China at the County Level**

**Minmin Li 1,2, Renzhong Guo 1,2, You Li 1, Biao He 1,\* and Yong Fan 1**

1 Guangdong Key Laboratory of Urban Informatics & Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Spatial Smart Sensing and Services & Research Institute for Smart Cities, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, ShenzhenUniversity,NanhaiAve3688,Shenzhen 518060,China

2 Polytechnic Center for Territory Spatial Big-Data, MNR of China, Lotus Pond West Road 28, Beijing 100036, China

**\*** Correspondence: hebiao@szu.edu.cn; Tel.: +86-0755-2697-9741

Received: 13 May 2019; Accepted: 28 July 2019; Published: 30 July 2019

**Abstract:** Evaluation of the railway network distribution and its impacts on social and economic development has grea<sup>t</sup> significance for building an efficient and comprehensive railway system. To address the lack of evaluation indicators to assess the railway network distribution pattern at the macro scale, this study selects eight indicators—railway network density, railway network proximity, the shortest travel time, train frequency, population, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the gross industrial value above designated size, and fixed asset investment—as the basis of an integrated railway network distribution index which is used to characterize China's railway network distribution using geographical information system (GIS) technology. The research shows that, in 2015, the railway network distribution was low in almost half of China's counties and that there were obvious differences in distribution between counties in the east and west. In addition, multiple dense areas of railway network distribution were identified. The results sugges<sup>t</sup> that it might be advisable to strengthen the connections between large and small cities in the eastern region and that the major urban agglomerations in the midwest could focus on strengthening the construction of railway facilities to increase the urban vitality of the western region. This study can be used to guide the optimization of railway network structures and provide a macro decision-making reference for the planning and evaluation of major railway projects in China.

**Keywords:** railway network; railway network density; proximity; the shortest travel time; railway network distribution index
