Letters

The ills of high-speed trains

True, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway could cut carbon emission because fewer people are expected to fly between the two cities now, reducing the number of flights.

But the high-speed railway will stimulate urbanization, which will cause more environmental degradation and increase carbon emissions. Satellite cities of Beijing and Shanghai are likely to grow and develop rapidly. People who work in the two big cities may choose to buy a house in a place like, Langfang, Hebei province, because it is less congested and polluted, and houses there are a lot bigger and prices much lower.