West, East or South, which Railway Station in Hudiksvall is Preferable? A Predictive Study of Future Climate Scenarios from an Accessibility Perspective Sofia Moberg Master Thesis Spatial planning and development, Umeå university Spring 2021 Author: Sofia Moberg Contact:
[email protected] Master thesis (30 ects) Program: Master in Spatial Planning and Development Department of Geography Umeå University Supervisor: Magnus Strömgren Abstract in English An expansion of the railway, East Coast Line is essential in order to ensure transportation of passenger and goods back and forth to Northern Sweden. The preliminary studies of the planned expansion to a double track have identified vulnerabilities linked to how our climate changes. Because of these risks and vulnerabilities, the railway station in Hudiksvall needs to be relocated or the Current station needs to be adapted to potential future climate scenarios. Furthermore, social sustainability and the aspect of accessibility is also a vital perspective to consider during the development of railway infrastructure. This study compares the three different station locations from an accessibility perspective and from different climate scenarios through Network Analyst in ArcGIS Pro. To visualize future climate scenarios, two RCP-scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways) are considered, which is RCP 4.5 and RCP8.5. Additionally, the GTFS specification in ArcGIS Pro is used to model public transit to these railway stations in an accessibility perspective. Because one strategy when developing the East Coast Line is to increase the active transportation in comparison to car transportation. Results from this study indicates that the Current station, which is located in a coastal area will be worst affected of potential future climate scenarios from an accessibility perspective.