TITLE:
A Study on Fare Strategy for Shenzhen Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway under Four-Network Integration
AUTHORS:
Shengbo Chen, Deming Yang, Jie Yu
KEYWORDS:
Metropolitan Rail Transit, Public-Transit-Oriented Operation, Network Integration, Fare Strategy
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.16 No.6,
June
4,
2026
ABSTRACT: Shenzhen Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway is characterized by “entering urban centers, integrating into urban rail networks, and serving commuting needs”, with functional positioning and technical features that distinguish it from both traditional Pearl River Delta intercity railways and urban rail transit systems. Existing fare systems fail to meet the operational requirements of metropolitan area intercity railways. Based on a systematic analysis of the operational characteristics of the Shenzhen Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway, this paper thoroughly examines the adaptability of existing urban rail and intercity railway fare structures. It proposes four pricing principles: “balancing cost orientation with affordability, unifying the user-pay principle with social equity, coordinating hierarchical differentiation with network integration, and reconciling flexibility with stability expectations.” Furthermore, it establishes a four-in-one fare strategy framework comprising “parallel implementation of regional integration and cross-metropolitan coordination, a distance-based tiered fare system with rate-based pricing, a two-way synergy between high-frequency commuter discounts and specific surcharges, and periodic fare evaluation and adjustment”. This study provides theoretical foundations and practical references for the scientific pricing of metropolitan area intercity railways.