ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THE EUROPEAN HIGH-SPEED RAIL NETWORK

Abstract

Amid growing business opportunities and major social change, an extensive high-speed rail (HSR) network is being developed to link the main cities of the European Community. In addition to providing an alternative mode for intercity travel, the 24,000 km of new and upgraded HSR track will facilitate and support major social and economic change. A conventional economic evaluation of this network has been undertaken using a coarse, strategic multimode model and quantifying time and operating cost savings as measures of economic benefit. An enhanced method for evaluating the economic benefits of the European HSR network is described. The focus of the method is the additional benefits that would accrue to business travelers. A survey of European companies revealed additional economic impacts, not so far considered in the evaluation of the European HSR network, that are perceived and valued by business travelers. An approach is developed to value the additional impacts and to incorporate them into the conventional economic evaluation of the HSR network. The results suggest that the additional impacts are potentially a significant source of economic benefits. It is probable that the application of this approach would identify substantial benefits accruing to nonbusiness travelers too. This has important implications for how the European HSR network is evaluated and priorities are set for its implementation.

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