Railways and territorial development
MARC GUIGON
MG CONSULT | CONSULTANT
The history of railway construction goes hand in hand with the development of territories. As such, not all countries are at the same level of advancement, whether for passengers or goods.
In this article, due to my experience within the French government's spatial planning delegation (DATAR), and at the International Union of Railways (UIC), I will introduce the territorial effects of passenger transport by rail, and in particular high-speed trains.
Mobility needs
Everything starts with the mobility needs of the differing populations. Mobility is the vector that provides access to activities and services related to employment, education, health, commerce, leisure and social relations. The railway, since its origin, has thus allowed a temporal rapprochement of the different activities and is an environmentally friendly transport solution.
The development of the railway in Europe was then carried out nationally, even regionally during the 19th century, then internationally.
This development allowed cities to be brought ever closer together in time, as the railway replaced horse-drawn stagecoaches in European countries. In fact, individual cars and air transport did not exist at that time, and the only effective alternative to improving mobility was through the railway.
These needs increased over time, driven by the technical possibilities of modes of transport. Thus, the main European cities were linked together throughout the 19th century, and as mobility needs continued to grow, railway techniques always had to adapt with varying degrees of success because the development of these techniques was mainly carried out nationally by railway companies.
Then, the advent of High-Speed Rail gave a major new boost to mobility.
The technical development of the railway.
Developments in railway techniques led to different standards depending on the progress of railway technologies. We are still suffering a large part of the consequences related to this lack of interoperability at the national and international level. For example, in Europe there are many types of signalling, electrification, communication systems, standards and regulations, etc.
We might think that railway techniques are stabilised, but this is not the case. New technologies are regularly emerging, and even some fairly recent technologies are becoming obsolete. I would take the example of GSM-R, which was a real technological revolution twenty years ago, but which no longer meets current communication standards.
The impacts of rail transport on territories
The effects of railway, and in particular of High-Speed Rail, are felt in multiple sectors: first of all mobility, but also: choice of residence, access to employment, cooperation between universities, definition of urban planning, access to tourist sites, location of companies and their headquarters, respect for the environment, stations and intermodality, jobs linked to the construction operation of lines and trains, and so on.
When cities of less than 500 km apart are connected by high-speed trains, rail transport becomes very predominant, and the share of air and road transport becomes negligible. There are thus almost no more commercial air links between Paris and Strasbourg or Lyon (France) or between Rome and Milan (Italy).
High-Speed Rail has very contrasting effects:
- A temporal rapprochement of production sites and head offices. The latter can thus be relocated. This is mainly valid for production units, but also for tertiary sector activities (back office, business services, etc.) that are leaving expensive large cities for more lower costs in other territories
- Pre-existing endogenous companies can develop on site, without the need for mobility
- This is even more true for companies with an international vocation when railway lines serve airports. The international attractiveness of companies accessible by air and rail is increased.
- Expansion of recruitment areas. It has been noted that home-work travel times hardly change depending on the means of transport. Thus, with the advent of High-Speed Rail, there is an expansion of job opportunities
- People who telework can live far from their company where land is cheaper and the quality of life is better
- Cities can evolve from a rural town status to a dormitory town status
- Meetings or seminars can be possible over a half-day or a full day
- Important tourist sites are revalued. These can be cities, heritage sites, resorts…
- Other cities become the centre of interest because they are very well connected. For example, with the arrival of high-speed trains, Lille, in the north of France, has become an hour from Paris or London, and half an hour from Brussels and has benefited from profound population boost, becoming a crossroads city of Europe
- Reduction of the border effect
- A “tunnel” effect that forgets territories that are on the route of the line and that are not served, can generate a loss of attractiveness of the territory.
Since High Speed Rail is a high-speed mass transport, stations and station districts must be completely redesigned with a view to better intermodality.
The “network” effect
In Europe, high-speed rail began to develop nationally (Paris – Lyon, Rome – Milan, Madrid – Seville, etc.), with point-to-point lines, then as a network in a national spirit (Lyon – Bordeaux via Paris, etc.). Then the need arose to connect these lines together between countries.
Fortunately, the technical standards are compatible, because Europe has imposed consistent standards for over a hundred years. New services then appeared on the European high-speed network. It is now possible to travel from Paris to Madrid via Barcelona by High-Speed trains.
This network effect has also been the catalyst for competition between railway companies.
China has benefited from the organization planned in five-year stages, which has led to a huge, consistent network connecting the country’s main cities.
Opening up to competition
Competition to serve identical destinations has existed for many years. For example, CD, the incumbent railway operator in Czechia LEO Express and Regiojet have been competing on the Prague – Ostrava line for about ten years. This resulted in a wider choice of offers for the customer and a reduction in the ticket price.
The opening up to competition for high-speed trains began in Italy between the Trenitalia and NTV (now Italo) companies. Passengers benefited from this, including from the incumbent company: better quality, better on-board services, lower ticket prices, increased train frequency. The modal shift was massive between air and car modes towards rail.
Today, intramodal competition for high-speed trains is almost widespread in Europe with incumbent companies, but also with new operators, which has strong consequences on the destinations served.
Preparing for the arrival of High-Speed Rail
The territorial effects of High-Speed Rail are not necessarily automatic. They require careful preparation by local authorities: location of the station in the city or on the outskirts of the city, restructuration urban and regional transport and connections to the station, station districts and urban planning projects, creation of attractive activity hubs or business centers, reflection on societal and demographic developments, the gentrification process, the image of the territories, etc.
Thus, high-speed rail is a trigger for the reconfiguration of the city to improve its influence.
Local authorities can also contribute financially to high-speed line projects, within the framework of Public Private Partnerships, and thus influence the projects.
This mobilization of territorial stakeholders is often decisive and acts on the route, location of stations, service arrangements, intermodality, real estate and economic programming..
Conclusion
Past observations and present challenges have shown that the effects of railways and especially high-speed rail on the territories are considerable and that they represent a determining argument for the public decision to build railway lines.
The prior assessment of projects must take into account this problem, which is difficult to quantify and monetize.
At the same time, local stakeholders must mobilize and organize themselves so that these new lines are a success for the development of territories..
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