High-speed railway developments and corporate location decisions. The role of accessibility

Accessibility is a major factor that determines the effects of transport infrastructure developments on corporate location decisions. High-speed railways have an impact on accessibility by reducing travel times and increasing comfort. However, little research on its effects on location choices has been carried out so far. Still, high-speed railway infrastructure development is advocated for these effects on regional economy. This research uses interviews among corporate decision makers to determine how a change in accessibility due to new high-speed rail infrastructure is perceived by these corporate decision makers and what impact HST infrastructure has on the location choices of firm branches. Firstly, in-dept interviews are held among recently (re)located firm branches to identify accessibility related factors that play a role in the location decision process. For the in-dept interviews we start from the assumption that for firms three aspects of accessibility by passenger transport systems are of importance: access and accessibility for (1) current and potential employees, (2) current and potential business partners, and (3) current and potential customers. Furthermore, corporate decision makers perceive different transport modes in a distinct way. Hereby for example, the level of comfort of the transport mode can be of importance ? it might be of more importance for business trips than for commuting. In this paper special attention is given to how the accessibility by high-speed trains is perceived. The perception of the accessibility of a certain place will differ among firms, because distinct firms appreciate the several facets of accessibility differently. This depends on the activities that take place in the firm branch, for example how often face-to-face contact with (international) business partners occurs, and on the cost structure of the firm. An improved accessibility will reduce transport costs, but on the other hand better accessible locations are likely to have higher prices of real estate. Probably for firms a trade off exists between these opposite cost effects, based on their characteristics. But beside these ?objective? factors, subjective properties of accessibility might also be of importance to corporate decision makers. Being settled on good accessible transport hubs can contribute to the firm?s image. The interviews shed light on how new high-speed rail infrastructure affects the perception of accessibility by corporate decision makers. By questioning different firm types and sizes it is made clear what types of firms are mostly influenced by this change in accessibility. In a later stage of the research, these factors will be quantified by means of stated preference interviews. The results of these interviews will then be used to improve the way accessibility is embedded in land-use transport interaction models, an important instrument for the ex ante evaluation of transport infrastructure.

High-speed railway developments and corporate location decisions. The role of accessibility

Accessibility is a major factor that determines the effects of transport infrastructure developments on corporate location decisions. High-speed railways have an impact on accessibility by reducing travel times and increasing comfort. However, little research on its effects on location choices has been carried out so far. Still, high-speed railway infrastructure development is advocated for these effects on regional economy. This research uses interviews among corporate decision makers to determine how a change in accessibility due to new high-speed rail infrastructure is perceived by these corporate decision makers and what impact HST infrastructure has on the location choices of firm branches. Firstly, in-dept interviews are held among recently (re)located firm branches to identify accessibility related factors that play a role in the location decision process. For the in-dept interviews we start from the assumption that for firms three aspects of accessibility by passenger transport systems are of importance: access and accessibility for (1) current and potential employees, (2) current and potential business partners, and (3) current and potential customers. Furthermore, corporate decision makers perceive different transport modes in a distinct way. Hereby for example, the level of comfort of the transport mode can be of importance - it might be of more importance for business trips than for commuting. In this paper special attention is given to how the accessibility by high-speed trains is perceived. The perception of the accessibility of a certain place will differ among firms, because distinct firms appreciate the several facets of accessibility differently. This depends on the activities that take place in the firm branch, for example how often face-to-face contact with (international) business partners occurs, and on the cost structure of the firm. An improved accessibility will reduce transport costs, but on the other hand better accessible locations are likely to have higher prices of real estate. Probably for firms a trade off exists between these opposite cost effects, based on their characteristics. But beside these ?objective? factors, subjective properties of accessibility might also be of importance to corporate decision makers. Being settled on good accessible transport hubs can contribute to the firm's image. The interviews shed light on how new high-speed rail infrastructure affects the perception of accessibility by corporate decision makers. By questioning different firm types and sizes it is made clear what types of firms are mostly influenced by this change in accessibility. In a later stage of the research, these factors will be quantified by means of stated preference interviews. The results of these interviews will then be used to improve the way accessibility is embedded in land-use transport interaction models, an important instrument for the ex ante evaluation of transport infrastructure

High-speed rail’s impact on the location of office employment within the Dutch Randstad area

With the upcoming implementation of high-speed railway infrastructure in the Netherlands, interest has arisen in the spatial-economic effects this might have. Experiences with high-speed rail outside the Netherlands have shown that effects at a local or regional level can be important, due to relocation of employment within regions and cities. This paper focuses on this issue by presenting the results of discrete choice models for office location choice. Both stated choice data and revealed choice data are used. The discrete location choice models give information on to what extent the introduction of high-speed rail in the Netherlands can change the attractiveness of individual cities within the Randstad area on the one hand and of places within these cities on the other hand. As accessibility is an important concept in this topic, attention is given to the specification of accessibility indicators. Hereby, distinction is made between centrality and connectivity. Centrality refers to the position of a location within the transport network and relative to possible origins and destinations. Potential accessibility indicators based on a spatial interaction model are used to represent centrality. Connectivity refers to how well a location is connected to a transport network. Indicators for connectivity are for example the distance to the nearest railway station or motorway access ramp and also the level-of-service provided, such as the train frequency at a station. Furthermore, the paper focuses on a segmentation of employment that reflects this paper’s purpose of studying the influence of (high-speed) rail on location choices. Whereas accessibility by car is relevant for location choices of all types of office employment, accessibility by rail in general and accessibility by high-speed rail in particular seem important to more distinct groups of office employment.

High-speed rail's impact on the location of office employment within the Dutch Randstad area

With the upcoming implementation of high-speed railway infrastructure in the Netherlands, interest has arisen in the spatial-economic effects this might have. Experiences with high-speed rail outside the Netherlands have shown that effects at a local or regional level can be important, due to relocation of employment within regions and cities. This paper focuses on this issue by presenting the results of discrete choice models for office location choice. Both stated choice data and revealed choice data are used. The discrete location choice models give information on to what extent the introduction of high-speed rail in the Netherlands can change the attractiveness of individual cities within the Randstad area on the one hand and of places within these cities on the other hand. As accessibility is an important concept in this topic, attention is given to the specification of accessibility indicators. Hereby, distinction is made between centrality and connectivity. Centrality refers to the position of a location within the transport network and relative to possible origins and destinations. Potential accessibility indicators based on a spatial interaction model are used to represent centrality. Connectivity refers to how well a location is connected to a transport network. Indicators for connectivity are for example the distance to the nearest railway station or motorway access ramp and also the level-of-service provided, such as the train frequency at a station. Furthermore, the paper focuses on a segmentation of employment that reflects this paper's purpose of studying the influence of (high-speed) rail on location choices. Whereas accessibility by car is relevant for location choices of all types of office employment, accessibility by rail in general and accessibility by high-speed rail in particular seem important to more distinct groups of office employment

New Findings in the Netherlands about Induced Demand and the Benefits of New Road Infrastructure

AbstractThe increase in traffic volume that arises after opening of new road infrastructure, is often attributed to ‘induced demand’. The objective of this study is to provide empirically derived insights in this phenomenon, in the amount of induced demand and in the benefits that adding road infrastructure has for users. Based on multivariate analyses of detailed data in The Netherlands from 2000-2012, it is concluded that the amount of induced demand in total is relatively low and that the relatively large increase in traffic volume during peak hours on roads that were congested before adding lanes mainly has been caused by shifts in route and departure time. The benefits of the new infrastructure for users have been calculated in terms of savings of travel time and travel time reliability. Implications for cost-benefit analyses of road investments have been reviewed

On the state-of-the-art demand forecasting model developed by Netherlands Railways

Dutch Railways (NS) and Significance have developed a new model system to provide train travel demand forecasts for NS\u27s strategic decision making. The model is among others used for the evaluation of timetable alternatives, forecasting of volumes of new stations, evaluation of tariff policies, all under different exogenous scenarios for demographic, economic and car-related developments. This paper focuses on the design of this model system from two, seemingly conflicting, perspectives. The first perspective is about the user requirements which were formulated and relate to how the model should work in practice, such as: 1) the model should have a clear structure and be transparent in how its results have been calculated, 2) input data and model coefficients should be up-to-date, 3) the model should be able to interact and be consistent with other, complementary models currently in use by NS, and 4) the model should be user friendly and easy to maintain. These user requirements were derived from a thorough investigation within NS among users of forecasts in a wide range of disciplines. The bottom line from these interviews was that forecasts, even based on complex models, should be in a way easy to understand and made plausible. This transparency is the most important condition for forecasts really to be used by the decision makers. Hence from the second perspective the model system has to have sufficient technical detail, complexity and flexibility to provide passenger forecasts for different scenarios, time horizons and study areas and to be adequate in its forecasting precision. It is this trade-off between easy-to-understand forecasts and the necessary complexity of the model to be adequate in its forecasting results which has been the main challenge of this project. As a solution a modular system has been developed to fulfill all these requirements, while finding a trade-off point where both perspectives might oppose each other. Significance contributed in developing a new module to the model system for forecasting demand volumes per station pair for different exogenous scenarios. The module consists of four sub-modules, each with a clear function and output that can be viewed and confirmed. The first sub-module uses an exogenous scenario of demographic, economic and car-related variables to create a year-by-year dataset on the municipal level. A station assignment sub-module forms a station level dataset of these same variables. An elasticity sub-module uses growth factors for scenario and time table developments to forecast demand volumes between station pairs, separately for each of six travel purposes. And a final sub-module forecasts demand volumes for newly opened stations. All sub-modules have been estimated and validated by time series and cross-sectional data. The model system\u27s design has been greatly influenced by the precondition of transparency: the contribution of separate modules in the final forecasting result can be easily visualised. This has contributed to the understanding and acceptance of the model results by the decision makers. Yet the model system is capable of modelling complex processes, such as competition between stations and lagged response to time table changes. The year-by-year forecasts thereby provide insights into the timing and development of dynamic processes. After completion of the first version of the model system in 2009, it has been used for a wide range of forecasting projects, varying from infrastructural studies for Dutch government to minor timetable studies for Dutch Railways

Accessibility indicators for location choices of offices: an application to the intraregional distributive effects of high-speed rail in the Netherlands

Accessibility is often seen to be an important determinant of the location of economic activities. This paper focuses on the specification of accessibility indicators for modelling the location choices of offices, with particular application to the upcoming implementation of a high-speed railway line in the Netherlands. Potential accessibility indicators are formulated, whereby attention is given to the shape of the impedance function and to the role of competitive transport modes in a transport mode’s accessibility effect. These indicators are then tested in a discrete choice model on the location of office employment. Finally the accessibility indicators are used to explore the effects of the upcoming domestic high-speed train services in the Netherlands. The analyses show that a Box – Cox impedance function performs best for this application and significantly better than the exponential and power functions. The derived potential accessibility indicators have much explanatory capability for location attractiveness at a regional level, but at an intraregional level connectivity measures become more influential. Finally, it has been found that the accessibility effect of the future high-speed train connection is larger for business travel than for commuting, the value of time of travellers being a dominant factor.