Abstract: This paper introduces the variable of high-speed railway into the research framework of new economic geography so as to construct a theoretical model of the influence of high-speed railway on the industrial agglomeration of the cities along the lines, and then it puts forward some relevant assumptions. Based on the data of 80 prefecture-level cities in the central six provinces, it adopts the different-in-different method and the mediating effect method to conduct an empirical test on the relevant assumptions. The results show that the opening of high-speed railways has a significant and robust promoting function on the increase of industrial agglomeration degree, and this function will be strengthened with the increase of the number of high-speed railways. The industrial agglomeration effect of high-speed railways is only significant in the cities with a population size of less than 500,000, and the effect is the strongest. The high-speed railway is beneficial to the industrial agglomeration of private enterprises, while to the industrial agglomeration of state-owned enterprises there is a reaction function. The high-speed railway would change the degree of industrial agglomeration of the cities along the lines through affecting the mobility of industrial labors.

Key words: high-speed railway; industrial agglomeration; new economic geography; different-in-different model; mediator effect