Next Stop: California
The Benefits of High- Speed Rail Around the
World and What’s in Store for California
Next Stop: California
The Benefits of High- Speed Rail Around the
World and What’s in Store for California
Tony Dutzik, Frontier Group
Erin Steva, CALPIRG Education Fund
June 2010
Education Fund
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Robert Cruickshank, chair of Californians for High- Speed Rail; Gloria
Ohland, vice president of communications for Reconnecting America; and Petra Todoro-vich,
director of America 2050, for their thoughtful review of this report. The authors also
thank Phineas Baxandall of U. S. PIRG Education Fund and Emily Rusch of CALPIRG
Education Fund for their efforts in helping to conceptualize this project and for their
editorial review. Finally, the authors thank Ben Davis of Frontier Group for his extensive
research assistance, Carolyn Kramer for her editorial assistance, and all the photographers
who graciously agreed to allow their work to be reproduced in this report.
CALPIRG Education Fund thanks the Rockefeller Foundation for making this report
possible.
The authors bear responsibility for any factual errors. The recommendations are those of
CALPIRG Education Fund. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or those who provided review.
Copyright 2010 CALPIRG Education Fund
With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing
their own narrow agendas, CALPIRG Education Fund offers an independent voice that
works on behalf of the public interest. CALPIRG Education Fund, a 501( c)( 3) organization,
works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft
solutions, educate the public, and offer Californians meaningful opportunities for civic
participation. For more information about CALPIRG Education Fund or for additional
copies of this report, please visit www. calpirg. org.
Frontier Group conducts independent research and policy analysis to support a cleaner,
healthier and more democratic society. Our mission is to inject accurate information and
compelling ideas into public policy debates at the local, state and federal levels. For more
information about Frontier Group, please visit www. frontiergroup. org.
Cover photo: German high- speed train, photo by G. Peters
Layout: Harriet Eckstein Graphic Design
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 1
Introduction 5
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 6
High- Speed Rail Replaces Short- Haul Air Travel 6
High- Speed Rail Replaces Car Travel 12
High- Speed Rail Saves Energy and Protects the Environment 14
High- Speed Rail Is Safe and Reliable 18
High- Speed Rail Boosts the Economy 21
High- Speed Rail Is Often Economically Self Sufficient 27
High- Speed Rail, Transit and Land Use 29
Conclusion and Recommendations 34
Notes 37
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
A s California moves toward con-struction
of a new high- speed rail
network, the state has much to learn
from experiences abroad. High- speed rail
lines have operated for more than 45 years
in Japan and for three decades in Europe,
providing a wealth of information about
what California can expect from high-speed
rail … and how the state can receive
the greatest possible benefits from its invest-ment.
Indeed, the experience of high- speed
rail lines abroad suggests that California
can expect great benefits from investing
in a high- speed passenger rail system,
particularly if it makes wise choices in
designing the system.
High- speed rail systems in other
nations have dramatically reduced air
travel and significantly reduced inter-city
car travel. In California, similar
results would ease congestion on the roads
and in the skies and reduce the need for
expensive new investments in highways
and airports. High- speed rail service has
virtually eliminated short- haul air service
on several corridors in Europe, such as
between Paris and Lyon, France, and be-tween
Cologne and Frankfurt, Germany.
• The number of air passengers between
London and Paris has been cut in half
since high- speed rail service was initi-ated
between the two cities through
the Channel Tunnel.
• The recent launch of high- speed rail
service between Madrid and Barce-lona,
Spain, has cut air travel on what
was once one of the world’s busiest
passenger air routes by one- third.
• Even in the northeastern U. S., where
Amtrak Acela Express service is slow
by international standards, rail service
accounts for 62 percent of the air/ rail
market on trips between New York
and Washington, D. C., and 47 percent
of the air/ rail market on trips between
Boston and New York.
• High- speed rail service between
Madrid and Seville has reduced the
share of travel by car between the two
cities from 60 percent to 34 percent.
Next Stop: California
High- speed rail saves energy and
protects the environment. In California,
high- speed rail could cut our dependence
on oil while helping to reduce air pollution
and curb global warming.
• Continual improvement – Japan’s Shink-ansen
system is estimated to use one
quarter the energy of air travel or one-sixth
the energy of automobile travel
per passenger. The energy efficiency
of Shinkansen trains has continually
improved over time, such that today’s
trains use nearly a third less energy,
while traveling significantly faster,
than the trains introduced in the mid-sixties.
• More efficient – On Europe’s high-speed
lines, a typical Monday morn-ing
business trip from London to
Paris via high- speed rail uses approxi-mately
a third as much energy as a car
or plane trip. Similar energy savings
are achieved on other European high-speed
rail lines.
• Replacing oil with electricity makes zero
emissions possible – Energy savings
translate into reduced emissions of
pollutants that cause global warming
or respiratory problems – particularly
when railroads power their trains with
renewable energy. In Sweden, the
country’s high- speed trains are pow-ered
entirely with renewable energy,
cutting emissions of global warming
pollutants by 99 percent.
High- speed rail is safe and reliable. In
California, reliable service via high- speed
rail could be an attractive alternative to
oft- delayed intercity flights and travel on
congested freeways.
• There has never been a fatal accident
on Japan’s Shinkansen high- speed rail
system or during high- speed operation
of TGV trains in France, despite car-rying
billions of passengers over the
course of several decades.
• High- speed rail is generally more reli-able
than air or car travel. The average
delay on Japan’s Shinkansen system
is 36 seconds. Spain’s railway opera-tor
offers a money- back guarantee if
train- related delays exceed five min-utes.
High- speed rail can create jobs and
boost local economies. California’s
high- speed rail system could help position
the state for economic success in the 21st
century while creating short- term jobs in
construction.
• Construction of high- speed rail lines
creates thousands of temporary jobs.
For example, about 8,000 people were
involved in construction of the high-speed
rail link between London and
the Channel Tunnel.
• Well- designed high- speed rail stations
located in city centers spark economic
development and encourage revitaliza-tion
of urban areas:
o A study of the Frankfurt- Cologne
high- speed rail line in Germany
estimated that areas surrounding
two towns with new high- speed rail
stations experienced a 2.7 percent
increase in overall economic activ-ity
compared with the rest of the
region.
o Office space in the vicinity of high-speed
rail stations in France and
northern Europe generally fetches
higher rents than in other parts of
the same cities.
o The city of Lyon experienced a 43
percent increase in the amount of
Executive Summary
office space near its high- speed rail
station following the completion of
a high- speed rail link to Paris.
o Property values near stations on
Japan’s Shinkansen network have
been estimated to be 67 percent
higher than property values further
away.
o Several cities have used high- speed
rail as the catalyst for ambitious
urban redevelopment efforts. The
city of Lille, France, used its rail
station as the core of a multi- use
development that now accommo-dates
6,000 jobs. The new interna-tional
high- speed rail terminal at
London’s St. Pancras station is the
centerpiece of a major redevelop-ment
project that will add 1,800
residential units, as well as hotels,
offices and cultural venues in the
heart of London.
• High- speed rail can expand labor
markets and increase the potential for
face- to- face interactions that cre-ate
value in the growing “ knowledge
economy.” A British study projects
that the construction of the nation’s
first high- speed rail line will lead to
more than $ 26 billion in net economic
benefits over the next 60 years.
High- speed rail lines generally
cover their operating costs with fare
revenues. In California, a financially
sustainable high- speed rail system would
deliver on the promise made to voters in
Proposition 1A that the system will not
require operating subsidies from taxpay-ers.
• High- speed rail service generates
enough operating profit that it can
subsidize other, less- profitable in-tercity
rail lines in countries such as
France and Spain, as well as in the
U. S. Northeast.
• Two high- speed rail lines – the French
TGV line between Paris and Lyon
and the original Japanese Shinkansen
line from Tokyo to Osaka – have cov-ered
their initial costs of construction
through fares.
Properly planned high- speed rail can
encourage sustainable land use and de-velopment
patterns. In California, focus-ing
new development around high- speed
rail stations can reduce pressure to develop
in outlying areas, create new centers of
commerce and activity, and enable riders
to access high- speed rail stations by public
transportation, by bike, or on foot.
• Cities throughout Europe have paired
the arrival of high- speed rail with ex-pansion
of local public transportation
options – in some cases, using new
high- speed rail lines to bolster local
commuter rail service.
• By putting stations in smart locations
and providing transit connections,
high- speed rail can encourage greater
shifts in development patterns and
transportation choices.
• Proper land- use policies in areas
that receive high- speed rail stations,
coupled with effective development
of station areas, can ensure that
high- speed rail does not fuel new
sprawl.
To obtain the economic and trans-portation
benef its experienced by
other nations, California should fol-low
through on its decision to invest
in high- speed rail, while taking ac-tions
to maximize the benefits of that
investment. Specifically, California
should:
Next Stop: California
• Follow through on its commitment to
build the California high- speed rail
system, creating thousands of jobs
and positioning the state to meet the
economic, transportation, energy and
environmental challenges of the next
century.
• Use high- speed rail to focus future
development by locating stations in
city centers, planning for intensive
commercial and residential develop-ment
near stations, and requiring
communities receiving high- speed rail
stations to adopt land- use and devel-opment
plans that discourage sprawl.
• Make high- speed rail stations ac-cessible
to people using a variety
of transportation modes, including
automobiles, public transit, bicycling
and walking. California should fol-low
the lead of other nations and pair
high- speed rail with expansion of local
transit networks.
• Integrate high- speed rail with im-provements
to commuter and freight
rail, and provide convenient rail con-nections
to airports, ensuring that
the investment California makes in
high- speed rail delivers benefits to a
wide variety of commuters, travelers
and businesses.
• Keep clear lines of accountability by
maintaining the independence of the
High- Speed Rail Authority, while
ensuring strict budget discipline and
spending transparency through strong
oversight and public disclosure of the
authority’s expenses.
• Improve lines of communication be-tween
the High- Speed Rail Authority
and local governments and
communities.
• Make high- speed rail green by invest-ing
in energy- efficient equipment,
powering the system with renewable
energy, and designing and building
the system in such a way as to maxi-mize
environmental benefits.
Introduction
N o one ever confused Oakland with
London. Or Los Angeles with To-kyo.
Or the Inland Empire with the
south of France.
So one might wonder what California
can learn from the experiences of other
nations when it comes to the construction
of high- speed rail.
The truth is that California faces many
of the same challenges faced by nations
throughout Europe and Asia that have
adopted high- speed rail: the need to pro-vide
the transportation connections that
can sustain a 21st century “ knowledge
economy”; the need to relieve increas-ingly
congested airports and highways;
the need to foster the creation of vibrant,
sustainable communities; and the need to
reduce dependence on oil and protect the
environment.
Moreover, California shares many of the
geographic and demographic traits of areas
served by the world’s most successful high-speed
rail networks. The vast majority of
our 37 million people live in areas that will
be served by high- speed rail. In addition,
most intercity trips along the state’s high-speed
rail network are projected to take
two to three hours — the “ sweet spot” for
effective competition between high- speed
rail and air travel— or less.
Of course, California does face some
unique challenges in making high- speed
rail “ work.” California’s sprawling devel-opment
and our massive freeway network
are unmatched in other parts of the world.
And our public transportation networks—
despite dramatic improvements in cities
such as Los Angeles over the past several
decades— do not compare with the well-established
transit systems of cities such
as Paris, Madrid or Berlin.
Yet, even in those areas where Cali-fornia’s
history and economic geography
differ from those of other countries, their
experiences still provide us with impor-tant
lessons about how to maximize the
benefits of high- speed rail for California’s
future. Most importantly, that experience
shows that while high- speed rail is a big
investment, it has the potential to pay off
by addressing our growing transportation
challenges, reinvigorating our economy,
reshaping development, and building a
California that can meet the challenges of
the 21st century.
Introduction
Next Stop: California
N ations throughout the developed
world ( and increasingly, the devel-oping
world) have seen the value of
high- speed rail in addressing transporta-tion,
energy and environmental challenges
and boosting economic development. The
experience with high- speed rail abroad
both underscores the potential benefits
of express rail service to California and
suggests important lessons that California
can learn in the design of its high- speed
rail system.
High- Speed Rail Replaces
Short- Haul Air Travel
Everywhere high- speed rail lines have been
built, they have led to immediate— and
often dramatic— declines in air travel
between the cities being served, demon-strating
the strong demand for clean, fast
and efficient travel between metropolitan
areas, and freeing up capacity in the avia-tion
system for long- haul and international
flights.
California has several reasons to shift
in- state travelers from air to rail. Airport
congestion contributes to delays that frus-trate
passengers, waste fuel, and hamper
effective travel between cities. In 2008,
there were 225,000 passenger flights— an
average of 618 per day— between cities that
will be served by California’s high- speed
rail system. 1
The need to move people between Cal-ifornia’s
cities by air clogs our congested
airports and can contribute to delays. The
Los Angeles- San Francisco route, for ex-ample,
is the second most popular air route
in the nation, carrying more than 2.8 mil-lion
passengers between December 2008
and November 2009.2 It is also one of the
most delay- prone: over the same December
2008- November 2009 time period, one
out of every four flights from Los Angeles
to San Francisco was late, with an average
delay on those flights of one hour. 3 Flights
in the other direction were only slightly
better, with 18 percent delayed and an aver-age
delay of slightly less than an hour. 4
Reducing the number of short- haul
flights within California would increase the
availability of gates for longer- haul flights,
while avoiding the need for expensive air-port
expansion projects. It would also help
High- Speed Rail:
Experiences from Around the World
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World
businesses, allowing commercial travelers
to get to and from destinations more easily
and reliably.
Substituting rail for air trips would also
save energy and protect the environment.
Short- haul flights are more energy inten-sive
than longer flights, since much of the
energy consumed in any air journey is used
on take- off. Trips of 155 miles consume ap-proximately
40 more energy per seat- mile
than trips of more than 625 miles in the
same aircraft. 5 ( See Figure 1.) In addition,
because high- speed rail does not use oil, it
can provide an economical alternative for
airline passengers during periods of high
jet fuel prices, when airlines often impose
ticket surcharges to recover costs from
consumers.
High- speed trains around the world ef-fectively
replace air travel for precisely the
kind of high- frequency, short- to middle-distance
trips that would be served by
California’s high- speed rail network.
The Eurostar: France and England
The Eurostar rail line connects London
with Paris and Brussels using the Chan-nel
Tunnel, which was completed in late
1994. France inaugurated service on its
high- speed TGV- Nord line between the
Channel, Paris and the Belgian border
shortly before the opening of the Chan-nel
Tunnel. But on the English side of the
Channel, trains were hampered by the
use of aging infrastructure, with average
speeds between London and the tunnel
of only 62 miles per hour. 9 Then- French
President Francois Mitterrand summed
up the disparity between the French and
British rail systems: “ Passengers will race
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
155 311 466 625
Energy Consumption ( g/ seat- mile)
Flight Distance in Miles
Figure 1. Airplane Energy Consumption per Seat Mile at Various Flight Distances6
Next Stop: California
at a great pace across the plains of North-ern
France, rush through the [ Channel]
Tunnel on a fast track, and then be able to
daydream at very low speed, admiring the
English countryside.” 10
Even with the slow speeds on the British
side, the inauguration of Eurostar service
replaced a significant portion of the Lon-don-
Paris air travel market. Within two
years of the service’s start, the number of
air passengers traveling the route declined
from 4 million to less than 3 million. 11
In recent years, Britain has launched
high- speed rail service linking London
with the Channel Tunnel, cutting travel
times between London and Paris first from
3 hours to 2 hours and 35 minutes, and now,
with completion of the final phase of the
high- speed line in 2007, to 2 hours and 15
minutes. 12
Passenger traffic on the Eurostar line
picked up significantly as a result, coin-ciding
with another steep drop in Lon-don-
Paris air travel. 13 The number of air
passengers between the two cities has fallen
from 2.9 million in 2002 to 1.9 million in
2008— a roughly 50 percent reduction in
air travel compared with the years prior to
the opening of the Channel Tunnel. 14
The success of the Eurostar and the
High Speed 1 rail line in reducing air traf-fic
has led some Britons to consider whether
High- Speed Rail as a Backup for Air Travel
R edundancy in the transportation system is sometimes thought of as a bad thing.
Why invest in improved passenger rail service, for example, if highways and
airplanes already make the same trips?
Yet, when one part of the transportation system is shut down unexpectedly, the
result can be billions of dollars in economic disruption— disruption that can be
greatly reduced when good alternatives are available.
In Europe, high- speed rail proved its value as an alternative to flying during the
April 2010 shutdown of air travel following the eruption of a volcano in Iceland.
Railroads across the continent mobilized to serve stranded travelers. Swiss Federal
Railways increased capacity rapidly, doubling the number of passenger cars on
its existing routes. 7 Eurostar added trains to its route between London, Paris and
Brussels, carrying 50,000 more passengers than expected, and offered stranded
air passengers seating at a special fare. Eurostar reported that it served passengers
from as far away as Greece. 8
While the volcanic eruption remained a major inconvenience for all travel-ers—
particularly those traveling overseas— the existence of an efficient passenger
rail system enabled many European passengers to get home hours or days earlier
than they otherwise would have, and reduced crowding at airports.
Volcanoes aren’t the only potential cause of air system shutdowns. Air traffic con-trol
system glitches, extreme weather events, and terrorist attacks ( such as those of
September 11, 2001) have all hobbled air travel for hours to days at a time. An efficient
passenger rail system can provide an important backup to ensure that California’s
economy keeps running, even when other transportation options stop.
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World
new high- speed lines could avert the need
for a proposed $ 15 billion plan to expand
Heathrow Airport. Britain’s Conservative
Party has proposed scrapping the plan for
a third runway at Heathrow in exchange
for construction of a high- speed rail line
linking London with northern England,
a move that could reduce the number of
short- haul air trips within England.
France
The success of high- speed rail in di-verting
passengers from planes was dem-onstrated
early on with the completion of
the high- speed TGV rail line from Paris
to Lyon in 1981. Before completion of the
TGV, 31 percent of travelers from Paris
to Lyon traveled by airplane. Following
completion of the TGV, the air passenger
share dwindled to 7 percent. 16
The TGV has had an even broader
impact on the line between Paris and
Marseille, which was completed in 2001.
Since the completion of the TGV, rail has
come to serve a larger share of the air/ rail
market in the Provence/ Alpes/ Cote D’Azur
region, home to the city of Marseille as
well as seaside playgrounds such as Nice
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
4,500,000
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Paris- London Air Passengers
Luton- Charles de Gaulle
Gatwick- Charles de Gaulle
Heathrow- Orly
City- Charles de Gaulle
City- Orly
Stansted- Charles de Gaulle
Stansted- Orly
Heathrow- Charles de Gaulle
< Eurostar begins
UK HSR
Phase 1 >
UK HSR
Phase 2 >
Figure 2. Travel Between London and Paris Airports15
France’s TGV system links cities across the country with the
capital, Paris, as well as with other European nations. Credit:
Kilroy1313 at railpictures. net.
10 Next Stop: California
and Cannes. The number of people trav-eling
by air or rail between Paris and the
region increased by 25 percent between
1996 and 2003, but the number of air pas-sengers
actually declined. All of the travel
growth was accommodated via rail travel,
which increased its share of the air- rail
market from 39 percent before the TGV
to 58 percent afterward. 17
Spain: Madrid- Barcelona
Spain built its first high- speed rail line in
1992, connecting the capital city of Madrid
with Seville. Sixteen years later, the nation
finally completed a high- speed rail connec-tion
between its two largest cities, Madrid
and Barcelona.
Prior to construction of the high- speed
line, flying was by far the preferred option
for traveling between Madrid and Barce-lona,
with 90 percent of travelers choosing
air travel. 18 In fact, the Madrid- Barcelona
air route was, until recently, the busiest
in Europe and one of the busiest in the
world, with 4.6 million annual passengers
in 2007 on 45,000 flights. 19 Alternatives to
flying were arduous: the trip took 7 hours
by conventional rail and nearly 6 hours
by car. 20
The arrival of high- speed rail has made
travel between the cities much faster and
more convenient, providing competition
for airlines and an alternative for consum-ers.
Since the introduction of high- speed
rail service in early 2008, the number of
air travelers between the two cities has
fallen by more than one- third, reducing
the number of air passengers by 1.5 million
in its first full year in service. 21 By early
2010, the number of train travelers between
the two cities exceeded the number of air
travelers. 22
Germany
Germany’s high- speed rail system serves a
network of cities across the country. The
Cologne- Frankfurt high- speed rail line,
opened in 2002, connects the two cities,
which are approximately 110 miles apart,
in one hour. Even before the introduction
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
Number of Air Passengers
high- speed rail service begins >
Figure 3. Air Travel Between Madrid and Barcelona Before and After High- Speed
Rail23
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 11
of high- speed rail, conventional rail ser-vice
carried most travelers between the
two cities. Since the arrival of high- speed
rail, however, rail has come to account
for 97 percent of the air/ rail market share
between the two cities, with virtually all
the passengers continuing to travel by air
making connecting flights. 24
Similar reductions in domestic air
service have occurred in other corridors
within Germany that have received high-speed
rail service. 25
Japan
Japan began building its high- speed rail
network in the mid- 1960s, well before the
commercialization of mass air travel in the
1970s and 1980s. Even though domestic
air travel has increased in Japan over the
years, high- speed rail remains the domi-nant
mode for intercity travel, particularly
for trips that can be completed via rail in
under three hours.
Japan’s Shinkansen high- speed rail line
draws more than three times as many
passengers per year as air travel. 26 ( See
Figure 4.) For trips of less than 500 miles,
the Shinkansen holds a dominant share of
the market. ( See Table 1, next page.)
The distances covered by Shinkansen
trains are similar to those that would be
traveled by California’s high- speed rail
network. The longest possible trip on the
California system— from San Diego to
Sacramento— would be 588 miles ( to be
traveled in 3 hours and 35 minutes), a trip
length at which rail and air travel would
be expected to have a relatively even split
of the travel market. The trip from Los
Angeles to San Francisco is 382 miles, a
length at which high- speed rail systems in
Japan and elsewhere in the world dominate
the travel marketplace.
U. S. East Coast
Amtrak’s Acela Express service along the
East Coast still succeeds in replacing air
travel, despite travel speeds that are slow
by international standards.
The experience of the Acela confirms
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Passengers ( millions)
Shinkansen
Domestic Air
Figure 4. Passengers Traveling via Air and Rail, Japan27
12 Next Stop: California
that train journeys of two to three hours
are the “ sweet spot” for high- speed rail,
where it is most capable of competing
effectively with air travel. Currently, the
Acela Express makes the journey from New
York to Washington, D. C., in 2 hours and
55 minutes, and the journey from Boston to
New York in 3 hours and 34 minutes. 29 By
contrast, the trip from London to Paris on
the Eurostar— which covers a greater dis-tance
by rail than either the New York- to-
D. C. or Boston- to- New York trips— takes
as little as 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Nonetheless, rail service on the North-east
Corridor— particularly following the
introduction of near- high- speed Acela
Express service in 2001— has captured a
growing share of the air/ rail market. Am-trak
now serves 62 percent of the air/ rail
market between New York and Washing-ton,
D. C., and 47 percent of the air/ rail
market between New York and Boston. 30
High- Speed Rail Replaces
Car Travel
California’s highway traffic congestion
is legendary— in 2007, congestion in
California’s major metropolitan areas cost
Californians more than 732 million hours
Table 1. Rail- Air Mode Splits for Trips of
Various Distances, Japan28
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%
Locating high- speed rail stations at airports can enable airlines to replace energy- inefficient
connecting flights that clog up gate space. The Intercity Express rail station at the airport in
Cologne, Germany ( above), provides direct access to the high- speed rail network connecting
Germany and other nations in northern Europe, enabling travelers flying into Cologne to
reach their final destination elsewhere in the country more quickly and conveniently. Credit:
Gregorius Mundus
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 13
Maximizing the Benefits of High- Speed Rail for Relieving
Air Congestion
H igh- speed rail competes well with air and car travel for trips of the length that
will be served by California’s high- speed rail network. However, there are
several ways that California can learn from the examples of other high- speed rail
networks to make the state’s rail system both an effective competitor with— and
complement to— air travel.
Even with a high- speed rail network, Californians will still rely on air travel
for out- of- state trips. Providing convenient air- rail connections can have several
benefits: providing air travelers with an alternative to short- haul flights for the
last legs of their journeys, enabling Californians to choose from a wider variety
of airports, and reducing the need to drive to the airport ( thereby reducing
congestion and saving air travelers money for parking and taxis).
Many European high- speed rail lines have direct connections with major
airports. 31 In France, the high- speed rail connection with Paris Charles de
Gaulle airport serves 1.3 million passengers per year. 32 In Germany, Lufthansa
Chairman Heinz Ruhnaw predicts that within 10 years, “ no German airport
will be without a railway station beneath the terminal. By the end of the decade,
airports will not require feeder services by regional aircraft— all will be oper-ated
by rail.” 33 Railroads and airlines can make the most of those connections
through codesharing ( in which passengers can book their entire air- rail trip at
the same time) and, where security permits, with through- checking of baggage,
as occurs in Switzerland. 34
On the U. S. East Coast, some Amtrak trains stop at Newark Liberty Airport
and Baltimore- Washington Airport, serving 100,000 and 600,000 passengers
per year, respectively. 35 Continental Airlines also provides codesharing with
Acela Express trains servicing several northeastern cities via Newark Liberty
Airport.
California’s proposed high- speed rail system will have direct connections to
San Francisco International Airport and Ontario Airport.
of wasted time— the equivalent of 350,000
person- years of work. 36 Evidence from
around the world suggests that high- speed
rail can reduce automobile travel between
cities, possibly contributing to reductions
in congestion.
High- speed rail’s impact on car travel
and congestion in other nations has been
much less dramatic than its impact on
air travel. Most automobile journeys are
local or within a given region, meaning
that high- speed rail can only avert a small
proportion of total traffic. Moreover,
long- distance intercity drivers often have
chosen to drive rather than fly for reasons
that would also make them unlikely to use
high- speed rail, such as the need to carry
cargo or concerns about cost.
Still, the experience of other nations
with high- speed rail systems suggests
that high- speed rail can deliver measur-able
reductions in intercity automobile
traffic— reductions that, while small in
absolute terms, can have a significant
14 Next Stop: California
impact on reducing traffic congestion. In
addition, there are some examples from
overseas in which high- speed rail has made
a bigger impact in reducing vehicle travel
by providing an alternative for long- dis-tance
commuters. California, which has
many long- distance commuters, could
experience greater reductions in vehicle
travel than other nations— provided that
development around high- speed rail sta-tions
occurs in ways that do not promote
sprawling development that requires the
use of an automobile for local trips. ( See
page 31.) Diverting travel from highways to
high- speed rail could also reduce pressure
for costly expansions of the state’s existing
freeway network.
Spain: Madrid to Seville
The introduction of high- speed rail service
between Madrid and Seville led to sig-nificant
replacement of travel via cars and
buses. Prior to the opening of the line, car
travel accounted for 60 percent of the trips
between the two cities ( which are approxi-mately
330 miles apart), with conventional
rail service accounting for 14 percent. After
the introduction of high- speed rail, rail
transportation came to serve 54 percent of
the market, with car travel reduced to 34
percent of all trips. 37
France: Paris to Lyon
The initiation of France’s first high- speed
rail service between Paris and Lyon
( which are separated by a distance of ap-proximately
240 miles) in 1981 led to a
significant decrease in car travel between
the two cities. Between 1981 and 1984,
the percentage of trips between the cities
made by car declined from 29 percent to
21 percent. 38
Sweden
In contrast to other European countries
that have used high- speed rail to supplant
air service, Sweden used the initiation
of its high- speed rail service to better
connect residents of outlying towns less
than two hours away with the nation’s
capital and primary economic engine,
Stockholm. By so doing, Sweden pro-vided
an appealing new option to com-muters,
reducing the share of commuting
by car. In 1993, prior to the initiation of
high- speed “ tilting train” service on the
Stockholm– Eskilstuna line, 91 percent of
travelers in the corridor went by private
vehicle; by 2000, the percentage had
declined to 65 percent, with the other
35 percent of travelers using high- speed
rail. 39 The switch from car to rail was
greatest among those living near the sta-tions,
and resulted in more residents in
those areas choosing not to own cars.
High- Speed Rail Saves
Energy and Protects the
Environment
California’s transportation system is heav-ily
dependent on oil and is a major con-tributor
to both global warming and the
state’s persistent air pollution problems.
Despite operating over aging infrastructure, Amtrak’s Acela
Express near- high- speed rail service on the East Coast competes
effectively with air travel. Credit: Kyle Gradinger
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 15
California annually emits more carbon di-oxide
than all but 18 nations in the world. 41
Meanwhile, despite decades of improve-ment
in the quality of our air, California
still has the four smoggiest cities in the
country, with levels of air pollution that put
millions of residents at risk of reduced lung
function and even premature death. 42
High- speed rail has the potential to curb
transportation energy use and pollution.
Other nations are realizing that potential,
benefiting from the energy savings and
emission reductions that result from their
investment in advanced rail systems.
High- speed rail delivers energy sav-ings
by replacing trips that would have
been taken by car or airplane. High- speed
rail may also have secondary energy- sav-ing
impacts by encouraging patterns of
development— including greater concen-tration
of residential or business activity
near high- speed rail stations— that reduce
the distance of trips made in day- to- day
travel.
Rail travel— particularly on electric
trains— has some inherent energy- saving
advantages compared with cars or air-planes.
Both cars and airplanes are, at the
moment, completely reliant on oil, whereas
trains can be powered by electricity gen-erated
from a variety of fuels, including
renewable energy. Electric motors are also
inherently more energy efficient than the
internal combustion engines used in cars
and trucks, which dissipate much of the
energy in their fuel as heat. High- speed
rail also competes favorably in terms of
energy consumption with short- haul air-craft,
which expend much of their energy
on takeoff. ( See page 7.)
Assessing the energy savings delivered
by high- speed rail is challenging, and
Korea’s KTX high- speed rail system reduces congestion on the nation’s crowded highway network.
Credit: Haniel Francesca
16 Next Stop: California
researchers come to different conclusions.
The degree of energy savings depends on
a complex interaction of speed, ridership,
the source of energy used, and many other
factors— as well as the emissions assumed
to come from competing modes of travel.
For example, a train that moves at high
speeds might consume more energy per seat
than a slower train. But if the higher speeds
mean that the service is more attractive and
more of the seats on the train are filled, the
faster train may be more energy efficient
on a per- passenger basis and may deliver a
larger total energy savings.
Construction of high- speed rail is ex-pected
to play a role in helping the state to
meet its goal of reducing global warming
pollution to 1990 levels by 2020.43 The
experience of nations with high- speed
rail lines suggests that high- speed rail can
make a meaningful contribution to achiev-ing
that goal, while also saving energy and
reducing dependence on oil.
Energy Savings on European
High- Speed Rail Lines
Europe’s high- speed rail lines deliver sig-nificant
energy savings when compared
to flying or driving. Passengers traveling
on high- speed trains for a typical Monday
morning trip from London to Paris use
one- third as much energy as traveling by
automobile and 30 percent as much energy
as flying ( see Figure 5). Passengers travel-ing
high speed trains between Madrid and
Barcelona use 28 percent as much energy
traveling by automobile and 30 percent as
much energy as flying. ( See Figure 5.) 44
Energy Savings in Japan
Even greater energy savings are achieved
in Japan, whose Shinkansen system is esti-mated
to consume one- quarter the energy
of air transportation and one- sixth the
energy of automobiles on a per- passenger
basis. 46 Japan has continually improved the
energy efficiency of the Shinkansen, with
the latest, most energy- efficient trains
consuming 32 percent less energy than the
original Shinkansen trains, even though
they are capable of traveling 43 miles per
hour faster. 47
Emission Reductions from
High- Speed Rail in Europe
and Japan
High- speed rail systems around the world
also reduce emissions of harmful pollutants
compared to other forms of travel. Because
high- speed rail is more energy efficient
and can use electricity generated from
less- polluting forms of energy, it often
delivers large reductions in air pollutant
emissions.
Future High- Speed Rail Improvements in Europe
Will Reduce Car Travel
A s Europe’s high- speed rail network grows, a sizeable share of the new trips taken
are expected to be by former car drivers. A study conducted for the International
Union of Railways estimated that proposed extensions of Western Europe’s high-speed
rail network would accommodate 57 billion additional passenger- miles of
travel in 2020. Of that amount, 18 billion passenger- miles ( or 32 percent) would have
been traveled by car if expanded high- speed rail service were not available. 40 Europe
expects that high- speed rail will play an important role in reducing travel— and
congestion— on the continent’s highways.
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 17
High- speed rail lines in Europe produce
dramatic reductions in emissions of carbon
dioxide— the leading contributor to global
warming— compared to other forms of
travel. For a typical Monday morning busi-ness
trip, emission reductions compared
with air travel range from 77 percent for a
trip between Frankfurt and Basel, Switzer-land,
to 96 percent for a trip from Paris to
Marseille. ( See Figure 6, next page.)
The carbon dioxide emission reductions
from high- speed rail can add up quickly.
Spain’s national railway estimates that the
Madrid- Barcelona high- speed rail line
averted a quarter- million metric tons of
carbon dioxide in its first year of operation,
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
London -
Paris
London -
Brussels
Paris -
Marseille
Madrid -
Barcelona
Amsterdam
- Dusseldorf
Frankfurt -
Basel
Liter Gasoline/ Passenger
Train
Car
Aircraft
Figure 5: Energy Consumption of Trains, Cars, and Aircraft Traveling Between European
Cities, Monday Morning Trip45
Reducing Oil Dependence with High- Speed Rail
C alifornia’s transportation system is highly dependent on oil. Fully 99 percent of
the energy used to power California’s transportation system comes from petro-leum.
48 That dependence on oil— not only for cars but also for airplanes, trucks and
trains— leaves California residents and businesses at the mercy of volatile world oil
markets, erodes our energy independence, and hurts our economy.
High- speed rail lines generally operate on electricity, which can be generated
from a variety of sources. By building high- speed rail, California will reduce its
dependence on oil for transportation— a sound, long- term investment in the
state’s economic future.
18 Next Stop: California
the equivalent of taking more than 45,000
of today’s American cars off the road. 50
High- speed rail also curbs emissions of
air pollutants that contribute to the for-mation
of smog and cause human health
problems. Factoring in emissions from
generation of the electricity used to power
the trains, the train between Frankfurt
and Basel emits approximately 18.1 times
less particulate matter per passenger than
automobiles and 6.5 times less particulate
matter per passenger than aircraft. ( See
Figure 7.) France’s high- speed TGV be-tween
Paris and Marseille emits approxi-mately
46.2 times fewer nitrogen oxides
per passenger than automobiles and 31.9
fewer nitrogen oxides per passenger than
aircraft. ( See Figure 8.)
It is important to note that emissions
from high- speed rail service depend criti-cally
on the mix of energy sources used to
generate the electricity that powers the
trains. France and Japan, for example,
have electricity systems that are heav-ily
dependent on nuclear power, which
produces no direct emissions of global
warming pollution or conventional air pol-lutants,
thereby magnifying the emission
reductions delivered by high- speed rail.
Other nations, however, are reducing the
environmental impact of high- speed rail
through the use of renewable energy— a
much smarter long- term energy solution
than nuclear power— and California can
follow suit. ( See “ Powering High- Speed
Rail with Renewable Energy,” page 20.)
High- Speed Rail Is Safe
and Reliable
As California’s population increases, more
and more people will demand safe and
reliable transportation. While air travel
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
London -
Paris
London -
Brussels
Paris -
Marseille
Madrid -
Barcelona
Amsterdam
- Dusseldorf
Frankfurt -
Basel
Kilograms/ Passenger
Train
Car
Aircraft
Figure 6: Carbon Dioxide Emissions of Trains, Cars, and Aircraft Traveling Between
European Cities49
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 19
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
London -
Paris
London -
Brussels
Paris -
Marseille
Madrid -
Barcelona
Amsterdam
- Dusseldorf
Frankfurt -
Basel
Grams/ Passenger
Train
Car
Aircraft
Figure 7: Particulate Matter Emissions of Trains, Cars, and Aircraft Traveling Between
European Cities, Monday Morning Journey51
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
London -
Paris
London -
Brussels
Paris -
Marseille
Madrid -
Barcelona
Amsterdam -
Dusseldorf
Frankfurt -
Basel
Grams/ Passenger
Train
Car
Aircraft
Figure 8: Nitrogen Oxide Emissions of Trains, Cars, and Aircraft Traveling Between
European Cities, Monday Morning Journey52
20 Next Stop: California
in America is relatively safe, save for rare
disasters, car travel is a major killer in
California and elsewhere. In 2008, more
than 3,400 people died on California’s
highways— a big improvement over previ-ous
years, but still shockingly high. 57
Meanwhile, delays plague many forms of
transportation, such as cars and planes. As
noted earlier ( see page 6), air travel at major
airports such as those in San Francisco and
Los Angeles is extremely prone to delays,
while the prospect of freeway congestion
can force drivers to either allocate extra
time to their trips or risk having to change
their schedules, cancel appointments, or
miss important meetings.
High- speed rail can provide Californians
with a safe and reliable way to reach their
destinations in other cities on time.
Rail Safety in France and Japan
High- speed rail systems can be engineered
to be extraordinarily safe. Accidents on
high- speed rail systems are possible and
have occurred— the most notorious of
which was the derailment of an Intercity
Express train in Eschede, Germany, in
1998 that killed 101 people. But the world’s
two oldest and most well- traveled high-speed
rail lines— the Japanese Shinkansen
and French TGV— have posted impressive
safety records.
In Japan, no passenger has ever been
injured or killed due to an accident,
such as derailment or collision, on the
Shinkansen during its 46 years of service,
despite carrying more than 340 million
passengers per year. 58 The Shinkansen
employs automatic train control, which
will automatically decelerate or halt the
train based on the conditions of the route
ahead and distance to preceding trains. 59
Of particular importance to Californians,
the Shinkansen system is also equipped
with a rapid earthquake alarm system that
automatically brings trains to a rapid halt
when seismic activity is detected.
Similarly, in France, no passenger has
ever been killed due to an accident caused
by the TGV in high- speed operation
Powering High- Speed Rail with Renewable Energy
C alifornia can maximize the environmental benefits of high- speed rail by powering
the system with renewable energy. The California High- Speed Rail Authority
has set a goal of supplying 100 percent of the energy for the system from renewable
sources such as wind and solar power, with the energy either generated on site or
purchased from utilities. A 2008 report estimated that the additional cost of an en-tirely
renewable rail system would be as little as 86 cents per ticket, and could be even
lower if recent trends of declining prices for wind and solar power continue. 53
High- speed rail systems in other parts of the world are also increasing their
reliance on renewable energy. Swedish Rail now purchases 100 percent of its
electricity from renewable sources such as hydroelectric and wind power, a step
that has reduced the per- mile carbon impact of its rail system by 99 percent. 54
As of 2005, Spain obtained 18.4 percent of the electricity for its railways and
Italy obtained 14.7 percent from renewable energy. 55 By 2008, Spain’s national
railway was obtaining 23 percent of its rail traction energy from renewable sources,
largely due to an increase in the amount of renewable energy on the Spanish grid. 56
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 21
during its 29 years of service, despite
ridership of 48 million passengers per
year. 60 In France, TGV railcars are de-signed
such that adjacent TGV cars rest
atop a shared two- axle connector, which
decreases weight and increases speed, but
also prevents the cars from dangerously
jack- knifing during a collision as would a
conventional train.
Reliability in Europe and Japan
High- speed rail lines also have fewer and
shorter delays due in part to the ability
to travel in poor visibility conditions and
most weather.
Car travel and air travel are notoriously
unreliable. Automobile travel can be de-layed
or made impossible by bad weather,
and more often ( at least in California) by
heavy traffic congestion. Air travel faces
similar problems. Airplanes neither depart
nor land in airports that have poor visibility
or weather conditions, causing flights to
depart after their scheduled time, circle the
airport upon arrival waiting for weather to
clear, or temporarily land at another air-port.
Because America’s air transportation
system is integrated, flights in California
can be delayed by weather conditions or
airport congestion half a continent away.
High- speed rail systems have delivered
impressive records of reliability. In Japan,
the average train delay on the Tokaido
Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka— by far
the busiest high- speed rail route in the na-tion—
is 36 seconds. 61 This includes delays
caused by rain, typhoons or snowfall.
Trains traveling between London and
Paris arrive within 15 minutes of their
scheduled arrival more than 90 percent of
the time, compared with 70 percent of the
time for airplanes. 62
The high speed rail between Madrid
and Seville is so reliable that the operator
company Renfe refunds the entire cost of
the ticket if the train is responsible for ar-riving
more than five minutes late; less than
0.3 percent of tickets are refunded. 63
High- Speed Rail Boosts
the Economy
The arrival of high- speed rail alters the
economic geography of a region. Places
that had once been difficult to reach – due
to distance, congestion or lack of an ef-ficient
transportation link— suddenly
become easily accessible. The calculus
behind countless individual and business
decisions— where to locate, how to travel,
when to travel— is changed dramatically.
As a result, high- speed rail has broad,
and often difficult to quantify, economic
impacts.
To begin to understand the impact of
high- speed rail on the economy, it is best
to start from the center and work outwards,
beginning with job creation in construc-tion
of the line, then addressing economic
growth in areas with stations, and looking
finally at the broader economy.
Construction Jobs in England,
France, Hong Kong and Spain
High- speed rail systems require vast
amounts of labor to create— from the
professional services required to plan,
design and finance the system right down
to the work of pouring the concrete and
lay the rails. Perhaps the biggest source of
job creation is in the actual construction
of the system.
Surprisingly little information exists
about the number of short- term construc-tion
jobs created in previous high- speed
rail projects around the world. What is
known is that rail construction is more
labor- intensive than highway construction,
meaning that investments in rail can create
more jobs than investment in highways. 65
The limited information available suggests
that construction of a high- speed rail line
creates thousands of short- term jobs.
• At the peak of construction, the
Channel Tunnel employed more than
10,000 workers on the English side. 66
22 Next Stop: California
About 8,000 people were involved in
construction of the Channel Tunnel
Rail Link. 67
• Hong Kong’s high- speed rail line is
projected to create 5,000 jobs during
construction and another 10,000 dur-ing
operation. 68
• The planned expansion of Spain’s
AVE high- speed rail system is ex-pected
to create 30,000 construction
jobs. 69
In addition to the creation of short-term
construction jobs, high- speed rail
investments can spark the development of
companies to manufacture rail cars and
other equipment. Countries that made early
investments in high- speed rail— including
Japan, France, Spain and Germany— also
happen to be countries with companies that
are leaders in manufacturing of high- speed
trains and equipment. Germany- based
Siemens, for example, is a major producer
of high- speed rail equipment. The com-pany
also owns a manufacturing facility
in Sacramento, which produces light rail
transit cars, and has purchased land adja-cent
to the plant in hopes of possibly manu-facturing
high- speed rail systems there. 70
Another manufacturer of high- speed rail
equipment, Alstom, also has a California
presence, operating a facility on Mare Is-land
to refurbish Amtrak trains. 71
High- Speed Rail Creates
New Opportunities for
Development Near Stations
High- speed rail stations bring with them
the potential for economic development,
serving as an attractive location for stores
and offices and increasing land values in the
near vicinity. The success of development
near high- speed rail stations, however,
depends on where the stations are located
and the quality of planning for station- area
development. A high- speed rail line built in
a lightly traveled corridor, or with stations
High- Speed Rail Investment in China
T he idea that investment in high- speed rail can spur job creation and reinvigorate
the economy is not limited to the United States. China, driven by concerns
about factory unemployment during the recent global recession, has embarked on
the world’s most ambitious program of high- speed rail construction— creating jobs
today while laying the groundwork for future economic growth.
The Chinese plan includes the construction of 42 high- speed rail lines. When
the recession hit, China accelerated the timetable for finishing the system from
2020 to 2012, dedicating $ 100 billion to the project. More than 100,000 workers
are involved in construction of the line connecting China’s two largest cities,
Beijing and Shanghai. 64
China’s rapidly accumulating experience with high- speed rail also makes it a
leading candidate to export rail technology to other countries.
The scale and speed of China’s high- speed rail effort would be impossible
to match in the United States, and may not even be advisable. But it does show
that high- speed rail has potential to create large numbers of construction jobs,
and to do so quickly.
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 23
far away from existing centers of develop-ment,
for example, is going to have less of
an economic impact than a well- designed
line with busy, accessible stations in the
midst of bustling, economically vibrant
cities.
California would benefit from more
intensive development in many center
city areas— particularly in cities that have
experienced dramatic growth in recent
decades, such as San Jose, Riverside and
Bakersfield. Focusing new commercial
development in existing downtowns
would reduce the pressure to accommo-date
growing populations in sprawling
developments and would create centers of
activity that could be served by a mix of
transportation options, including public
transit.
Extensive study of the experience with
high- speed rail in Europe and Japan leads
to several conclusions. First, high- speed
rail can act as a powerful magnet, drawing
economic activity toward areas with access
to the high- speed rail network— generally
helping to focus development in city cen-ters
rather than in exurban areas. 72 Second,
well- planned high- speed rail stations can
serve as a major catalyst for economic
growth in an area. Finally, high- speed
rail can contribute to a vibrant tourism
economy.
Japan
With Japan’s massive rail ridership, devel-opment
opportunities around Shinkansen
stations have abounded. Studies have
shown that population growth and employ-ment
in several industries increased faster
in cities with high- speed rail stations than
in those without. Property values near
high- speed rail stations increased by 67
percent. 73 Many high- speed rail stations
have become city centers, with intensive
mixed- use development and strong con-nections
to local transit networks. 74
Construction of high- speed rail lines in other countries has created thousands of jobs. Here, construc-tion
is underway on a bridge as part of Spain’s efforts to extend its high- speed rail network. Credit:
Xosema, used under Creative Commons license
24 Next Stop: California
High- speed rail stations have proven
to be such drivers of economic activity
that the railroads themselves have sought
to get in the act by intensively developing
their rail stations. Central Japan Railway
has built a complex with two 50- story
high- rises above Tokyo’s Nagoya Station,
including a 780- room hotel, department
store, offices and Japan’s largest indoor
garden. 75 The Tokyo example shows that
the revenues brought in by development
of high- speed rail station areas can be an
important part of the business model for
making high- speed rail an economically
self- sustaining enterprise.
France
France has had mixed experience with
generating economic development near
high- speed rail stations, depending chiefly
on whether it invested the necessary funds
to bring high- speed rail into city centers
or placed stations far from city centers to
save money. Some of these more remote
stations, known colloquially as “ beet field”
stations, because they were built in agricul-tural
areas, have failed to draw significant
numbers of travelers or spark significant
economic development.
In other locations, the arrival of high-speed
rail service has sparked dramatic
development near rail stations:
• The city of Lille along the France-
Belgium border used its location at a
junction of high- speed rail lines link-ing
London, Brussels and Paris as a
basis for economic revitalization. The
Lille- Europe high- speed rail station is
at the core of a multi- use development
including a shopping mall, residences,
office buildings and entertainment
venues. Office rents in the station area
are higher than in other parts of the
city, and its location along the high-speed
rail line has led to an increase in
tourist visits to the city. 76
• Lyon, which was connected with Paris
via the first TGV line in 1981, has ex-perienced
dramatic growth around its
TGV station, which was newly built
specifically for high- speed rail. By
1990, the area surrounding Lyon Part
Dieu station was attracting 60 per-cent
of new development projects in
the city. 77 The amount of office space
in the area increased by 43 percent. 78
Currently, the area surrounding Part
Dieu station hosts 5.3 million square
feet of office space, 1,000 hotel rooms
and 20,000 jobs. 79
• Cities with more recent access to
high- speed rail have experienced
similar development. Office space near
high- speed rail stations in cities such
as Le Mans, Nantes and Vendome
High- speed rail stations have the potential to
attract many forms of development, including
offices, hotels, retail stores and entertainment
venues. Above, the 50- story- plus JR Towers
rise above Tokyo’s Nagoya rail station.
Credit: Steve Boland, Nelson/ Nygaard
Consulting Associates
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 25
attracts a 20 percent rent premium
compared to areas farther away. 80 In
Le Mans, the new high- speed rail
station was integrated into a business
center development that now hosts 80
companies and 2,500 jobs. 81
• Strasbourg will soon be at the center
of a high- speed rail connection link-ing
France to Germany and Eastern
Europe, and the city is looking to
capitalize on its position by redevelop-ing
several areas of the city, planning
to add at least 6,000 housing units as
well as commercial development. 82
Spain
The city of Lleida, between Madrid and
Barcelona, has succeeded in attracting new
business and tourism since completion of
the high- speed rail link between the two
major cities during the mid- 2000s. Lleida
has experienced a 15 percent increase in
tourism and has used its proximity to high-speed
rail to lure investment from Micro-soft
and other high- tech companies. 83
Ciudad Real, a small city about an hour
outside of Madrid by high- speed rail, has
experienced growth as it has developed
into a long- distance commuter town and
regional business and university center.
Recently, the city has seen the opening of
a new airport linked directly to the high-speed
rail line.
Italy
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the open-ing
of a new rail station leads to a 30 to 40
percent increase in property values in the
immediate area. 84
Great Britain
The recent initiation of high- speed rail
service between London and the English
Channel creates new opportunities for
development. By 2020, for example, it is
estimated that 60 million passengers per
year will pass through the area of London’s
St. Pancras International high- speed rail
station and the adjacent King’s Cross sta-tion,
which provides regional rail service. 85
The area is currently the focus of a massive
redevelopment effort, which includes as
many as 2,500 new homes, hotels, offices
and cultural venues, with the area eventu-ally
accommodating 30,000 jobs. 86
Meanwhile, outlying stations are also
being targeted for mixed- use development.
Ebbsfleet station, for example, is the anchor
for development that is anticipated to add as
many as 10,000 units of housing and 25,000
new jobs over the next several decades. 87
The city of Lille, France, has used its strategic
position at the intersection of high- speed rail lines
serving London, Paris and Brussels as a catalyst for
new development. Above, a public art installation
sits in front of an office tower built directly above
the Lille Europe high- speed rail station. Credit:
Simon Schoeters
26 Next Stop: California
The high- speed rail station in Stratford
will be a main entry point for visitors to
the nearby Olympic Park when London
hosts the summer Olympic Games in
2012. High- speed trains will whisk 25,000
visitors every hour from central London
to Stratford in approximately 7 minutes. 88
After the games, the athletes’ Olympic
Village will be converted into permanent
housing as part of a massive redevelopment
project designed to take advantage of the
area’s transportation connections, includ-ing
its proximity to central London via
high- speed rail.
High- Speed Rail Has Broader
Economic Benefits
High- speed rail can spark development
around train stations, but what about
California’s economy as a whole? Tradi-tional
economic analyses of high- speed
rail investments, including many analyses
of high- speed rail lines abroad, focus solely
on transportation benefits— for example, the
amount of time and money saved by travel-ing
via rail versus other modes. But recent
research suggests that the non- transporta-tion
economic benefits of high- speed rail
investments may be just as important.
High- speed rail and other transporta-tion
investments put more people and
businesses in closer connection to one
another, with potentially significant gains
in productivity. Economists have long
studied the benefits of “ agglomeration”
— the gains in productivity that result from
concentrations of industries or people.
Economic research shows that industries
benefit in many ways from locating near
other, similar businesses— a phenomenon
that explains the dominance of the film
industry in Hollywood or high- tech in-dustry
in Silicon Valley. 89 Similarly, some
economists believe that large metropolitan
areas with diverse economies are more
productive than smaller cities. Studies
have estimated that doubling the size of a
city increases economic productivity by 3
to 8 percent. 90
High- speed rail in California would ease
connections between people and businesses
across the state. With a California high-speed
rail network, for example, downtown
areas of cities such as Riverside, Anaheim
and Irvine will be extremely close, travel
time- wise, to downtown Los Angeles ( and
to one another). If the areas around transit
stations are developed in such a way as to
attract business development, these cities
could benefit economically without add-ing
to problems such as sprawl or traffic
congestion.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to measure
the degree to which high- speed rail— as op-posed
to other factors— has made regions
or nations more economically competitive.
A few studies have determined that high-speed
rail can lead to broader economic
benefits in a given region or country, while
more anecdotal evidence finds that high-speed
rail has forged new connections
among people and businesses— connec-tions
that can help spur economic growth
in today’s “ knowledge economy.”
London’s rebuilt St. Pancras International Station ( above)
serves as the departure point for international Eurostar
trains to Paris and Brussels, and is also a core element of
an urban redevelopment effort that will create thousands
of residential units and tens of thousands of jobs. Credit:
Matt Buck, matttbuck. irongalaxy. com
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 27
Germany
The completion of a new high- speed rail
line between Frankfurt and Cologne pro-vided
new service to intermediate stations
in the towns of Limburg and Montabaur,
which had previously been difficult to
reach. Researchers have estimated that
the counties surrounding those two towns
experienced a 2.7 percent increase in their
gross domestic product as a result of the
increased access to markets provided by
high- speed rail. Interestingly, the eco-nomic
growth associated with high- speed
rail came before the line entered into ser-vice,
as businesses and individuals changed
their economic behavior in anticipation
of the arrival of high- speed rail. Based on
their results, the researchers project that
every 1 percent increase in market access
delivered by high- speed rail will result in a
0.25 percent increase in economic activity
in a region. 91
England
In England, construction of the nation’s
first high- speed rail line, completed in
2007, is projected to lead to $ 26 billion in
net economic benefits over a 60- year span.
Among the benefits identified in the study
were “ regeneration” benefits ( benefits re-sulting
from development spurred by the
high- speed line), as well as agglomeration
effects and changes in the labor market. 92
Japan and Korea
One way to get a sense of the economic
impact of high- speed rail is to look at who
is riding it. If a high- speed rail line is only
being used by people who had previously
made the same trip via other modes of
transportation, its economic impact will be
very limited. However, when new travelers
start to use high- speed rail for business
trips, tourism or commuting, it is a good
signal that high- speed rail is spurring
broader changes in the economy.
Korea Train eXpress ( KTX) began ser-vice
in 2004, linking the capital of Seoul
with the coastal cities of Busan and Mokpo,
and providing an alternative to travel on
increasingly congested highways. The
number of one- day business trips in Korea
has increased as a result of high- speed rail. 93
Evidence in Japan suggests that high- speed
rail has promoted the centralization of
certain service industries in large cities
such as Tokyo and Osaka and encouraged
business trips. 94
France
In France, travel along the Paris- Lyon cor-ridor
jumped dramatically following the
introduction of high- speed rail service. 95
Nearly half of all travel between Paris and
Lyon was estimated to be trips that had not
occurred prior to the introduction of high-speed
rail service. 96 Overall travel between
various outlying cities and Paris increased
significantly following connection to the
TGV network, with business travel in-creasing
on some corridors as well. 97
High- Speed Rail Is Often
Economically Self Sufficient
As California moves toward the creation
of a high- speed rail network at a time of
extreme economic difficulty, one worry is
that a high- speed rail network would be a
financial albatross, requiring continuing
economic subsidy from taxpayers.
The experience of high- speed rail
lines around the world has good news
and cautionary news for California. The
cautionary news is that high- speed rail in-frastructure
rarely “ pays for itself” directly,
in the sense that fare revenue is sufficient
to pay for the initial costs of construction.
Much like other government infrastructure
investments— from highways to airports to
water systems— the purpose of investment
in high- speed rail isn’t to make a profit, but
rather to lay the foundation for a vigorous
economy and a high quality of life.
28 Next Stop: California
The good news, however, is that well-designed
high- speed rail lines around the
world frequently turn an operating profit,
meaning that they make enough money in
fares to pay for their ongoing operation. In
the very best cases, high- speed rail lines
have been able to completely pay off the
initial cost of construction through fare
revenue. And in many cases, profits from
high- speed rail operations can subsidize
other important, if less profitable, forms
of rail service.
The experience abroad suggests that
California can expect high- speed service
to pay for its ongoing cost of operation,
though it may take a few years for the line
to achieve its full ridership potential.
France— TGV Paris- Lyon
France’s first high- speed rail line, the
TGV service from Paris to Lyon, proved
itself to be a financial success. The line
turned an operating profit shortly after
it was launched and paid back the cost
of construction within 12 years. 102 In
France, profitable high- speed rail service
is often used to subsidize money- losing
regional service, preserving broad access
to passenger rail. In 2008, amidst record
ridership during the worldwide spike in
oil prices, the French state- owned rail
company, SNCF, performed so well that it
paid a dividend of $ 190 million to French
taxpayers. 103
Despite more recent setbacks, including
High- Speed Rail and Tourism
H igh- speed rail has been shown to have a positive impact on tourism in several
nations.
• In France, the city of Nantes saw a large increase in tourism investment, with
a 43 percent increase in hotel rooms in the central part of the city in the years
following opening of the TGV. 98 Other cities and regions in France have ex-perienced
similar effects, with new hotel developments around high- speed rail
stations. 99
• In England, completion of the Channel Tunnel has been shown to increase
tourism to London. 100
• In Japan, the arrival of high- speed rail has been linked to hotel development. In
the city of Kakegawa, the opening of a new station along an existing high- speed
rail line contributed to the opening of five new hotels and boosted the local
economy. 101
Some analysts suggest that the number of visitors isn’t the only thing that
changes when high- speed rail reaches a tourist destination— the type of travel-ers
changes as well. Some research suggests that a greater share of visits are “ day
trips,” since getting to and from tourist destinations is much easier. This may
result in increased tourism visits, but fewer nights spent in hotels. A similar effect
has been observed for business travel.
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 29
the economic crisis and higher track- use
fees charged by the infrastructure company
that owns the tracks over which the TGV
must run, 80 percent of TGV services con-tinue
to break even or make money. 104
Japan
The original Tokaido Shinkansen line,
linking Tokyo and Osaka, has been highly
profitable, paying back its construction
costs within approximately a decade. 105
The Sanyo Shinkansen line from Osaka
to Fukuoka, which opened between 1972
and 1975, delivers an operating profit to the
line’s owner, West Japan Railway, which
has steadily been retiring debt from its
acquisition of the line in 1997.106
U. S. East Coast
Depending on the method of accounting
used, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor trains
run at an operating profit. 107 According to
a recent analysis, Amtrak’s Acela Express
service on the Northeast Corridor turned
an operating profit of $ 41 per passenger, or
$ 220 million in 2008.108 The Acela Express
succeeds financially because it provides
an attractive, comfortable and fast travel
experience in a densely populated corridor,
where Amtrak can charge fares that are
comparable to those charged for air travel.
As is the case in France and other nations,
highly profitable high- speed rail service
generates revenue to subsidize less- profit-able
routes elsewhere.
Spain
According to Spain’s national railway, the
high- speed AVE network turns an operat-ing
profit. 109 In both France and Spain, the
high- speed lines are the only parts of the
national railway system that recover their
operating costs, since the high- speed trains
can carry large numbers of passengers
at prices that compete with airline fares,
particularly for first- class or business class
seating. 110
High- Speed Rail, Transit
and Land Use
California faces important decisions about
its future growth. It can continue to en-courage
sprawling forms of development
that take up vast amounts of open space
and commit residents to dependence on the
automobile for most daily trips. Or it can
build compact communities where most
travel can be done on foot or by public
transportation, reducing our dependence
on oil and our contribution to global
warming.
High- speed rail, in and of itself, cannot
change California’s land- use patterns. In
fact, high- speed rail is better understood as
putting an exclamation point on whatever
vision of future development the state oth-erwise
promotes. As one study of develop-ment
around French TGV stations put it:
“ The TGV accelerates or amplifies what
are already favorable or unfavorable factors.
It does not create them from nothing.” 111
If California opts to pursue a future
of automobile dependence and sprawl, it
can design a high- speed rail system that
accelerates that vision— locating stations
in undeveloped areas, with access only by
automobile, and surrounding those stations
with low- density bedroom neighborhoods.
( Even then, high- speed rail would be a bet-ter
alternative than expanding highways,
which generate sprawl along their entire
length, rather than only at stations located
many miles apart.)
But, high- speed rail can also be used
to accelerate more sustainable forms of
development, creating vibrant new centers
of activity and commerce, and anchoring
well- planned new neighborhoods that
include a walkable mix of residential and
commercial uses that are well- connected
to the rest of the region via public trans-portation.
The question of how to integrate
high- speed rail into the transportation
and land- use vision of a region has been
30 Next Stop: California
important everywhere that high- speed rail
lines have been built. But it is absolutely
critical in California. The competitive
success of high- speed rail depends on
the easy accessibility of high- speed rail
stations via both automobile and transit.
And high- speed rail’s value as an economic
development tool depends on stations be-ing
well integrated into the fabric of their
cities. As California builds high- speed
rail, it is important that it does so in ways
that forward a vision of a more livable and
sustainable state.
High- Speed Rail and Local Transit
High- speed rail’s ability to compete against
automobile and rail travel depends upon the
accessibility of stations to a wide variety of
travelers, both those arriving at the station
via public transportation and those arriving
by car. A study conducted of airport choice
in the London metropolitan area found
that airport accessibility is the number one
factor affecting airport choice— that is,
that people are more likely to fly out of the
airport that is most accessible to them. 112
The same dynamic is likely to hold true in
California as residents consider whether to
travel between cities by air, rail or car. If it
is easier and faster for Los Angeles travel-ers
to get to LAX than the high- speed rail
station, and fares are similar, many will
choose to fly rather than ride, minimizing
the benefits resulting from California’s
investment in high- speed rail.
Nations have used a variety of tools to
provide accessible high- speed rail service
to the broadest possible range of travels.
Many of the principal cities in those na-tions—
cities such as Paris, London and To-kyo—
already had extensive transit systems
prior to the introduction of high- speed
rail. But other cities have used the arrival
of high- speed rail to expand access to their
transit systems and to leverage improve-ments
in transit service. According to one
study of high- speed rail in Europe: “ Across
mainland Europe, there is evidence of very
careful integration of local/ regional trans-port
networks with high- speed rail, which
means that the high- speed station should
form a major interchange point.” 113
France: Expanding Trams and
Regional Rail
France has seen a dramatic expansion in the
number of local light rail systems, even in
relatively small cities. As of 2009, France
had 20 city tram systems ( similar to light
rail or streetcars) in cities outside of Paris,
nearly all of them built since 1985, and most
in cities with TGV connections. 114
French cities have used the arrival
of the TGV to reorganize and improve
transportation connections. The city of Le
Mans, for example, was linked to the TGV
system in 1989. The city built a new tram
line in 2007, which links the TGV station
with destinations within the city. Now, Le
Mans is redeveloping the rail station into
a multi- modal transportation hub, relocat-ing
the city’s bus station to the rail hub,
Japan is one of several countries that have built high- speed
rail stations in city centers, magnifying the potential of
high- speed rail to promote compact, sustainable develop-ment.
Above, a Japanese Shinkansen high- speed train
travels through the Ginza District of Tokyo, the city’s
exclusive shopping district. Credit: Steve Boland, Nel-son/
Nygaard Consulting Associates
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 31
expanding automobile parking at the station,
installing bike racks, and building a new
pedestrian square. 115 Research in France
suggests that the degree of integration of
a station into local public transportation
networks has a direct, and sometimes dra-matic,
influence on the choices individuals
make for how to access those stations, with
better- integrated stations drawing a larger
share of travelers to the stations via public
transportation or on foot. 116
In addition to providing improved local
transit service, France has also invested in
improved regional rail service to bring fast,
efficient rail service within the reach of a
greater share of the population. 117
Great Britain: Using High- Speed Rail
to Improve Regional Service
High- speed rail lines can also be used to
improve the quality of regional commuter
rail service, which plays a vital role in re-ducing
congestion in metropolitan areas.
High- speed rail investments can do this in
two ways: by diverting traffic from existing
rail lines, enabling them to operate more
efficiently, or by creating new high- speed
infrastructure that is shared by both local
and intercity service.
High- speed rail systems around the
world have taken both approaches— some
by creating dedicated rail lines used only by
high- speed trains and others by enabling
the improved infrastructure of high- speed
rail lines to be used by both local and re-gional
service.
Great Britain, which saw the opening
of its high- speed rail link between London
and the Channel Tunnel in 2007, is using
its investment in high- speed rail to improve
both commuter and freight service to the
southeastern portion of the country. In late
2009, high- speed regional rail service was
inaugurated in southeast England, provid-ing
200 trains per day linking 21 stations
with London’s St. Pancras International
station. 118 Early results from “ preview”
service offered prior to the launch of
full- fledged high- speed rail suggest that
the new service will displace numerous car
commutes. During the preview period, 8
percent of high- speed rail riders switched
from driving. 119
The new service will dramatically
reduce travel times for commuters to
London. The new line is also likely to be
opened to freight traffic, reducing conges-tion
on existing rail lines.
High- Speed Rail, Commuting
and Land Use
One significant concern about high-speed
rail in California is that it could
contribute to further suburban sprawl,
which consumes vast amounts of land and
leads to increased automobile use and oil
consumption. In the worst- case scenario,
high- speed rail stations would be located
in undeveloped areas, accessed primarily
by car, and surrounded by low- density
development.
In some ways, the experience abroad is
reassuring. While there are some examples
( see below) of outlying cities becoming
“ commuter towns” for major metropolitan
Lyon is one of many French cities that have build new
tram ( streetcar) lines to connect residents of the city and
provide improved access to TGV high- speed rail stations.
The tram above carries passengers to Lyon’s Perrache
TGV station. Credit: Marcel Marchon
32 Next Stop: California
areas, there is little evidence that high-speed
rail has contributed to sprawl. 120
In addition, high- speed rail has some
characteristics that make it less likely to
produce sprawl than alternative transporta-tion
options such as freeways. First, unlike
freeways, which have multiple exits, often
spaced a few miles apart, there will be very
few access points for California’s high-speed
rail network. While there are nearly
6,000 freeway exits in California, there will
be only 26 proposed stations on the state’s
high- speed rail network. 121 As a result, any
new development sparked by high- speed
rail is likely to be more concentrated than
that created by new freeway construction.
Second, depending on the pricing policy
followed, commuting via high- speed rail
could be expensive, and therefore out of the
reach of many would- be commuters.
Indeed, to the extent that high- speed rail
attracts existing long- distance commuters,
it may actually help to address some of the
problems associated with sprawl. California
has many existing long- distance commut-ers
who could potentially switch to high-speed
rail for at least part of their journeys.
For example, in 2000, there were 7,500
residents of Stockton and 300 residents of
Merced who commuted to the Bay Area
for their jobs. 122
Evidence from around the world sug-gests
that high- speed rail can facilitate
commuting, but that commuters make up
a small share of high- speed rail travelers.
Since travel between many of the city pairs
that would be served by the California
high- speed rail network— particularly
within the Bay Area and Southern Califor-nia—
will be possible within an hour or less,
it will be vital for California communities
and land- use planners to ensure that the
arrival of high- speed rail is accompanied
by land- use policies that ensure sustainable
Britain’s new High Speed 1 line not only provides rapid intercity connections between London
and Paris, but it also accommodates high- speed commuter trains serving southeastern England
( above). Credit: Matt Buck, matttbuck. irongalaxy. com
High- Speed Rail: Experiences from Around the World 33
development in communities with new
stations.
Korea and Japan
Korea and Japan have both taken steps to
encourage commuters to use high- speed
rail via the sale of discounted passes. In
Korea, regular users of commuter passes
account for 2.4 percent of total ridership on
the KTX system, but for some sections of
the line, the share of commuters is as high
as 37 percent. 123
In Japan, an estimated 47,000 busi-ness
people and students commute using
the Shinkansen high- speed rail. 124 While
commuters make up less than 10 percent
of the ridership on the Shinkansen system,
the number of commuters has increased
steadily over time, and the railway has
added double- decker cars to accommodate
demand during rush hours. 125
France and Spain
In France, the existence of the TGV has
led to an increase in the number of people
commuting from formerly distant provin-cial
cities and towns to the capital, Paris. In
some cases, as with the cities of Le Mans
and Tours, which are about an hour away
from Paris by TGV, the overall number
of commuters has not changed, but the
nature of commuting has: whereas business
commuters once would travel to Paris on
Monday morning and return home on Fri-day,
these commuters are now able to travel
back and forth to their jobs daily. 126
In Spain, high- speed rail has led to the
growth of towns such as Ciudad Real,
which was brought to within an hour of
Madrid by the new rail line, and which
has experienced both business growth
and an increase in the number of people
commuting from the city to Madrid. 127
Formerly a relatively isolated town in an
area of 200,000 people, Ciudad Real now
serves as many high- speed rail passengers
as the city of Cordoba, which is five times
larger. 128 Ciudad Real has experienced a
population increase of 15 percent over the
course of the past decade, with an average
of 1,000 new homes built in the city each
year. 129 Commuters between Ciudad Real
and Madrid make up one in four high-speed
rail travelers between the two cities,
while reverse commuters from Madrid to
Ciudad Real now make up one in five pas-sengers
in that direction. 130
Great Britain
In England, the construction of the high-speed
rail link between London and the
Channel Tunnel will open up new op-portunities
for rapid travel between the
towns of southeastern England and the
capital city. Because the new high- speed
rail line will accommodate both interna-tional
traffic and local commuter service,
the potential for development near outlying
stations is great.
Local and regional governments have
anticipated the arrival of high- speed rail by
developing detailed plans to focus growth
around new rail stations, and to do so in
ways that promote environmental sustain-ability.
For example, the principles for new
development near Ebbsfleet station— which
is eventually expected to create 10,000 new
homes and business development with
20,000 new jobs— include an emphasis on
redevelopment of previously used land, ex-pansion
of public transportation, provision
of open space and community facilities, and
compact, mixed- use development patterns
that “ offer the opportunity to live and work
within close proximity, reducing travel and
improving quality of life.” 131
Creation of high- speed rail service in
California could lead more Californians to
embrace long- distance commuting, bring-ing
new development pressures to bear on
more remote areas of the state. The state
should work to ensure that proper plans
are in place to ensure balanced, sustainable
development of cities with high- speed rail
stations, rather than the creation of new,
low- density residential suburbs.
34 Next Stop: California
T he experiences of nations around the
world show that California has much
to gain from its investment in high-speed
rail, but also that the impact of high-speed
rail depends upon the many decisions
that will be made in upcoming months and
years regarding the location of stations,
the construction of local transit networks,
policies to guide development around those
stations, and other issues.
To maximize the benefits of high- speed
rail, California should:
Build it – Countries around the world
that have invested in high- speed rail have
not regretted the decision, as the continued
and accelerating construction of high-speed
rail lines around the world demon-strates.
Following through on California’s
commitment to high- speed rail can create
thousands of jobs in the near term while
positioning the state to meet the economic,
transportation, energy and environmental
challenges of the 21st century. The cost of
inaction is great— committing California
to more expensive airport expansions,
greater reliance on expensive, foreign oil,
and dirtier air.
Use high- speed rail to focus fu-ture
development, not create sprawl
– Locating high- speed rail stations in city
centers, as opposed to outlying areas, and
planning for intensive commercial and
residential development near stations are
the best ways to ensure that high- speed
rail delivers on its promise of reducing
automobile congestion, curbing sprawl
and enhancing California’s economy and
quality of life. Communities receiving
high- speed rail stations have the obligation
to adopt land- use and economic develop-ment
plans that contribute to a future of
sustainable development for California.
Make high- speed rail accessible to
Californians – California should ensure
that high- speed rail stations are accessible
via a variety of transportation modes,
including automobile, public transit, bi-cycling
and walking. While automobile
accessibility is important, California
should follow the lead of other nations by
expanding public transportation services,
enabling more residents of and visitors to
California cities to get around effectively
without a car.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Conclusions and Recommendations 35
Integrate high- speed rail with im-provements
to commuter and freight
rail – Many nations with high- speed
rail systems are using those investments
to drive simultaneous improvements in
regional or commuter rail and in freight
transportation. For example, high- speed
rail- driven improvements to the Caltrain
corridor between San Francisco and San
Jose also have the potential to benefit com-muter
rail passengers, much as investment
in high- speed rail in southeastern England
has resulted in the expansion of high- speed
commuting options. The California High-
Speed Rail Authority should continue
working with commuter rail providers
to ensure that the new service comple-ments,
rather than duplicates, commuter
rail service. In addition, California should
examine the possibility of allowing freight
service on high- speed rail lines at night, as
is the practice in some other nations with
high- speed rail.
Keep clear lines of accountability – The
California High- Speed Rail Authority is
solely focused on the creation of a high-speed
rail network for the state, and it
should stay that way. Folding the authority
into Caltrans or another agency, as some
have proposed, would leave high- speed
rail competing with other modes of trans-portation
for funds and attention, which,
along with the disruption involved in bu-reaucratic
reshuffling, would threaten the
schedule for the project. Around the world,
high- speed rail projects have primarily
been undertaken by national railroads,
state- owned infrastructure firms, or con-cessionaires
dedicated to the specific task
of building the lines. To ensure that the
authority has the ability to do its work, it
should be adequately staffed and funded.
Adequate staffing is particularly important
since the authority must quickly ramp up
its activities to meet its schedule for initiat-ing
service.
Use private participation responsi-bly
– California’s Proposition 1A mandated
that a third of investment in high- speed rail
should come from the private sector. The
state must not, however, treat private inves-tors
as if it is desperate for their participa-tion.
Private contracts must make sense for
the long- term public interest, not just act
as a way to generate short- term infusions
of cash. The state must retain the right to
make decisions about fares and operations.
Private companies should be subject to at
least the same level of public disclosure as
would a state agency.
Improve lines of communication –
While maintaining the High- Speed Rail
Authority as a separate entity is important,
the authority must also take steps to im-prove
communication with government
agencies and citizens— particularly at the
local level. The authority must coordinate
with the state Department of Transporta-tion,
regional transit authorities, regional
councils of governments, metropolitan
planning organizations, mayors and groups
representing local businesses and citizens
to ensure that the state’s investment in
high- speed rail is matched by the adoption
of transportation and land- use plans that
can maximize the benefits of that invest-ment.
In addition, the authority should
conduct regularly scheduled public meet-ings
in cities that will receive high- speed
rail stations to provide a forum for public
input and a way for the authority to keep
the public informed about the progress of
the project.
Maintain budget discipline and
spending transparency – “ Megaproj-ects”
such as the California high- speed
rail system are notoriously difficult to keep
on track and on budget. Doing so requires
budget accountability and transparency at
every level. The California High- Speed
Rail Authority is already subjected to bud-
36 Next Stop: California
get oversight from the executive and leg-islative
branches, as well as its own board
( and, in the wake of the project’s receipt of
funding under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, some federal oversight
as well). In addition to preserving these
layers of oversight, the authority should
continue to provide searchable access to
details of the contracts it issues to con-sultants
and suppliers through the state’s
Reporting Transparency in Government
Web site.
Make it green – To ensure that high-speed
rail delivers the maximum environ-mental
benefits, California should ensure
that trains used on the line are as energy
efficient as possible and move forward with
plans to power the system with renewable
energy. As California builds the high- speed
rail system, it should also seek to minimize
global warming pollution associated with
construction, as well as other construction-related
environmental impacts.
Notes 37
1 Based on 2008 data from U. S.
Department of Transportation, Bureau
of Transportation Statistics, Air Carriers:
T100 Domestic Segment ( Excel workbook),
downloaded 28 January 2010. Data includes
only flights carrying passengers between
the following airports in cities to be served
by high- speed rail: Bakersfield Meadows
Field, Burbank- Glendale- Pasadena Bob
Hope Airport, Fresno Yosemite Airport,
Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario
International Airport, Palmdale Regional
Airport, Merced Airport, Modesto
Airport, Sacramento International Airport,
San Diego International Airport, San
Francisco International Airport, and
Mineta San Jose International Airport.
2 U. S. Department of Transportation,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Trans-tats,
downloaded from www. transtats. bts.
gov/, 5 March 2010.
3 Based on data for 2009 from U. S.
Department of Transportation, Bureau of
Transportation Statistics, Airline On- Time
Statistics: Summary Statistics: Origin and
Destination Airport, downloaded from www.
bts. gov/ xml/ ontimesummarystatistics/ src/
index. xml, 5 March 2010.
4 Ibid.
5 MVV Consulting and Tractebel
Engineering, European High- Speed Rail
– An Easy Way to Connect ( French), 3 June
2009. Based on average of several aircraft.
6 Ibid.
7 Tim Neville, Swiss Broadcasting
Corporation, “ Volcano in Iceland Means
Boom for Some Swiss Businesses,” swissinfo.
ch, 19 April 2010.
8 Eurostar Group, Ltd., Eurostar to Make
30,000 Seats Available at a Special Price
of £ 89 to Help Stranded Passengers ( press
release), 19 April 2010.
9 U. K. Department for Transport, The
Need for a Channel Tunnel Rail Link, down-loaded
from www. dft. gov. uk/ pgr/ rail/ pi/
ctrl/ theneedforachanneltunnelrailli1, 5
March 2010.
10 Lord Andrew Adonis, U. K. Secretary
of State for Transport, Lessons of High Speed
One, speech delivered to University of Kent
at Canterbury, 30 January 2009.
11 European Commission, Eurostat
Database: Air Passenger Transport Between
the Main Airports of the United Kingdom and
Their Main Partner Airports, downloaded
from epp. eurostat. ec. europa. eu, 25 January
2010.
Notes
38 Next Stop: California
12 Tom Chesshyre, “ A Guide to Eurostar
and St. Pancras,” Times of London, 13
October 2007.
13 Alan Hay, Kate Meredith and Roger
Vickerman, Center for European, Regional
and Transport Economics, University of
Kent, The Impact of the Channel Tunnel on
Kent: Summary Report, September 2004.
14 See note 11.
15 Ibid.
16 Chris Nash, Network Rail, High
Speed Rail Investment: An Overview of the
Literature, undated.
17 Steer Davies Gleeve, Air and Rail
Competition and Complementarity, prepared
for the European Commission, August
2006.
18 Elisabeth Rosenthal, “ High- Speed Rail
Gains Traction in Spain,” New York Times,
15 March 2010.
19 European Commission, Eurostat: Top
20 Airport Pairs Within the EU- 27 in 2007,
downloaded from epp. eurostat. ec. europa.
eu, 5 March 2010.
20 Conventional rail: Steer Davies
Gleeve, High Speed Rail: International
Comparisons, prepared for Commission for
Integrated Transport, February 2004: Car:
Based on trip time of 5: 45 between Ma-drid-
Puerta de Atocha and Barcelona Sants
rail stations from Deutche Bahn, Travel
Service: Advanced Search Options, download-ed
from reiseauskunft. bahn. de/ bin/ query.
exe/ en? rt= 1&, 5 March 2010.
21 European Commission, Eurostat
Database: Air Passenger Transport Between
the Main Airports of Spain and Their Main
Partner Airports, downloaded from epp.
eurostat. ec. europa. eu, 28 January 2010.
22 Elisabeth Rosenthal, “ High- Speed Rail
Gains Traction in Spain,” New York Times,
15 March 2010.
23 See note 21.
24 See note 17.
25 Kate Connolly, “ High- Speed Rail in
Germany: Intercity Planes are Grounded by
Faster Trains,” The Guardian, 5 August 2009.
26 Katsuhiro Yamaguchi and Kiyoshi
Yamasaki, High- Speed Inter- city Transport
System in Japan: Past, Present and Future,
Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development, November 2009.
27 Ibid.
28 Reinhart Clever, Airport and Station
Accessibility as a Determinant of Mode Choice
( dissertation), 2006.
29 Amtrak, An Interim Assessment of
Achieving Improved Trip Times on the
Northeast Corridor, 21 October 2009.
30 Amtrak, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor
Facts and Background Information, February
2009.
31 See note 17.
32 J. P. Widmer and C. Hidber, Effects
of Rail Stations at Airports in Europe,
November 1999.
33 “ International Rail Has Arrived,”
Passenger Train Journal, January 1991.
34 Andreas Eichinger and Andreas
Knorr, “ Potential and Limitations of Air-
Rail Links: A Short Overview,” Aerlines
Magazine 30.
35 Amtrak, Amtrak Fact Sheet: Fiscal
Year 2009: Maryland, downloaded from
www. amtrak. com/ pdf/ factsheets/ MARY-LAND09.
pdf, 9 March 2010; Amtrak,
Amtrak Fact Sheet: Fiscal Year 2009: New
Jersey, downloaded from www. amtrak.
com/ pdf/ factsheets/ NEWJERSEY09. pdf,
9 March 2010.
36 David Schrank and Tim Lomax, Texas
Transportation Institute, Urban Mobility
Report 2009, June 2009.
37 Steer Davies Gleeve, High Speed Rail:
International Comparisons, prepared for
Commission for Integrated Transport,
February 2004.
38 Halcrow Group Ltd., High Speed Rail
– Wider Economic Benefits Study, prepared
for Glasgow: Edinburgh Collaboration
Initiative, 16 October 2009.
39 Ana Rivas Alvarez and Oskar Froidh,
New Mobility Patterns as a Result of the High-
Speed Rail Service in Mid- Sized Towns, paper
Notes 39
presented to City Futures ’ 09 conference,
Madrid, 4- 6 June 2009.
40 Intraplan, IMTrans and INRETS,
Passenger Traffic Study 2010/ 2020: Executive
Summary, prepared for the International
Union of Railways, February 2003.
41 Based on U. S. Department of Energy,
Energy Information Administration,
International Energy Statistics, downloaded
from tonto. eia. doe. gov/ cfapps/ ipdbproject/
IEDIndex3. cfm? tid= 90& pid= 44& aid= 8, 29
March 2010 and U. S. Department of En-ergy,
Energy Information Administration,
State Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 4 February
2010.
42 American Lung Association, State of
the Air 2009, 2009.
43 California Air Resources Board,
Climate Change Scoping Plan, December
2008.
44 Calculated based on results from
Deutsche Bahn, Travel Service: Ad-vanced
Search Options, downloaded from
reiseauskunft. bahn. de/ bin/ query. exe/
en? rt= 1&, 5 March 2010.
45 Figures derived from Deutsche Bahn’s
Environmental Mobility Check accessed
at Deutsche Bahn, Travel Service: Ad-vanced
Search Options, downloaded from
reiseauskunft. bahn. de/ bin/ query. exe/
en? rt= 1&. Results based on trains leaving
between 6: 00am and 9: 00am on Monday,
1 March 2010. For details on how modal
comparisons were made for international
journeys, see: Institut fur Energie- und
Umweltforschung Heidelberg GmbH,
Ecopassenger: Environmental Methodology
and Data: Final Report, commissioned by
the International Union of Railways, June
2008. Note that energy consumption on
ferries is not included for car journeys that
would require a ferry crossing, such as
London- Paris and London- Brussels.
46 Hiroki Matsumoto, Shinkansen ( Bullet
Train) System in Japan, statement to the
U. S. House Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on
Railroads, 19 April 2007.
47 Central Japan Railway Company,
Data Book 2009, downloaded from english.
jr- central. co. jp/ company/ company/ others/
data- book/_ pdf/ 2009. pdf, 9 March 2010.
48 U. S. Department of Energy, Energy
Information Administration, State Energy
Data System: Consumption, Price and
Expenditure Estimates, 28 August 2009.
49 See note 45.
50 Renfe, Renfe’s Contribution to Sus-tainability,
downloaded from www.
transport2012. org/.../ 163,05_ Emissions_ re-ductions_
in_ praxis_ Th. ppt, 9 March 2010.
51 See note 45.
52 Ibid.
53 Navigant Consulting, The Use of
Renewable Energy Sources to Provide Power
to California’s High Speed Rail, prepared for
the California High Speed Rail Authority,
3 September 2008.
54 International Union of Railroads,
Train to Copenhagen: Running Railways
on Renewables, downloaded from www.
traintocopenhagen. org/ spip. php? article89,
updated 27 November 2009.
55 See note 5.
56 See note 50.
57 California Office of Traffic Safety,
California Traffic Safety Report Card, down-loaded
from http:// www. ots. ca. gov/ OTS_
and_ Traffic_ Safety/ Report_ Card. asp, 31
March 2010.
58 See note 47.
59 Central Japan Railway Company, ATC
( Automatic Train Control), downloaded from
english. jr- central. co. jp/ about/_ pdf/ about_
atc. pdf, 10 March 2010.
60 “ No passenger”: David Randall
Peterman, John Frittelli and William J.
Mallett, Congressional Research Service,
High Speed Rail ( HSR) in the United States,
8 December 2009; “ Ridership”: see note 5.
Note: A handful of passengers have been
killed on TGV trains in accidents during
operation on non- high- speed lines. Unlike
dedicated high- speed lines, conventional
train lines in France have grade crossings
and accommodate a mix of TGV trains
40 Next Stop: California
operating at low speed, local passenger
trains and freight traffic.
61 Central Japan Railway Company, About
the Shinkansen; Reliability, downloaded from
english. jr- central. co. jp/ about/ reliability.
html, 10 March 2010.
62 See note 17.
63 Ibid.
64 Keith Bradsher, “ China Sees Growth
Engine in a Web of Fast Trains,” New York
Times, 12 February 2010.
65 Worldwatch Institute, Green Jobs:
Toward Sustainable Work in a Low- Carbon
World, prepared for the United Nations
Environment Programme, International
Labor Organization and International
Trade Union Confederation, 21 December
2007.
66 See note 13.
67 HS1 Ltd., Key Facts, downloaded from
www. highspeed1. com/ about/ facts/, 10
March 2010.
68 MTR, Express Rail Link – A New Trav-eling
Experience, downloaded from www.
mtr. com. hk/ chi/ projects/ images/ exhibi-tion.
pdf, 10 March 2010.
69 “ High Speed Rail Line Will Stop
in Antequera,” Euroweekly News: Heart of
Andalucia Edition, 4 February 2010.
70 Associated Press, “ Eyeing High-
Speed Rail, Siemens Buys 20 Acres Next
to its California Rail Plant,” San Francisco
Examiner, 18 February 2010.
71 Alstom, Alstom to Overhaul MK
Caltrans California Car Fleet ( press release),
10 August 2009.
72 U. K. Department for Transport,
Transport and City Competitiveness:
Literature Review, January 2004.
73 Daniel Albalate and Germa Bel,
Research Institute of Applied Economics,
High- Speed Rail: Lessons for Policy- Makers
from Experiences Abroad, 2010.
74 Dong- Chun Shin, Recent Experience
of and Prospects for High- Speed Rail in
Korea: Implications of a Transport System
and Regional Development from a Global
Perspective, 2005.
75 Urban Land Institute, ULI
Development Case Studies: JR Central Towers,
downloaded from casestudies. uli. org/
Profile. aspx? j= 7516& p= 4& c= 4, 10 March
2010.
76 Mig de Jong, Attractiveness of HST
Locations: Eight Cases in Northwest Europe, 1
August 2007.
77 See note 72.
78 See note 38.
79 Ville de Lyon, Part- Dieu, downloaded
from www. lyon. fr/ vdl/ sections/ en/ tour-isme/
fil_ quartier/ part_ dieu/, 31 March
2010.
80 U. K. Department for Transport,
Transport and City Competitiveness:
Literature Review, January 2004.
81 V. Facchinetti- Mannone, Location of
High- Speed Rail Stations in French Medium-
Size City and Their Mobility and Territorial
Implications, paper presented to City
Futures ’ 09 conference, Madrid, 4- 6 June
2009.
82 Investir a Strasbourg, Strasbourg: A
“ Magistrale” City, downloaded from www.
investir- strasbourg. com/ page. php/ en/ 388.
htm# station, 10 March 2010.
83 Victoria Burnett, “ Spain’s High- Speed
Rail Offers Guideposts for U. S.,“ New York
Times, 29 May 2009.
84 Eric Sylvers, “ With High- Speed
Train, Italy on Track for Increasing Real
Estate Prices,” International Herald Tribune,
6 December 2007.
85 Islington, U. K., King’s Cross Regenera-tion,
downloaded from www. islington.
gov. uk/ Environment/ Planning/ Ma-jorSchemes/
KingsCross/, 10 March 2010.
86 Omega Centre, Bartlett School of
Planning, Channel Tunnel Rail Link Case
Study: Project Profile, August 2008.
87 Kent Thameside, Ebbsfleet Valley,
downloaded from www. kent- thameside.
co. uk/ investing/ ebbsfleet- valley. html, 10
March 2010.
88 25,000 from LCR Railways, LCR Prop-
Notes 41
erties, downloaded from www. lcrhq. co. uk/,
26 April 2010.
89 Daniel Graham, Transport Investment,
Agglomeration and Urban Productivity,
paper presented to the World Bank’s
Urban Research Symposium on Land
Development, Urban Policy and Poverty
Reduction, Brasilia, Brazil, 4- 6 April 2005.
90 Stuart S. Rosenthal and William
C. Strange, The Micro- Empirics of
Agglomeration Economies, 13 April 2004.
91 Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt and Arne
Feddersen, From Periphery to Core: Economic
Adjustments to High Speed Rail, draft paper
presented to London School of Economics
and Political Science, Center for Economic
Performance, Urban and Regional
Economics Seminar, 12 February 2010.
92 Colin Buchanan and Volterra, Economic
Impact of High Speed 1: Final Report,
prepared for London & Continental
Railways, January 2009.
93 Cho Nam- Geon and Chung Jin- Kyu,
Korea Research Institute for Human
Settlements, High Speed Rail Construction of
Korea and Its Impact, 2008.
94 See note 73.
95 Ibid.
96 See note 74.
97 Roger Vickerman and Andreu Ulied,
Indirect and Wider Economic Impacts of High-
Speed Rail, downloaded from www. mcrit.
com/ doc_ home/ Impacts_ HSR. pdf, 10
March 2010.
98 Ibid.
99 See note 38.
100 Soutetsu Sen, The Channel Tunnel and
Its Impact on Tourism in the United Kingdom,
February 2004.
101 Hiroshi Okada, “ Features and
Economic and Social Effects of the
Shinkansen.” Japan Railway & Transport
Review, 1994: No. 3, 9- 16.
102 Yong Sang Lee, A Study of the
Development and Issues Concerning High
Speed Rail ( HSR), January 2007.
103 Benoit Van Overstraeten, “ France’s
SNCF Railways Makes Offer for Geo-dis,”
Reuters, 6 April 2008. Based on 130
million Euro dividend converted to U. S.
dollars using 2008 exchange rate from
U. S. Central Intelligence Agency, World
Factbook, downloaded from www. cia. gov/
library/ publications/ the- world- factbook/
fields/ 2076. html, 29 March 2010.
104 Renaud Honore, “ TGV Losing
Speed,” Les Echos, 18 January 2010, Eng-lish
language summary accessed at www.
presseurop. eu/ en/ content/ news- brief-cover/
171421- tgv- losing- speed, 10 March
2010.
105 See note 46.
106 West Japan Railways, Fact Sheet:
Long- Term Debt & Payables, downloaded
from www. westjr. co. jp/ english/ english/
company/ con02/ library/ fact/ pdf/ 2009/
fact11. pdf, 10 March 2010.
107 Alan M. Voorhees Transporta-tion
Center and Hamilton, Rabinovitz &
Alschuler, Inc., Northeast Corridor Action
Plan: A Call for a New Federal- State Part-nership,
prepared for the Newark Regional
Business Partnership, policy. rutgers. edu/
vtc/ reports/ REPORTS/ NECAP. pdf, 10
March 2010.
108 The Pew Charitable Trusts, Subsi-dyScope:
Analysis Shows Amtrak Lost $ 32
Per Passenger in 2008, downloaded from
subsidyscope. com/ transportation/ amtrak/,
10 March 2010.
109 Steve Kingstone, “ Trains in
Spain Signal the Future,” BBC News, 22
September 2009.
110 Javier Campos and Gines de Rus,
“ Some Stylized Facts About High
Speed Rail: A Review of HSR Experi-ences
Around the World,” Transport Policy,
16( 1): 19- 28, January 2009, doi: 10.1016/
j. tranpol. 2009.02.008.
111 Jean- Marc Offner, “’ The TGV and
Territory Development, A Major Risk for
Local Development;’ ‘ The TGV Atlantic
at Mans, Saint- Pierre- des- Corps, Tours
and Vendôme: Opportunities, Actants,
Risks’ ( Frédéric Bellanger)” ( review), Flux,
7( 5): 56- 60, July- September 1991.
42 Next Stop: California
112 Nick Ennis, Greater London
Authority, Come Fly With Me: Airport Choice
in Greater London, April 2009.
113 Greengauge21, High Speed Rail and the
Development and Regeneration of Cities, June
2006.
114 Ibid.
115 See note 81.
116 Ibid.
117 See note 73.
118 London and South Eastern Railway
Limited, High Speed, downloaded from
www. southeasternrailway. co. uk/ index.
php/ highspeed, 10 March 2010.
119 Greengauge 21, High Speed Rail in
Britain: Early Lessons from Kent, December
2009.
120 For example, note the failure of
remote “ beet field” stations on the French
TGV system to spawn new development.
121 Nearly 6,000 freeway exits from:
California Department of Transportation,
Cal- NExUS ( California Numbered Exit
Uniform System), downloaded from www.
dot. ca. gov/ hq/ traffops/ signtech/ calnexus/,
27 April 2010.
122 Center for Global Metropolitan
Strategies, University of California- Berkeley,
Transit Oriented Development for High Speed
Rail ( HSR) in California: Design Concepts for
Stockton and Merced, 31 July 2008.
123 See note 93.
124 See note 46.
125 Shuichi Kazuya, High- Speed Rail
Commuting in the United States: A Case Study
from California, June 2005; rush hours:
Hiroki Matsumoto, Shinkansen ( Bullet
Train) System in Japan, statement to the
U. S. House Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on
Railroads, 19 April 2007.
126 See note 113.
127 Thomas Catan, “ Spain’s Bullet Train
Changes Nation – And Fast,” Wall Street
Journal, 20 April 2009.
128 J. M. Urena and J. M. Coronado,
Changing Territorial Implications of High
Speed Rail in Spain: From Individual Lines,
Stations and Services to Networks, paper
presented to paper presented to City
Futures ’ 09 conference, Madrid, 4- 6 June
2009.
129 European Union Center, Texas
A& M University, Event Summary: Texas/
EU High- Speed Rail Symposium, 28
September 2009.
130 Jose Maria Menendez, Spanish High
Speed Train: A Special View of Medium- Sized
Cities: The Case of Ciudad Real, Power Point
presentation to Texas/ EU High- Speed Rail
Symposium, 28 September 2009.
131 See note 86.