a track record of success: high-speed rail around the world and its promise for america

8/8/2019 A Track Record of Success: High-Speed Rail Around the World and Its Promise for America

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A Track Record of SuccessHigh-Speed Rail Around the World

and Its Promise for America

Education Fund


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A Track Record o SuccessHigh-Speed Rail Around the World

and Its Promise or America

Arizona PIRG Education Fund

Tony Dutzik and Jordan Schneider, Frontier GroupPhineas Baxandall, Ph. D., U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Erin Steva, CALPIRG Education Fund

Fall 2010


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Acknowledgments

This report is an update and expansion o a previous report, Next Stop: Caliornia, published by

CALPIRG Education Fund in June 2010.

The authors thank Adie Tomer, senior analyst with the Brookings Institutions MetropolitanPolicy Program or his thoughtul review o this report. The authors also thank those whoreviewed the previously published version o this report, including Robert Cruickshank, chairo Caliornians or High-Speed Rail; Gloria Ohland, vice president o communications orReconnecting America; and Petra Todorovich, director o America 2050. Thanks also to Em-ily Rusch o CALPIRG Education Fund or her work in conceptualizing this project and orher editorial review. Finally, the authors than Ben Davis o Frontier Group or his extensiveresearch assistance, Carolyn Kramer or her editorial assistance, and all the photographers whograciously agreed to allow their work to be reproduced in this report.

Arizona PIRG Education Fund thanks the Rockeeller Foundation and the Surdna Foundation

or making this report possible.

The authors bear responsibility or any actual errors. The recommendations are those oArizona PIRG Education Fund. The views expressed in this report are those o the authorsand do not necessarily reect the views o our unders or those who provided review.

Copyright 2010 Arizona PIRG Education Fund

With public debate around important issues oten dominated by special interests pursuing theirown narrow agendas, Arizona PIRG Education Fund oers an independent voice that works onbehal o the public interest. Arizona PIRG Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, works toprotect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, crat solutions,educate the public, and oer Arizonans meaningul opportunities or civic participation. Formore inormation about Arizona PIRG Education Fund or or additional copies o this report,please visit www.arizonapirg.org/edund.

Frontier Group conducts independent research and policy analysis to support a cleaner, healthierand more democratic society. Our mission is to inject accurate inormation and compellingideas into public policy debates at the local, state and ederal levels. For more inormation aboutFrontier Group, please visit www.rontiergroup.org.

Cover photo: German high-speed train, photo by G. PetersLayout: Harriet Eckstein Graphic Design


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Table o Contents

Executive Summary 1

Introduction 6

High-Speed Rail:Experiences rom Around the World 8High-Speed Rail Replaces Short-Haul Air Travel 8

High-Speed Rail Replaces Car Travel 17

High-Speed Rail Saves Energy and Protects the Environment 19

High-Speed Rail Is Sae and Reliable 23

High-Speed Rail Boosts the Economy 26

High-Speed Rail Is Oten Economically Sel Sufcient 33High-Speed Rail, Transit and Land Use 34

Conclusion and Recommendations 39

Notes 43


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Executive Summary 1

Executive Summary

As America moves toward construc-tion o new high-speed rail networksin regions throughout the country,

we have much to learn rom experiencesabroad. High-speed rail lines have oper-ated or more than 45 years in Japan andor three decades in Europe, providinga wealth o inormation about what theUnited States can expect rom high-speedrail and how we can receive the greatest

possible benefts rom our investment.Indeed, the experience o high-speed

rail lines abroad, as well as Americas lim-ited experience with high-speed rail on theEast Coast, suggests that the United Statescan expect great benefts rom investingin a high-speed passenger rail system,particularly i it makes steady commit-ments to rail improvements and designsthe system wisely.

High-sp i systs i othtios hv b b to tiy

u th vou o shot-hu ightsbtw by itis sigiftyu it-ity tv. In theUnited States, similar shits would easecongestion in the skies and oer alterna-tives to congested highways, reducing theneed or expensive new investments in

highways and airports. Short-haul planetrips are the least efcient in terms o timeand uel, and replacing those trips allowsair travel to be more efcient and ocusedon long-haul trips. High-speed rail servicehas almost completely replaced short-haulair service on several corridors in Europe,such as between Paris and Lyon, France,and between Cologne and Frankurt,Germany.

The number o air passengers betweenLondon and Paris has been cut in halsince high-speed rail service was initi-ated between the two cities throughthe Channel Tunnel.

In Spain, high-speed rail service be-tween Madrid and Seville reduced theshare o travel by car between the twocities rom 60 percent to 34 percent.The recent launch o high-speed rail

service between Madrid and Barcelonahas cut air travel on what was onceone o the worlds busiest passenger airroutes by one-third.

Even in the northeastern UnitedStates, where Amtrak Acela Express


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2 A Track Record o Success

service is slow by international standards,rail service accounts or 65 percent othe air/rail market on trips betweenNew York and Washington, D.C., and52 percent o the air/rail market ontrips between Boston and New York.

High-sp i svs gy potts th viot. In the UnitedStates, high-speed rail could cut our de-pendence on oil while helping to reduce airpollution and curb global warming.

Continual improvement Japans Shink-ansen system is estimated to use onequarter the energy o air travel or one-sixth the energy o automobile travelper passenger. The energy efciencyo Shinkansen trains has continuallyimproved over time, such that todaystrains use nearly a third less energy,while traveling signifcantly aster,than the trains introduced in themid-sixties.

More ecient On Europes high-speed lines, a typical Monday morn-ing business trip rom London toParis via high-speed rail uses approxi-

mately a third as much energy as a caror plane trip. Similar energy savingsare achieved on other European high-speed rail lines.

Replacing oil with electricity makes zeroemissions possible Energy savingstranslate into reduced emissions opollutants that cause global warmingor respiratory problems particularlywhen railroads power their trains withrenewable energy. In Sweden, the

countrys high-speed trains are pow-ered entirely with renewable energy,cutting emissions o global warmingpollutants by 99 percent.

High-sp i is s ib. Inthe United States, reliable service via high-

speed rail could be an attractive alternativeto ot-delayed intercity ights and travel oncongested reeways.

High-speed rail is sae There hasnever been a atal accident on Japans

Shinkansen high-speed rail system orduring high-speed operation o TGVtrains in France, despite carrying bil-lions o passengers over the course oseveral decades.

High-speed rail is reliable High-speedrail is generally more reliable than airor car travel. The average delay onJapans Shinkansen system is 36 sec-onds. Spains railway operator oers amoney-back guarantee i train-relateddelays exceed fve minutes.

High-sp i t jobs boost o oois. A U.S. high-speedrail system could help position the nationor economic success in the 21st centurywhile creating short-term jobs in con-struction and long-term jobs in ongoingmaintenance and operation.

Construction o high-speed rail lines

creates thousands o temporary jobs.For example, about 8,000 people wereinvolved in construction o the high-speed rail link between London andthe Channel Tunnel.

Well-designed high-speed rail stationslocated in city centers spark economicdevelopment and encourage revitaliza-tion o urban areas:

oA study o the Frankurt-Cologne

high-speed rail line in Germanyestimated that areas surroundingtwo towns with new high-speed railstations experienced a 2.7 percentincrease in overall economic activ-ity compared with the rest o theregion.


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Executive Summary 3

oOfce space in the vicinity o high-speed rail stations in France andnorthern Europe generally etcheshigher rents than in other parts othe same cities.

oThe city o Lyon experienced a 43percent increase in the amount oofce space near its high-speed railstation ollowing the completion oa high-speed rail link to Paris.

oProperty values near stations on Ja-pans Shinkansen network have beenestimated to be 67 percent higherthan property values urther away.

oSeveral cities have used high-speedrail as the catalyst or ambitiousurban redevelopment eorts. Thecity o Lille, France, used its railstation as the core o a multi-usedevelopment that now accommo-dates 6,000 jobs. The new interna-tional high-speed rail terminal atLondons St. Pancras station is thecenterpiece o a major redevelop-ment project that will add 1,800residential units, as well as hotels,

ofces and cultural venues in theheart o London.

High-speed rail has increased overalltravel in corridors in Spain and Franceand the number o one-day businesstrips in South Korea. Increases inoverall travel indicate that high-speedrail is having an impact on broadereconomic decisions and improve thechances that high-speed rail lines canrecoup their overall costs.

High-speed rail can expand labormarkets and increase the potentialor ace-to-ace interactions that cre-ate value in the growing knowledgeeconomy. A British study projectsthat the construction o the nations

frst high-speed rail line will lead tomore than $26 billion in net economicbenefts over the next 60 years.

High-sp i is gy ovthi optig osts with vus.

In the United States, a fnancially sustain-able high-speed rail system will likely notrequire operating subsidies rom taxpayers(although public unding is essential to get-ting the system up and running).

High-speed rail service generatesenough operating proft that it cansubsidize other, less-proftable in-tercity rail lines in countries such asFrance and Spain, as well as in theU.S. Northeast.

Two high-speed rail lines the FrenchTGV line between Paris and Lyonand the original Japanese Shinkansenline rom Tokyo to Osakahave cov-ered their initial costs o constructionthrough ares.

Popy p high-sp i oug sustib -us -vopt ptts. In the United States,

ocusing new development around high-speed rail stations can reduce pressure todevelop in ar-ung areas, reducing otherinrastructure costs such as or sewers andelectricity. By creating new centers o com-merce and activity, high-speed rail stationscan create new opportunities or riders totravel by public transportation, by bike,or on oot.

Cities throughout Europe have pairedthe arrival o high-speed rail with ex-

pansion o local public transportationoptionsin some cases, using newhigh-speed rail lines to bolster localcommuter rail service.

Proper land-use policies in areasthat receive high-speed rail stations,


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coupled with eective development ostation areas, can ensure that high-speed rail does not uel new sprawl.

To obti th ooi ts-pottio bfts xpi by oth

tios, th Uit Stts shou o-ow though o its isio to ivst ihigh-sp i, whi tkig tios toxiiz th bfts o tht ivst-t. Spify, th Uit Sttsshou:

Follow through on its decision tobuild a national high-speed rail systemakin to the commitment to build theInterstate Highway System in the1950s. Doing so will create thousandso jobs and position the United Statesto meet the economic, transportation,energy and environmental challengeso the next century.

Use high-speed rail to ocus uturedevelopment by locating stations incity centers and planning or intensivecommercial and residential develop-ment near stations.

Make high-speed rail stations ac-cessible to people using a variety otransportation modes, including auto-mobiles, public transit, bicycling andwalking. The United States shouldollow the lead o other nations andpair high-speed rail with expansion olocal transit networks.

Integrate high-speed rail with im-provements to commuter and reightrail. Freight and commuter rail

services should be allowed access tohigh-speed rail lines, where possibleand appropriate, in order to maximizethe benefts o track improvementsand ensure that high-speed serviceswill complement, rather than dupli-cate, current rail services.

Encourage private investment, butwith strong public protections. Privatecontracts must make sense or thelong-term public interest, not just actas a way to generate short-term inu-sions o cash. Public authorities must

retain the right to make key decisionsabout the rail system, including aresand operations. Freight rail compa-nies that receive publicly subsidizedimprovements in tracks and acilitiesthey own should be required to ensurethe access and reliability o passengerrail services that operate over thoseroutes.

Keep clear lines o accountability byestablishing clear criteria or undingall high-speed rail projects to ensurethat taxpayer money is ocused onthe most important projects. Priorityunding should be given to projectsthat increase ridership potential,generate economic development, o-er alternatives to congested airportsand highways, and oster sustainabledevelopment in cities connected byhigh-speed rail.

Guarantee transparency regardinghow projects are evaluated, how deci-sions are made, and how unds areallocated and spent. Private partnersshould disclose at least as much inor-mation about their publicly subsidizedoperations as public entities.

Make high-speed rail green by invest-ing in energy-efcient equipment,powering the system with renewableenergy wherever possible, and design-

ing and building the system to deliverstrong environmental benefts.

Set technological standards orprojects receiving ederal unding toreduce the cost o high-speed rail,improve replicability o successul


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Executive Summary

projects, and allow manuacturers todesign or larger domestic markets.

Encourage cooperation among statesthrough ederal unding policies thatreward states that enter into and abide

by compacts with neighboring statesto conduct joint projects, synchro-nize route schedules, and coordinateresponse to operational problems.

Encourage domestic manuacturingthrough ederal policy that expandsthe capacity o American companies to

produce high-speed rail systems andcomponents by negotiating technol-ogy transer agreements and investingin research and development over thelong term.

Articulate a visionor the uture oAmericas rail network and measureprogress toward the achievement othat national vision. An ambitious butully achievable and desirable goalwould be to link all major cities within500 miles o one another with high-speed rail by mid-century.


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Visit almost any national park, and evenmany state parks, and you see themscenic roads, stone lookout tow-

ers, rustic lodges, and winding mountainpaths that captivate the eye and rereshthe soul.

Flick on a light switch in the Southeastor Southwest and you experience itthebenefts o the network o dams and electriclines that brought electricity to the urthest

corners o rural America.Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge

in the Bay Area, the Triborough Bridgein New York City, or countless others andyou beneft rom themkey transportationinvestments that overcame natural barri-ers to link communities together and spureconomic growth.

Eight decades ago, in the midst o theGreat Depression, America set out to buildthe key inrastructure that would positionthe nation or global leadership in the

20th century. The initial justifcation ormany o these projects was to create jobs,but their benefts have been lasting. Whoamong the workers who blazed trails orthe Civilian Conservation Corps, pouredconcrete at the Hoover Dam, or laid down

steel beams on the Golden Gate Bridgecould have envisioned that their great-grandchildren would one day enjoy theruits o their labor?

Today, in the midst o what some call theGreat Recession, America is consideringa similar series o critical investments inour nations inrastructure. Ater manyyears o allowing our passenger rail net-work to succumb to neglect and disrepair,

the United States appears fnally ready tobuild a passenger rail network worthy othe 21st century. The 2009 American Re-covery and Reinvestment Act included $8billion in unding or high-speed rail, whilethe U.S. Department o Transportation ispreparing to award another $2.5 billion inhigh-speed rail unding this all.1

As America begins the long-overduejob o revitalizing our passenger rail in-rastructure, it is worthwhile to look atthe experiences o other nations that have

taken the same step.High-speed rail lines around the world

have proven to be critical parts o theirnations transportation systemsoeringalternatives to congested airports and roadsand boosting the economy. In Europe,

Introduction


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Introduction 7

Japan and elsewhere, high-speed rail lineshave created new links among cities andbetween peoplelinks that are critical tothe success o a 21st century knowledgeeconomy. At the same time, high-speedrail lines are saving energy, protecting

the environment, creating jobs, sparkingeconomic growth, and delivering sae andreliable service.

By understanding the benefts o high-speed rail and examining what has worked(and not worked) around the world,

America can design a system to replicatethose successes while adapting to circum-stances in the United States.

Around the world, nations acing avariety o economic and transportationchallenges are ollowing the same course

America has ollowed by making long-terminvestments in inrastructure or pres-ent and uture generations. As Americastruggles to build its economy or the 21stcentury, the time has come to reclaim thattradition.


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Nations throughout the developedworld (and increasingly, the devel-oping world) have seen the value o

high-speed rail in addressing transporta-tion, energy and environmental challengesand boosting economic development. Theexperience with high-speed rail abroadboth underscores the potential benefts oexpress rail service to the United Statesand suggests important lessons America

can learn in the design o its high-speedrail system.

High-Speed Rail ReplacesShort-Haul Air TravelEverywhere high-speed rail lines have beenbuilt, rail travel quickly replaces a signif-cant share o air travel between the cities

being served, demonstrating the strongdemand or clean, ast and efcient travelbetween metropolitan areas, and reeingup capacity in the aviation system or long-haul and international ights.

The United States has several reasons toshit short-haul travelers rom air to rail.

Airport congestion contributes to delaysthat rustrate passengers, waste uel, andhamper eective travel between cities.Flights o 500 miles or ewer a distanceincreasingly served by high-speed rail inother countries accounted or almosthal o all ights in the United States andor 30 percent o all passengers in the12-month period starting in April 2008,according to the Brookings Institution.2

The nations second-busiest air travel cor-ridorbetween San Francisco and LosAngelesis only 347 miles and carries6.3 million passengers every year.3 Othershort-hop trips, such as between Dallasand Houston (232 miles; 2.9 million pas-sengers), and Chicago and Minneapolis(342 miles; 2 million passengers), also clogairports and skies with trips that could eas-ily be served by high-speed rail.4

The need to move people between near-by cities by air contributes to congestion in

airports and can cause ight delays. As airtrafc increases, so do delays.5 Congestion-related delays plague the nations busiestairports, with New York, Chicago, Phila-delphia, Miami, Atlanta and San Franciscothis year reporting more delays and longerdelays than average or both arrivals and

High-Speed Rail:Experiences rom Around the World


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Experiences rom Around the World 9

departures.6 Nearly hal (45.8-48 percent)o the delays at the nations largest air tra-fc hubs can be attributed to the nations airtrafc system. These delays are directlyrelated to the heavy trafc volume andtight schedules that characterize these

airports; in act, airports with the largestshare o ights o less than 500 miles werethe source o 42.2 percent o all departuredelays in the United States, according tothe Brookings Institution.7

Substituting rail or air trips would alsosave energy and protect the environment.Short-haul ights are more energy inten-sive than longer ights, since much o theenergy consumed in any air journey is usedon take-o. Trips o 155 miles consumeapproximately 40 percent more energyper seat-mile than trips o more than 625miles in the same aircrat.8 (See Figure 1.)In addition, electric high-speed rail servicecan provide an economical alternative or

airline passengers during periods o highjet uel prices, when airlines oten imposeticket surcharges to recover costs romconsumers.

High-speed trains around the world e-ectively replace air travel or precisely the

kind o high-requency, short- to middle-distance trips that would be served by theregional high-speed rail networks connect-ing cities in the United States.

The Eurostar: France and EnglandThe Eurostar rail line connects Londonwith Paris and Brussels using the Chan-nel Tunnel, which was completed in late1994. France inaugurated service on itshigh-speed TGV-Nord line between theChannel, Paris and the Belgian bordershortly beore the opening o the Chan-nel Tunnel. But on the English side o the

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Figure 1. Airplane Energy Consumption per Seat Mile at Various Flight Distances9


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Channel, trains were hampered by theuse o aging inrastructure, with averagespeeds between London and the tunnelo only 62 miles per hour.12 Then-FrenchPresident Francois Mitterrand summedup the disparity between the French andBritish rail systems: Passengers will race

at a great pace across the plains o North-ern France, rush through the [Channel]Tunnel on a ast track, and then be able todaydream at very low speed, admiring theEnglish countryside.13

Even with the slow speeds on the Britishside, the inauguration o Eurostar service

replaced a signifcant portion o the Lon-don-Paris air travel market. Within twoyears o the services start, the number oair passengers traveling the route declinedrom 4 million to less than 3 million.14

In recent years, Britain has launchedhigh-speed rail service linking London

with the Channel Tunnel, cutting traveltimes between London and Paris frst rom3 hours to 2 hours and 35 minutes, and now,with completion o the fnal phase o thehigh-speed line in 2007, to 2 hours and 15minutes.15

Passenger trafc on the Eurostar line

High-Speed Rail as a Backup or Air Travel

Redundancy in the transportation system is sometimes thought o as a bad thing.

Why invest in improved passenger rail service, or example, i highways andairplanes already make the same trips?Yet, when one part o the transportation system is shut down unexpectedly, the

result can be billions o dollars in economic disruption disruption that can begreatly reduced when good alternatives are available.

In Europe, high-speed rail proved its value as an alternative to ying during theApril 2010 shutdown o air travel ollowing the eruption o a volcano in Iceland.With ights across much o the continent grounded, railroads mobilized to servestranded travelers. Swiss Federal Railways increased capacity rapidly, doublingthe number o passenger cars on its existing routes.10 Eurostar added trains to itsroute between London, Paris and Brussels, carrying 50,000 more passengers thanexpected, and oered stranded air passengers seating at a special are. Eurostar

reported that it served passengers rom as ar away as Greece.11While the volcanic eruption remained a major inconvenience or all travelers

particularly those traveling overseas the existence o an efcient passenger railsystem enabled many European passengers to get home hours or days earlier thanthey otherwise would have, and reduced crowding at airports.

Volcanoes arent the only potential cause o air system shutdowns. Air trafccontrol system glitches, extreme weather events, and terrorist attacks (such as thoseo September 11, 2001) have all hobbled air travel or hours to days at a t ime. Anefcient passenger rail system can provide an important backup to ensure thatregional economies keep running, even when other transportation options stop.


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picked up signifcantly as a result, coin-ciding with another steep drop in Lon-don-Paris air travel.16 The number o airpassengers between the two cities has allenrom 2.9 million in 2002 to 1.9 million in2008a roughly 50 percent reduction in

air travel compared with the years prior tothe opening o the Channel Tunnel.17

The success o the Eurostar and theBritains inaugural high-speed rail line inreducing air trafc has led some Britonsto consider whether new high-speed linescould avert the need or a proposed $15billion plan to expand Heathrow Airport.The new Conservative-Liberal Democratgovernment in Great Britain has advocatedor scrapping the plan or a third runway atHeathrowas well as proposed new run-ways at other London-area airportsandinstead supports construction o a high-speed rail network that would link Londonwith northern England, a move that couldreduce the number o short-haul air tripswithin England.18

FranceThe success o high-speed rail in divertingpassengers rom planes was demonstratedearly on with the completion o the high-speed TGV rail line rom Paris to Lyonin 1981. Beore completion o the TGV,31 percent o travelers rom Paris to Lyontraveled by airplane. Following comple-

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Figure 2. Travel Between London and Paris Airports19

Frances TGV system links cities across thecountry with the capital, Paris, as well as withother European nations. Credit: Kilroy1313at railpictures.net.


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The arrival o high-speed rail has madetravel between the cities much aster andmore convenient, providing competition

or airlines and an alternative or consum-ers. Since the introduction o high-speedrail service in early 2008, the number oair travelers between the two cities hasallen by more than one-third, reducingthe number o air passengers by 1.5 millionin its frst ull year in service.26 By early2010, the number o train travelers betweenthe two cities exceeded the number o airtravelers.27

GermanyGermanys high-speed rail system serves anetwork o cities across the country. TheCologne-Frankurt high-speed rail line,opened in 2002, connects the two cities,which are approximately 110 miles apart,in one hour. Even beore the introduction

o high-speed rail, conventional rail servicecarried most travelers between the twocities. Since the arrival o high-speed

rail, however, rail has come to accountor 97 percent o the air-rail market sharebetween the two cities, with virtually allthe passengers continuing to travel by airmaking connecting ights.29

Similar reductions in domestic airservice have occurred in other corridorswithin Germany that have received high-speed rail service. Air service between Ber-lin and Hamburg, Frankurt and Stuttgart,and Bremen and Cologne has either beenreduced or eliminated since the advent o

high-speed rail service.30

JapanJapan began building its high-speed railnetwork in the mid-1960s, well beore thecommercialization o mass air travel in the

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Figure 4. Passengers Traveling via Air and Rail, Japan32


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1970s and 1980s. Even though domesticair travel has increased in Japan over theyears, high-speed rail remains the domi-nant mode or intercity travel, particularlyor trips that can be completed via rail inunder three hours.

Japans Shinkansen high-speed rail linedraws more than three times as many pas-sengers per year as air travel.31 (See Figure4, previous page.) For trips o under 500miles, the Shinkansen holds a dominantshare o the market. (See Table 1.)

What About Incremental High-Speed Rail?

In many parts o the United States, the frst steps toward high-speed rail will beincrementaltrack and equipment improvements that will enable signifcantlyaster passenger rail service, but that will still leave us with rail lines ar short o thespeed and efciency o the high-speed bullet trains in places like Spain, France,Japan and China.

Incremental improvements in passenger rail service could be expected to havemore modest, less transormational impacts than bullet trains. But many nationshave ound that such incremental improvements can also provide signifcant benefts,oten while setting the stage or a long-term transition to true high-speed rail.

Gy Incremental improvements were an important part o the build-outo high-speed rail in densely populated Germany, where reight trains have alwaysshared track with high-speed and conventional passenger rail out o economicnecessity. Germany moved toward high-speed rail through a combination o trackimprovements that enabled travel at up to 125 miles per hour and the construc-tion o new segments o line to bypass bottlenecks.34 Germany also built its systempiecemeal over time, pursuing a long-term series o improvements that have resultedin continual improvements in service.

F Unlike Germany, Frances TGV was designed rom the start to operateon separate high-speed tracks. However, because TGV trains are also able to oper-

ate over conventional tracks, Frances high-speed lines could be built in segmentsover time, while providing incremental improvements in travel speed during thelong process o construction. In addition, interoperability enabled TGV service toreach cities and towns served by conventional rail, adding to its appeal. 35

IncremenTal HIGH-SPeed raIl, contd page 15

Table 1. Rail-Air Mode Splits for Trips of

Various Distances, Japan33

Distance

Miles Rail% Air%

Tokyo-Nagoya 227 100% 0%Tokyo-Osaka 343 86% 14%

Tokyo-Okayama 455 82% 18%

Tokyo-Hiroshima 555 56% 44%

Tokyo-Fukuoka 733 12% 88%


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The distances covered by Shinkansentrains are similar to those that would betraveled by the majority o U.S. high-speedrail lines. The longest possible trip on theCaliornia systembetween San Diegoand Sacramento would be 588 miles (to

be traveled in 3 hours and 35 minutes),a trip length at which rail and air travelwould be expected to have a relatively evensplit o the travel market. The trip romChicago to St. Louis is 260 miles; Wash-ington, D.C., is 395 miles rom Boston.Depending upon the speed and reliability

Sw Sweden has not built new track or high-speed rail, but has attainedmany o the benefts o improved rail service through incremental improvements ininrastructure and vehicles over time. In the early 1990s, Sweden adopted tiltingtrain technology (similar to that used on the Amtrak Acela line on the U.S. EastCoast) to boost train speeds to 125 miles per hour. Swedens incremental approachhas paid dividends, with ridership on Swedens national railway up by 40 percentbetween 1997 and 2009.36 However, that growth is now contributing to capacitychallenges that are leading Sweden to consider the construction o brand-newhigh-speed rail tracks.37

U.S. est cost As noted above, the Acela line between Boston and Wash-ington, D.C., was built as an incremental improvement to previous rail service.Electrifcation o the line rom Boston to New Haven, the purchase o new tiltingtrain sets, and other improvements to existing tracks enabled Amtrak to deliver asignifcant boost in speed which has driven a jump in ridership. Now, with con-gestion and limitations in track design and station capacity standing in the wayo urther major improvements, Amtrak has proposed the construction o nextgeneration high-speed rail service that could attain speeds o 220 miles per hour,making downtown trip times between some cities twice as ast as ying. High-speed rail ridership along the corridor could quintuple, overtaking highway travelas the most common mode o intercity trips.38

These examples show that incremental improvements in passenger rail can de-liver signifcant benefts, while also acting as a stepping-stone to true high-speedrail service in the uture.

IncremenTal HIGH-SPeed raIl, contd from page 14

o trips on a uture U.S. high-speed railnetwork, they can be expected to com-pete successully with short-haul air tripsbetween those cities, minimizing airportcongestion and delays.

U.S. East CoastAmtraks Acela Express service along theU.S. East Coast still succeeds in replacingair travel, despite travel speeds that are slowby international standards.

The experience o the Acela confrms


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High-Speed Rail ReplacesCar TravelA U.S. high-speed rail network could helpoer alternatives to congestion on thenations overcrowded highways. Conges-

tion problems in 2007 cost Americans morethan $87 billion in delay and uel costs,according to the Texas Transportation

Institute. Americans spent 4.2 billion hourso extra time sitting in trafc the equiva-lent o 2.1 million work-years, or a yearswork rom the entire civilian labor orceo the state o Alabama.46 Meanwhile, the2.81 billion gallons o uel wasted in trafcin 2007 could fll 370,000 18-wheeler ueldelivery trucks bumper to bumper romHouston to Boston to Los Angeles.47

Maximizing the Benefts o High-Speed Rail or RelievingAir Congestion

High-speed rail competes well with air and car travel or trips o distances typical

o most U.S. high-speed rail proposals. However, there are several ways thatthe United States can learn rom the examples o other high-speed rail networks tomake the nations rail system both an eective competitor withand complementtoair travel.

Even with a high-speed rail network, most people in the United States will stillrely on air travel or long-distance trips. Providing convenient air-rail connectionscan have several benefts: providing air travelers with an alternative to short-haulights or the frst or last legs o their journeys, enabling them to choose rom a widervariety o airports, and reducing the need to drive to the airport (thereby reducingcongestion and saving air travelers money or parking and taxis).

Many European high-speed rail lines have direct connections with major air-ports.41 In France, the high-speed rail connection with Paris Charles de Gaulle

airport serves 1.3 million passengers per year.42 In Germany, Luthansa ChairmanHeinz Ruhnaw predicts that within 10 years, no German airport will be withouta railway station beneath the terminal. By the end o the decade, airports will notrequire eeder services by regional aircratall will be operated by rail.43 Railroadsand airlines can make the most o those connections through codesharing (in whichpassengers can book their entire air-rail trip at the same time) and, where securitypermits, with through-checking o baggage, as occurs in Switzerland.44

On the U.S. East Coast, some Amtrak trains stop at Newark Liberty Airport andBaltimore-Washington Airport, serving 100,000 and 600,000 passengers per year,respectively.45 Continental Airlines also provides codesharing, a service allowingairlines to book travel on other carriers vehicles, with Acela Express trains servic-ing several northeastern cities via Newark Liberty Airport.

The proposed high-speed rail systems in the United States will have direct con-nections to airports nationwide, including San Francisco International Airportand Ontario Airport in the Caliornia network, Orlando International Airport inFlorida, Gary (Indiana) International Airport in the Chicago Hub Network, andDallas-Fort Worth International Airport.


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Evidence rom around the world sug-gests that high-speed rail can reduceautomobile travel between cities, possiblycontributing to reductions in congestion.High-speed rails impact on car travel andcongestion in other nations has been much

less dramatic than its impact on air travel.Most automobile journeys are local orwithin a given region, meaning that high-speed rail can only avert a small proportiono total trafc. Moreover, long-distanceintercity drivers oten have chosen to driverather than y or reasons that would alsomake them unlikely to use high-speed rail,such as the need to carry cargo or concernsabout cost.

Still, the experience o other nationswith high-speed rail systems suggests thathigh-speed rail can deliver measurablereductions in intercity automobile tra-fcreductions that, while small in abso-lute terms, can have a signifcant impacton reducing trafc congestion. In addition,there are some examples rom overseas inwhich high-speed rail has made a biggerimpact in reducing vehicle travel by provid-ing an alternative or long-distance com-muters. Diverting travel rom highways tohigh-speed rail could also reduce pressure

or costly highway expansions.

Spain: Madrid to SevilleThe introduction o high-speed rail ser-vice between Madrid and Seville in 1992led to signifcant replacement o travel viacars and buses. Prior to the opening o theline, car travel accounted or 60 percento the trips between the two cities (whichare approximately 330 miles apart), withconventional rail service accounting or14 percent. Ater the introduction o high-

speed rail, rail transportation came to serve54 percent o the market, with car travelreduced to 34 percent o all t rips.48 Nation-ally, the Spanish high-speed rail systemdiverts up to 400,000 passengers per dayrom its roads, airports, and conventionalrail systems.49

France: Paris to LyonThe initiation o Frances frst high-speedrail service between Paris and Lyon(which are separated by a distance o ap-proximately 240 miles) in 1981 led to asignifcant decrease in car travel between

the two cities. Between 1981 and 1984,the percentage o trips between the citiesmade by car declined rom 29 percent to21 percent.50

SwedenIn contrast to other European countriesthat have used high-speed rail to supplantair service, Sweden used the initiation oits high-speed rail service to better connectresidents o outlying towns less than twohours away with the nations capital andprimary economic engine, Stockholm. Byso doing, Sweden provided an appealingnew option to commuters, reducing theshare o commuting by car. In 1993, priorto the initiation o high-speed tiltingtrain service on the Stockholm-Eskils-tuna line, 91 percent o travelers in thecorridor went by private vehicle; by 2000,the percentage had declined to 65 percent,with the other 35 percent o travelers using

high-speed rail.51

The switch rom car to

South Korea s KTX high-speed rai lsystem reduces congestion on the nationscrowded highway network. Credit: HanielFrancesca


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rail was greatest among those living nearthe stations, and resulted in more residentsin those areas choosing not to own cars.

High-Speed Rail SavesEnergy and Protects theEnvironmentTransportation in the United States isheavily dependent on oil and is a majorcontributor to both global warming andair pollution problems in cities through-out the nation. Although home to a mere4.5 percent o the worlds population, theUnited State emits nearly one-fth o theworlds global warming emissions.53 In theUnited States, the transportation sector isresponsible or 33 percent o these emis-sions.54 In Europe, however, transportationonly accounts or about 19 percent o total

emissions.55Transportation also contributes heavily

to the nations air pollution problem. De-spite decades o improvement in air quality,more than hal o Americansabout 175millionsuer pollution levels that areoten too dangerous to breathe and can

lead to reduced lung unction and even pre-mature death, according to a 2010 report bythe American Lung Association.56 O thehazardous, smog-orming pollutants pro-duced nationally in the United States, 27percent are emitted by cars and trucks.57

Reducing Oil Dependence withHigh-Speed RailThe transportation system in the United

States is highly dependent on oil. Fully 95percent o all energy used or the nationstransportation comes rom petroleum.58That dependence on oilnot only or carsbut also or airplanes, trucks and trainsleaves Americans and U.S. businesses at themercy o volatile world oil markets, erodesour energy independence, and hurts oureconomy. By building high-speed rail, theUnited States will reduce its dependenceon oil or transportationa sound, long-term investment in the nations economic

uture.Rail travelparticularly on electric

trainshas some inherent energy-sav-ing advantages compared with cars orairplanes. Both cars and airplanes are, atthe moment, completely reliant on oil,whereas trains can be powered by electricity

Future High-Speed RailImprovements in Europe Will Reduce Car Travel

As Europes high-speed rail network grows, a sizeable share o the new tripstaken are expected to be rom ormer car drivers. A study conducted or theInternational Union o Railways estimated that proposed extensions o WesternEuropes high-speed rail network would accommodate 57 billion additional pas-senger-miles o travel in 2020. O that amount, 18 billion passenger-miles (or 32percent) would have been traveled by car i expanded high-speed rail service werenot available.52 Europe expects that high-speed rail will play an important role inreducing traveland congestionon the continents highways.


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generated rom a variety o uels, includingrenewable energy. Electric motors are alsoinherently more energy efcient than theinternal combustion engines used in carsand trucks, which dissipate much o theenergy in their uel as heat. High-speed

rail also competes avorably in terms oenergy consumption with short-haul air-crat, which expend much o their energyon takeo. (See page 9.)

High-speed rail may also have secondaryenergy-saving impacts by encouraging pat-terns o developmentincluding greaterconcentration o residential or businessactivity near high-speed rail stationsthatreduce the distance o trips made in day-to-day travel.

Assessing the energy savings deliveredby high-speed rail is challenging, andresearchers come to dierent conclusions.The degree o energy savings depends ona complex interaction o speed, ridership,

the source o energy used, and many otheractorsas well as the emissions assumedto come rom competing modes o travel.For example, a train that moves at highspeeds might consume more energy per seatthan a slower train. But i the higher speeds

mean that the service is more attractive andmore o the seats on the train are flled, theaster train may be more energy efcienton a per-passengerbasis and may deliver alarger total energy savings.

Energy Savings on EuropeanHigh-Speed Rail LinesEuropes high-speed rail lines deliver sig-nifcant energy savings when comparedto ying or driving. Passengers travelingon high-speed trains or a typical Mondaymorning trip rom London to Paris useone-third as much energy as traveling byautomobile and 30 percent as much energy

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Figure 6: Carbon Dioxide Emissions of Trains, Cars, and Aircraft Traveling BetweenEuropean Cities64

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as ying, according to a trip evaluationmodel developed by the Institute or En-ergy and Environmental Research in Hei-delberg, Germany.59 Passengers traveling

on high-speed trains between Madrid andBarcelona use 28 percent as much energytraveling by automobile and 30 percent asmuch energy as ying. (See Figure 5.)60

Energy Savings in JapanEven greater energy savings are achievedin Japan, whose Shinkansen system is esti-mated to consume one-quarter the energyo air transportation and one-sixth theenergy o automobiles on a per-passenger

basis.62 Japan has continually improvedthe energy efciency o the Shinkansen,with the latest, most energy-efcient trainsconsuming 32 percent less energy than theoriginal Shinkansen trains, even thoughthey are capable o traveling 43 miles perhour aster.63

Emission Reductions rom High-Speed Rail in Europe and Japan

High-speed rail systems around the world

also reduce emissions o harmul pollut-ants compared to other orms o travel.Because high-speed rail is more energyefcient and can use electricity generatedrom less polluting orms o energy, it otendelivers large reductions in air pollutantemissions.

High-speed rail lines in Europe producedramatic reductions in emissions o carbondioxidethe leading contributor to globalwarmingcompared to other orms otravel. For a typical Monday morning busi-

ness trip, emission reductions comparedwith air travel range rom 77 percent ora trip between Frankurt and Basel, Swit-zerland, to 96 percent or a trip rom Paristo Marseille. (See Figure 6.)

The carbon dioxide emission reductionsrom high-speed rail can add up quickly.


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Spains national railway estimates that theMadrid-Barcelona high-speed rail lineaverted a quarter-million metric tons ocarbon dioxide in its frst year o operation,the equivalent o taking more than 45,000o todays American cars o the road.65

High-speed rail also curbs emissions oair pollutants that contribute to the or-mation o smog and cause human healthproblems. Factoring in emissions romgeneration o the electricity used to powerthe trains, the high-speed train betweenFrankurt and Basel emits approximately18.1 times less particulate matter per pas-senger than automobiles and 6.5 timesless particulate matter per passenger thanaircrat. (See Figure 7.) Frances high-speedTGV between Paris and Marseille emitsapproximately 46.2 times ewer nitrogenoxides per passenger than automobiles and

31.9 ewer nitrogen oxides per passengerthan aircrat. (See Figure 8.)

It is important to note that emissionsrom high-speed rail service depend criti-cally on the mix o energy sources used togenerate the electricity that powers the

trains. France and Japan, or example, haveelectricity systems that are heavily depen-dent on nuclear power, which produces nodirect emissions o global warming pollu-tion or conventional air pollutants, therebymagniying the emission reductions de-livered by high-speed rail. Other nations,however, are reducing the environmentalimpact o high-speed rail through the useo renewable energya much smarterlong-term energy solution than nuclearpowerand the United States can ollowsuit. (See Powering High-Speed Rail withRenewable Energy, page 24.)

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Figure 8: Nitrogen Oxide Emissions of Trains, Cars, and Aircraft Traveling BetweenEuropean Cities, Monday Morning Journey67

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High-Speed Rail Is Sae andReliableAs populations throughout the UnitedStates increase, more and more people willdemand sae and reliable transportation.While air travel in America is relativelysae, save or rare disasters, car travel is amajor killer. In 2009, 33,808 people diedon the nations highways, the ewest o anyyear since 1950. Despite the decline in a-talities, however, the number o people who

die each year on Americas roads remainsshockingly high.73

Meanwhile, delays plague many ormso transportation, such as cars and planes.As noted earlier (see page 8), major air-ports such as those in New York, Atlanta,Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston and Miami

are extremely prone to delays, while theprospect o reeway congestion can orcedrivers to either allocate extra time tochange their trips or risk having to changetheir schedules, cancel appointments, ormiss important meetings.74

High-speed rail can provide Americanswith a sae and reliable way to reach theirdestinations in other cities on time.

Rail Saety in France and Japan

High-speed rail systems can be engineeredto be extraordinarily sae. Accidents onhigh-speed rail systems are possible andhave occurredthe most notorious owhich was the derailment o an IntercityExpress train in Eschede, Germany, in1998 that killed 101 people. But the worlds


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two oldest and most well-traveled high-speed rail linesthe Japanese Shinkansenand French TGVhave posted impressivesaety records.

In Japan, o passenger has ever been

injured or killed due to an accident, such asderailment or collision, on the Shinkansenduring its 46 years o service, despite carry-ing more than 340 million passengers peryear.75 The Shinkansen employs automatictrain control, which will automaticallydecelerate or halt the train based on the

conditions o the route ahead and distanceto preceding trains.76 The Shinkansen sys-tem is also equipped with an earthquakealarm system that automatically bringstrains to a rapid halt when seismic activity

is detected.Similarly, in France, no passenger has

ever been killed due to an accident causedby the TGV in high-speed operation dur-ing its 29 years o service, despite ridershipo 48 million passengers per year.77 InFrance, TGV railcars are designed such

Powering High-Speed Rail with Renewable Energy

T

he United States can maximize the environmental benefts o high-speed rail

by powering the system with renewable energy. The Caliornia High-SpeedRail Authority, or instance, has set a goal o supplying 100 percent o the energyor Caliornias high-speed rail system rom renewable sources such as wind andsolar power, with the energy either generated on site or purchased rom utilities. A2008 report estimated that the additional cost o an entirely renewable rail systemwould be as little as 86 cents per ticket, and could be even lower i recent trendso declining prices or wind and solar power continue.68

Other states with electrifed rail systems are well-positioned to increase theiruse o renewable energy as well, as more o them set increasingly aggressive re-newable energy standards. New Jersey, or instance, has set a target or producing22.5 percent o its electricity rom renewable sources by 2021, and New York isshooting or 24 percent as early as 2013.69 These standards will ensure that an

increased percentage o power or the rail systems will come rom renewablesources. In other places, such as the Midwest, where high-speed rail service willinitial ly be provided by diesel-powered trains on existing tracks, the transition toclean, renewable energy will take longer. Electrifcation o these lines will eventu-ally be important to tap the potential or emission-ree transportation rom theMidwests ample renewable energy resources.

High-speed rail systems in other parts o the world are also increasing theirreliance on renewable energy. Swedish Rail now purchases 100 percent o its elec-tricity rom renewable sources such as hydroelectric and wind power, a step thathas reduced the per-mile carbon impact o its rail system by 99 percent. 70

As o 2005, Spain obtained 18.4 percent o the electricity or its railways andItaly obtained 14.7 percent rom renewable energy.71 By 2008, Spains national

railway was obtaining 23 percent o its rail traction energy rom renewable sources,largely due to an increase in the amount o renewable energy on the Spanish grid.72


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that adjacent TGV cars rest atop a sharedtwo-axle connector, which decreases weightand increases speed, but also prevents thecars rom dangerously jack-knifng duringa collision as would a conventional train.

Reliability in Europe and JapanHigh-speed rail lines also have ew delaysdue in part to the ability to travel in poorvisibility conditions and most weather.

Car travel and air travel are notoriouslyunreliable. Automobile travel can be de-layed or made impossible by bad weather,and more oten by heavy trafc congestion.Air travel aces similar problems. Airplanesneither depart nor land in airports thathave poor visibility or weather conditions,causing ights to depart ater their sched-uled time, circle the airport upon arrivalwaiting or weather to clear, or temporarilyland at another airport. Because Americas

air transportation system is integrated,ights can be delayed by weather condi-tions or airport congestion hal a continentaway.

High-speed rail systems have deliveredimpressive records o reliability. In Japan,

the average train delay on the TokaidoShinkansen rom Tokyo to Osakaby arthe busiest high-speed rail route in the na-tionis 36 seconds.78 This includes delayscaused by rain, typhoons or snowall.

Trains traveling between London andParis arrive within 15 minutes o theirscheduled arrival more than 90 percent othe time, compared with 70 percent o thetime or airplanes.79

The high-speed rail between Madridand Seville is so reliable that the operatorcompany Rene reunds the entire cost othe ticket i the train is responsible or ar-riving more than fve minutes late; less than0.3 percent o tickets are reunded.80

High-Speed Rail Investment in China

The idea that investment in high-speed rail can spur job creation and reinvigoratethe economy is not limited to the United States. China, driven by concerns aboutactory unemployment during the recent global recession, has embarked on theworlds most ambitious program o high-speed rail constructioncreating jobstoday while laying the groundwork or uture economic growth.

The Chinese plan includes the construction o 42 high-speed rail lines. Whenthe recession hit, China accelerated the timetable or fnishing the system rom2020 to 2012, dedicating $100 billion to the project. More than 100,000 workersare involved in construction o the line connecting Beijing and Shanghai.81

Chinas rapidly accumulating experience with high-speed rail also makes it aleading candidate to export rail technology to other countries.

The scale and speed o Chinas high-speed rail eort would be impossible tomatch in the United States, and may not even be advisable. But it does show thathigh-speed rail has potential to create large numbers o construction jobs, and todo so quickly.


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High-Speed Rail Boosts theEconomyThe arrival o high-speed rail alters theeconomic geography o a region. Placesthat had once been difcult to reachdueto distance, congestion or lack o an e-icient transportation linksuddenlybecome easily accessible. The calculusbehind countless individual and businessdecisionswhere to locate, how to travel,when to travelis changed dramatically.As a result, high-speed rail has broad,and oten difcult to quantiy, economicimpacts.

To begin to understand the impact ohigh-speed rail on the economy, it is best

to start rom the center and work outwards,beginning with job creation in construc-tion o the line, then addressing economic

growth in areas with stations, and lookingfnally at the broader economy.

Construction Jobs in England,France, Hong Kong and SpainHigh-speed rail systems require vastamounts o labor to createrom theproessional services required to plan,design and fnance the system right downto the workers who pour the concrete andlay the rails. Perhaps the biggest source ojob creation is in the actual constructiono the system.

Rail construction is more labor-inten-sive than highway construction, meaningthat investments in rail can create more

jobs than investment in highways.82

Theconstruction o a high-speed rail line willcreate thousands o jobs, both in the short

Construction o high-speed rail lines in other countries has created thousands o jobs. Here, construc-tion is underway on a bridge as part o Spains eorts to extend its high-speed rail network. Credit:Xosema, used under Creative Commons license


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and long terms, starting with urban plan-ners, rail engineers and architects, thenmanuacturers and construction crews (in-cluding skilled proessionals such as weldersand electricians), and fnally operators andmaintenance workers.83 A report rom the

University o Caliornia, Irvine, estimates127,000 permanent jobs will be brought tothe Los Angeles-Orange County region by2035 with the completion o the Caliorniahigh-speed rail project.84

At the peak o construction, theChannel Tunnel employed more than10,000 workers on the English side.85About 8,000 people were involved inconstruction o the Channel TunnelRail Link between the tunnel andLondon.86

Hong Kongs high-speed rail line isprojected to create 5,000 jobs duringconstruction and another 10,000 dur-ing operation.87

In addition to the creation o short-termconstruction jobs, high-speed rail invest-ments can spark the development o com-panies to manuacture rail cars and other

equipment. Countries that made early in-vestments in high-speed railincludingJapan, France, Spain and Germanyalsohappen to be countries with companiesthat are leaders in manuacturing o high-speed trains and equipment. Many o thesecompanies are now competing to help buildAmericas high-speed rail lineswith theprospect o setting up manuacturing andother acilities here in the United States.

Germany-based Siemens, or example,is a major producer o high-speed rail

equipment. The company also owns amanuacturing acility in Sacramento,which produces light rail transit cars, andhas purchased land adjacent to the plantin hopes o possibly manuacturing high-speed rail systems there.88 The ChristianScience Monitorreported in September

2010 on plans by the Spanish high-speedtrain manuacturer Talgo to set up an as-sembly plant in Wisconsin to meet a $47million agreement with the state to supplytwo, 14-car train sets. The plant wouldemploy 80 people, but observers say [the

deal] could now expand, with the companyseeking to supply high-speed trains aroundthe country.89 The U.S. Department oTransportation has announced that thereare at least 30 other rail manuacturerscommitted to establishing or expandingoperations in the United States i they arechosen to build Americas next-generationhigh speed rail lines.90

In the United States, a sustained com-mitment to high-speed rail could energizethe nations manuacturing base. Americanfrms already have the capacity to manu-acture many o the elements o high-speedrail cars, with 249 manuacturing frmsin 35 states involved in the production ovarious types o rail cars.91 A strong com-mitment to high-speed rail could beneftthese industries while encouraging thedevelopment o parts o the high-speed railsupply chain the U.S. currently lacks.92

High-Speed Rail Creates NewOpportunities or DevelopmentNear StationsHigh-speed rail stations bring with themthe potential or economic development,serving as an attractive location or storesand ofces and increasing land values in thenear vicinity. The success o developmentnear high-speed rail stations, however,depends on where the stations are locatedand the quality o planning or station-areadevelopment. A high-speed rail line built in

a lightly traveled corridor, or with stationsar away rom existing centers o develop-ment, or example, is going to have less oan economic impact than a well-designedline with busy, accessible stations in themidst o bustling, economically vibrantcities.


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High-speed rail can create new op-portunities or economic growth, whilealso shiting development that would havehappened elsewhere toward areas nearhigh-speed rail stations, particularly citycenters. The United States would clearly

beneft rom more intensive developmentin many center-city areas. In cities thathave experienced dramatic growth inrecent years, high-speed rail stations canocus development in ways that reducesprawl and the costs o arther ung inra-structure. Meanwhile, in cities, especiallyolder industrial cities, where center-citypopulations have declined dramaticallybut suburban populations have continuedto increase, high-speed rail inrastructurecan provide a critical shot in the arm to en-courage renewed investment in downtownareas and reverse patterns o sprawl.

Extensive study o the experience withhigh-speed rail in Europe and Japan leadsto several conclusions: First, high-speedrail can act as a powerul magnet, drawingeconomic activity toward areas with accessto the high-speed rail networkgenerally

helping to ocus development in city cen-ters rather than in exurban areas.93 Second,well-planned high-speed rail stations canserve as a major catalyst or economicgrowth in an area. Finally, high-speedrail can contribute to a vibrant tourismeconomy.

JpWith Japans massive rail ridership, devel-opment opportunities around Shinkansenstations have abounded. Studies haveshown that population growth and employ-ment in several industries increased asterin cities with high-speed rail stations thanin those without. Property values nearhigh-speed rail stations increased by 67percent.94 Many high-speed rail stationshave become city centers, with intensivemixed-use development and strong con-nections to local transit networks.95

High-speed rail stations have provento be such drivers o economic activity

that the railroads themselves have soughtto get in the act by intensively developingtheir rail stations. Central Japan Railwayhas built a complex with two 50-storyhigh-rises above Tokyos Nagoya Station,including a 780-room hotel, departmentstore, ofces and Japans largest indoorgarden.96 The Tokyo example shows thatthe revenues brought in by developmento high-speed rail station areas can be animportant part o the business model ormaking high-speed rail an economically

sel-sustaining enterprise.

FFrance has had mixed experience withgenerating economic development nearhigh-speed rail stations, depending chieyon whether it invested the necessary unds

High-speed rail stations have the potential toattract many orms o development, includingoces, hotels, retail stores and entertainmentvenues. Above, the 50-story-plus JR Towersrise above Tokyos Nagoya rail station. Credit:Steve Boland, Nelson/Nygaard ConsultingAssociates


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to bring high-speed rail into city centersor placed stations ar rom city centers tosave money. Some o these more remotestations, known colloquially as beet feldstations, because they were built in agricul-tural areas, have ailed to draw signifcant

numbers o travelers or spark signifcanteconomic development.

In other locations, the arrival o high-speed rail service has sparked dramaticdevelopment near rail stations:

The city o Lille along the France-Belgium border used its location at ajunction o high-speed rail lines link-ing London, Brussels and Paris as abasis or economic revitalization. TheLille-Europe high-speed rail station isat the core o a multi-use developmentincluding a shopping mall, residences,ofce buildings and entertainmentvenues. Ofce rents in the station areaare higher than in other parts o thecity, and its location along the high-speed rail line has led to an increase intourist visits to the city.97

Lyon, which was connected with Parisvia the frst TGV line in 1981, has ex-

perienced dramatic growth around itsTGV station, which was newly builtspecifcally or high-speed rail. By1990, the area surrounding Lyon PartDieu station was attracting 60 percento new development projects in thecity.98 The amount o ofce space inthe area increased by 43 percent.99Currently, the area surrounding PartDieu station hosts 5.3 million squareeet o ofce space, 1,000 hotel roomsand 20,000 jobs.100

Cities with more recent access tohigh-speed rail have experiencedsimilar development. Ofce space nearhigh-speed rail stations in cities suchas Le Mans, Nantes and Vendomeattracts a 20 percent rent premium

compared to areas arther away.101

InLe Mans, the new high-speed railstation was integrated into a businesscenter development that now hosts 80companies and 2,500 jobs.102

Strasbourg will soon be at the centero a high-speed rail connection link-ing France to Germany and EasternEurope, and the city is looking tocapitalize on its position by redevelop-ing several areas o the city, planning

to add at least 6,000 housing units aswell as commercial development.103

SpiThe city o Lleida, between Madrid andBarcelona, has succeeded in attracting newbusiness and tourism since completion o

The city o Lille, France, has used its strategicposition at the intersection o high-speed raillines serving London, Paris and Brussels as acatalyst or new development. Above, a publicart installation sits in ront o an oce towerbuilt directly above the Lille Europe high-speedrail station. Credit: Simon Schoeters


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the high-speed rail link between the twomajor cities during the mid-2000s. Lleidahas experienced a 15 percent increasein tourism and has used its proximity tohigh-speed rail to lure investment romMicrosot and other high-tech compa-

nies.104 Provinces along the route betweenMadrid and Barcelona are expected to seean increase o1 billion in GDP.105

Ciudad Real, a small city about an houroutside o Madrid by high-speed rail, hasexperienced growth as it has developedinto a long-distance commuter town andregional business and university center.Recently, the city has seen the opening oa new airport linked directly to the high-speed rail line.

ItyAnecdotal evidence suggests that the open-ing o a new rail station leads to a 30 to 40percent increase in property values in theimmediate area.106

Gt BitiThe recent initiation o high-speed railservice between London and the EnglishChannel creates new opportunities or

development. By 2020, or example, it isestimated that 60 million passengers peryear will pass through the area o LondonsSt. Pancras International high-speed railstation and the adjacent Kings Cross sta-tion, which provides regional rail service.107

The area is currently the ocus o a massiveredevelopment eort, which includes asmany as 2,500 new homes, hotels, ofcesand cultural venues, with the area eventu-ally accommodating 30,000 jobs.108

Meanwhile, outlying stations are alsobeing targeted or mixed-use development.Ebbseet station, or example, is the anchoror development that is anticipated to add asmany as 10,000 units o housing and 25,000new jobs over the next several decades.109The high-speed rail station in Stratordwill be a main entry point or visitors tothe nearby Olympic Park when Londonhosts the summer Olympic Games in2012. High-speed trains will whisk 25,000visitors every hour rom central Londonto Stratord in approximately 7 minutes.110Ater the games, the athletes OlympicVillage will be converted into permanenthousing as part o a massive redevelopmentproject designed to take advantage o theareas transportation connections, includ-

ing its proximity to central London viahigh-speed rail.

High-Speed Rail Has BroaderEconomic BeneftsHigh-speed rail can spark developmentaround train stations, but what about theeconomy as a whole? Traditional economicanalyses o high-speed rail investments,including many analyses o high-speed raillines abroad, ocus solely on transportation

beneftsor example, the amount o timeand money saved by traveling via rail versusother modes. But recent research suggeststhat the non-transportation economic ben-efts o high-speed rail investments may bejust as important.

High-speed rail and other transportation

Londons rebuilt St. Pancras International Station (above)serves as the departure point or international Eurostar trainsto Paris and Brussels, and is also a core element o an urbanredevelopment eort that will create thousands o residentialunits and tens o thousands o jobs. Credit: Matt Buck,matttbuck.irongalaxy.com


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investments put more people and businessesin closer connection to one another, withpotentially signifcant gains in productivity.Economists have long studied the benefts oagglomerationthe gains in productivitythat result rom concentrations o industries

or people. Economic research shows thatindustries beneit in many ways romlocating near other, similar businessesaphenomenon that explains the dominanceo high-tech industry in Silicon Valley,the flm industry in Hollywood, or vehiclemanuacturing in Detroit. Similarly, someeconomists believe that large metropolitanareas with diverse economies are moreproductive than smaller cities. Studieshave estimated that doubling the size o acity increases economic productivity by 3to 8 percent.111

High-speed rail in the United Stateswould ease connections between peopleand businesses. With a Caliornia h igh-speed rail network, or example, down-town areas o cities such as Riverside,Anaheim and Irvine will be extremelyclose, travel time-wise, to downtownLos Angeles (and to one another). Witha Midwest high-speed rail system, St.Louis, Detroit and Cincinnati will all

be within roughly our hours rom Chi-cagomaking single-day business tripsbetween many Midwestern cities possiblevia rail and providing a competitive al-ternative to air travel.112

By easing connections between nearbyurban centers, high-speed rail allows cit-ies to tap into the collective social andeconomic assets o their neighbors. Forinstance, high-speed rail would bring thenumber o jobs within 90 minutes o Hart-ord, Ct., rom 1.4 million to 7 million,

and the number o people rom 4.1 mil-lion to 15.5 million.113 In well-connectedregions, smaller cities can take advantageo the larger markets or jobs or businessopportunities in nearby metropolitan hubswithout adding to problems such as sprawlor trafc congestion.

Unortunately, it is difcult to measurethe degree to which high-speed railasopposed to other actorshas made re-gions or nations more economically com-petitive. A ew studies have determinedthat high-speed rail can lead to broader

economic benefts in a given region orcountry, while more anecdotal evidencefnds that high-speed rail has orged newconnections among people and busi-nessesconnections that can help spureconomic growth in todays knowledgeeconomy.

GyThe completion o a new high-speed railline between Frankurt and Cologne pro-vided new service to intermediate stationsin the towns o Limburg and Montabaur,which had previously been diicult toreach. Researchers have estimated thatthe counties surrounding those two townsexperienced a 2.7 percent increase in theirgross domestic product as a result o theincreased access to markets provided byhigh-speed rail. Interestingly, the eco-nomic growth associated with high-speedrail came beore the line entered into ser-vice, as businesses and individuals changed

their economic behavior in anticipationo the arrival o high-speed rail. Based ontheir results, the researchers project thatevery 1 percent increase in market accessdelivered by high-speed rail will result in a0.27 percent increase in economic activityin a region.114

egIn England, construction o the nationsirst high-speed rail line, completed in2007, is projected to lead to $26 billion in

net economic benefts over a 60-year span.Among the benefts identifed in the studywere regeneration beneits (beneitsresulting rom development spurred bythe high-speed line), as well as agglom-eration eects and changes in the labormarket.115


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Jp South KoOne way to get a sense o the economicimpact o high-speed rail is to look at whois riding it. I a high-speed rail line is onlybeing used by people who had previouslymade the same trip via other modes o

transportation, its economic impact will bevery limited. However, when new travelersstart to use high-speed rail or businesstrips, tourism or commuting, it is a goodsignal that high-speed rail is spurringbroader changes in the economy.

Korea Train eXpress (KTX) beganservice in 2004, linking the capital oSeoul with the coastal cities o Busan andMokpo, and providing an alternative totravel on increasingly congested highways.

The number o one-day business trips inSouth Korea has increased as a result ohigh-speed rail.116 Evidence in Japan sug-gests that high-speed rail has promoted thecentralization o certain service industriesin large cities such as Tokyo and Osaka and

encouraged business trips.117

FIn France, travel along the Paris-Lyon cor-ridor jumped dramatically ollowing theintroduction o high-speed rail service.118

Nearly hal o all travel between Paris andLyon was estimated to be trips that had notoccurred prior to the introduction o high-speed rail service.119 Overall travel betweenvarious outlying cities and Paris increased

High-Speed Rail and Tourism

High-speed rail has been shown to have a positive impact on tourism in severalnations. In France, the city o Nantes saw a large increase in tourism investment,

with a 43 percent increase in hotel rooms in the central part o the cityin the years ollowing opening o the TGV.122 Other cities and regionsin France have experienced similar eects, with new hotel developments

around high-speed rail stations.123

In England, completion o the Channel Tunnel has been shown to in-crease tourism to London.124

In Japan, the arrival o high-speed rail has been linked to hotel develop-ment. In the city o Kakegawa, the opening o a new station along anexisting high-speed rail line contributed to the opening o fve new hotelsand boosted the local economy.125

Some analysts suggest that the number o visitors isnt the only thing that changeswhen high-speed rail reaches a tourist destinationthe type o travelers changes

as well. Some research suggests that a greater share o visits are day trips, sincegetting to and rom tourist destinations is much easier. The resulting impact on thetourism economy is mixedmore people may visit, but ewer people stay overnightin hotels because they can more easily return to their amilies.156 A similar eecthas been observed or business travel.


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SpainAccording to Spains national railway, thehigh-speed AVE network turns an operat-ing proft.131 In both France and Spain, thehigh-speed lines are the only parts o thenational railway system that recover their

operating costs, since the high-speed trainscan carry large numbers o passengersat prices that compete with airline ares,particularly or frst-class or business classseating.132

U.S. East CoastAccording to a recent analysis, AmtraksAcela Express service on the NortheastCorridor turned an operating proft o $41per passenger, or $220 million in 2008.133The Acela Express succeeds fnanciallybecause it provides an attractive, comort-able, and ast travel experience in a denselypopulated corridor, where Amtrak cancharge ares that are comparable to thosecharged or air travel. As is the case inFrance and other nations, highly proftablehigh-speed rail service generates revenue tosubsidize less-proftable routes elsewhere.Investing in more high-speed rail projectsthroughout the United States could im-prove access to existing regional services

lines and transit networks.

High-Speed Rail, Transitand Land UseThe United States aces important deci-sions about the uture growth o its cities. Itcan continue to encourage sprawling ormso development that take up vast amounts

o open space and commit residents todependence on the automobile or mostdaily trips. Or it can encourage compactcommunities where most travel can bedone on oot or by public transportation,reducing the nations dependence on oiland its contribution to global warming.

High-speed rail, in and o itsel, can-not change land-use patterns in theUnited States. In act , high-speed rail isbetter understood as putting an exclama-tion point on whatever vision o uturedevelopment that is promoted by local,

state or ederal government. As one studyo development around French TGVstations put it: The TGV acceleratesor amplifes what are already avorableor unavorable actors. It does not createthem rom nothing.134

I the United States opts to pursue a u-ture o automobile dependence and sprawl,it can design high-speed rail systems thataccelerate that visionlocating stationsin undeveloped areas, with access only byautomobile, and surrounding those stationswith low-density bedroom neighborhoods.(Even then, high-speed rail would be a bet-ter alternative than expanding highways,which generate sprawl along their entirelength, rather than only at stations locatedmany miles apart.)

But, high-speed rail can also be usedto accelerate more sustainable orms odevelopment, creating vibrant new centerso activity and commerce, and anchoringwell-planned new neighborhoods that

include a walkable mix o residential andcommercial uses that are well-connectedto the rest o the region via public trans-portation.

The question o how to integratehigh-speed rail into the transportationand land-use vision o a region has beenimportant everywhere that high-speedrail lines have been built. The competitivesuccess o high-speed rail depends on theeasy accessibility o high-speed rail stationsvia both automobile and transit. And high-

speed rails value as an economic develop-ment tool depends on stations being wellintegrated into the abric o their cities.As the United States builds its high-speedrail systems, it is important that it does soin ways that promote sustainability andacilitate mobility in its cities.


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High-Speed Rail and Local Transit

High-speed rails ability to compete againstand complement automobile and air traveldepends upon the accessibility o stationsto a wide variety o travelers, both those

arriving at the station via public transpor-tation and those arriving by car. A studyconducted o airport choice in the Londonmetropolitan area ound that airport acces-sibility is the number one actor aectingairport choicethat is, that people aremore likely to y out o the airport that ismost accessible to them.135 The same dy-namic is likely to hold true in the UnitedStates as residents consider whether totravel between cities by air, rail or car. Forexample, i it is easier and aster or Chicago

travelers to get to OHare Airport than ahigh-speed rail station, and ares are simi-lar, many will choose to y rather than ride,minimizing the benefts resulting rominvestment in high-speed rail.

Nations have used a variety o tools toprovide accessible high-speed rail serviceto the broadest possible range o travelers.Many o the principal cities in those na-tionscities such as Paris, London and To-kyoalready had extensive transit systemsprior to the introduction o high-speed

rail. But other cities have used the arrivalo high-speed rail to expand access to theirtransit systems and to leverage improve-ments in transit service. According to onestudy o high-speed rail in Europe: Acrossmainland Europe, there is evidence o verycareul integration o local/regional trans-port networks with high-speed rail, whichmeans that the high-speed station shouldorm a major interchange point.136

F: expig Ts rgio riFrance has seen a dramatic expansion in thenumber o local light rail systems, even inrelatively small cities. As o 2009, Francehad 20 city tram systems (similar to lightrail or streetcars) in cities outside o Paris,

nearly all o them built since 1985, and mostin cities with TGV connections.137

French cities have used the arrivalo the TGV to reorganize and improvetransportation connections. The city o LeMans, or example, was linked to the TGV

system in 1989. The city built a new tramline in 2007, which links the TGV stationwith destinations within the city. Now, LeMans is redeveloping the rail station into amulti-modal transportation hub, relocatingthe citys bus station to the rail hub, ex-panding automobile parking at the station,installing bike racks, and building a newpedestrian square.138 Research in Francesuggests that the degree o integration oa station into local public transportationnetworks has a direct, and sometimes dra-

matic, inuence on the choices individualsmake or how to access those stations, withbetter-integrated stations drawing a largershare o travelers to the stations via publictransportation or on oot.139

In addition to providing improved localtransit service, France has also invested in

Japan is one o several countries that have built high-speed railstations in city centers, magniying the potential o high-speedrail to promote compact, sustainable development. Above, a

Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train travels through theGinza District o Tokyo, the citys exclusive shopping district.Credit: Steve Boland, Nelson/Nygaard ConsultingAssociates


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improved regional rail service to bring ast,efcient rail service within the reach o agreater share o the population.140

Gt Biti: Usig High-Sp rito Ipov rgio SviHigh-speed rail lines can also be used toimprove the quality o regi

a track record of success: high-speed rail around the world and its promise for america

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