Constituent Elements of Feasible Financing Modes for Urban Rapid Rail Transit Projects

摘要

The demand for the development of urban rapid rail transit (URRT) is increasing. Traditional financing mode, i.e., government investment for URRT projects, is gradually unable to meet the increasing demand and high cost. More and more innovative financing modes have been applied in recent years, but it is hard for decision makers to compare and select from different financing modes. This paper identifies firstly all feasible financing modes for URRT projects based on theoretical analysis and case studies and then analyzes the constituent elements of each financing mode. Four most common constituent elements including investment entity, operation entity, source of funding, and government support form are extracted, based on which a pool of all financing modes could be constructed, including those supported by related theories, have been applied in major cities all over the world, or proposed by relevant researchers. Furthermore, all financing modes could be expressed in a standardized format highlighting their features and facilitating comparison among various modes. The conclusions provide a more standardized classification of different URRT project financing modes so that decision makers could compare alternative financing modes and make a better decision in a specific project environment more easily and comprehensively.