*7.7. Result Discussion*

According to the evaluation of the primary evaluation indices, the measurement vectors of process evaluation (F1), economic benefits (F2), effect evaluation (F3) and sustainability evaluation (F4) were all good. Thus, the results were discussed in the four aspects below.

## 7.7.1. Process Evaluation

In terms of process, the project performs well in decision-making, construction and operation. Good decision-making is revealed in route selection, as the railway links up four important sub-provincial cities and six prefecture-level cities. Moreover, the project lives up to all the technical requirements, especially the solution to frost heaving and snow accumulation. Since the railway was put into service, almost all performance parameters (e.g., ridership, operating cost, and equipment utilization) have reached the desired level.

Nonetheless, the project lags behind in investment control, mainly because of the construction difficulty and the managemen<sup>t</sup> structure. (1) Construction difficulty: The Harbin-Dalian PDL, as the world's first HSR in severe cold region, was constructed with the strictest standards. Due to the lack of precedent, the project budget was poorly estimated. For example, the cost of frost heaving control was not even included in the budget. (2) Management structure: The governmen<sup>t</sup> is the sole financier of the project, and any attempt to reform the financing mode requires governmen<sup>t</sup> approval. The investment is managed in a backward way with unclear responsibilities. What is worse, the investment and financing risk is poorly controlled. Specifically, the ticket pricing mechanism is unreasonable, the funds utilization is not well supervised, the relevant polices and regulations are incomplete, and the local governments fail to provide a good risk control platform.
