Abstract for: A System Dynamics model for identifying stakeholder coordination strategies for managing PPPs in High-Speed Railway

An in-depth understanding of the competitive strategies adopted by High-Speed Railway (HSR) operators is an essential topic that has remained marginalized for a long. The current study aims to identify the competitive strategies that private HSR operators can adopt to improve the HSR ridership while assuring profitability and public regulators' roles in enabling these strategies. The current study develops a System Dynamics (SD) model describing the relationship between HSR operators' decision-making for operations and maintenance and its impact on passenger ridership. A complete simulation SD model has been created through rigorous support from the literature. The model has also been calibrated using the actual operational data from Taiwan HSR. The model can simulate non-linear trends in HSR ridership across different phases of ridership growth, i.e., market penetration and demand expansion. The simulation results help identify two innovative HSR management strategies for all relevant stakeholders. Typically, a combination of high-frequency, low-price and quick adaptability of pricing and frequency is necessary to maximize the success of the market penetration phase. Furthermore, the strategy for the HSR operators could be different across different phases. These findings suggest that public regulators should enable different price adjustment mechanisms for the two phases.