The impact of high-speed technology on railway demand

This paper estimates a passenger railway demand function to analyse effects arising from the introduction and use of high-speed technologies. The paper reports estimates of demand elasticities with respect to price, income, quality of service and a range of exogenous characteristics. The results show that travel time savings from conventional high-speed technology have a larger impact on passenger demand than tilting train technology. The introduction of conventional high-speed technology is associated with an 8% increase in passenger railway demand. Increasing the use of either type of high-speed technology appears to induce small positive effects on demand beyond those obtained from usual traffic density increases on non-high-speed existing technology.

Daniel J. Graham (Corresponding author)Email:

---

Antonio Couto   is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Engineering (FEUP) at the University of Porto. He received his PhD from FEUP in 2005 having completed a thesis in railway transport economics. His research focuses on issues related to transport economics and infrastructures. Daniel J. Graham   is a Reader in the Centre for Transport Studies at Imperial College London. He specialises in the economics of transport, focusing in particular on modelling the implications of transport provision and accessibility for productivity and economic growth.