Research on Factors Affecting Public Risk Perception of Thai High-Speed Railway Projects Based on “Belt and Road Initiative”

Abstract

Studies on the factors affecting public risk perception of high-speed railway projects in Thailand are very limited. The aim of this study was to assess the influencing factors of public railway project risk perception, which described the public trust degrees of government, enterprise, media and experts with a combination of variables. Therefore, the study used the widely accepted influential factors and proposed a comprehensive framework to clarify the mechanism among various factors in the public risk perception. Dataset of 675 samples was collected from Don Muang area Bangkok, Pak Thong Chai, Pak Chong, Kaengkhoi area, and Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand through questionnaire. Rationality of the questionnaire was ensured through its high reliability and efficiency. The dimension hypothesis of the second-order factor was validated by confirmatory factor analysis, and the relationship among information acquisition, trust, emotion and risk perception was analyzed through the structural equation model. The results show that, within the factors that affect risk perception, the public has a more direct effect on the factors of social emotion of railway projects compared with information acquirement and the factors of trust level of each subject. This study exerts practical implications to reduce public risk perception of railway projects and promote the development of railway in Thailand.