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 Education Fund Tony Dutzik, Frontier Group Erin Steva, CALPIRG Education Fund June 2010 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 s California moves toward con- between Paris and Lyon, France, and be- struction of a new high-speed rail tween Cologne and Frankfurt, Germany. Anetwork, the state has much to learn from experiences abroad. High-speed rail • The number of air passengers between lines have operated for more than 45 years London and Paris has been cut in half in Japan and for three decades in Europe, since high-speed rail service was initi- providing a wealth of information about ated between the two cities through what California can expect from high- the Channel Tunnel. speed rail … and how the state can receive the greatest possible benefits from its invest- • The recent launch of high-speed rail ment. service between Madrid and Barce- Indeed, the experience of high-speed lona, Spain, has cut air travel on what rail lines abroad suggests that California was once one of the world’s busiest can expect great benefits from investing passenger air routes by one-third. in a high-speed passenger rail system, particularly if it makes wise choices in • Even in the northeastern U.S., where designing the system. Amtrak Acela Express service is slow by international standards, rail service High-speed rail systems in other accounts for 62 percent of the air/rail nations have dramatically reduced air market on trips between New York travel and significantly reduced inter- and Washington, D.C., and 47 percent city car travel. In California, similar of the air/rail market on trips between results would ease congestion on the roads Boston and New York. and in the skies and reduce the need for expensive new investments in highways • High-speed rail service between and airports. High-speed rail service has Madrid and Seville has reduced the virtually eliminated short-haul air service share of travel by car between the two on several corridors in Europe, such as cities from 60 percent to 34 percent. Executive Summary High-speed rail saves energy and of TGV trains in France, despite car- protects the environment. In California, rying billions of passengers over the high-speed rail could cut our dependence course of several decades. on oil while helping to reduce air pollution and curb global warming. • High-speed rail is generally more reli- able than air or car travel. The average • Continual improvement – Japan’s Shink- delay on Japan’s Shinkansen system ansen system is estimated to use one is 36 seconds. Spain’s railway opera- quarter the energy of air travel or one- tor offers a money-back guarantee if sixth the energy of automobile travel train-related delays exceed five min- per passenger. The energy efficiency utes. of Shinkansen trains has continually improved over time, such that today’s High-speed rail can create jobs and trains use nearly a third less energy, boost local economies. California’s while traveling significantly faster, high-speed rail system could help position than the trains introduced in the mid- the state for economic success in the 21st sixties. century while creating short-term jobs in construction. • More efficient – On Europe’s high- speed lines, a typical Monday morn- • Construction of high-speed rail lines ing business trip from London to creates thousands of temporary jobs. Paris via high-speed rail uses approxi- For example, about 8,000 people were mately a third as much energy as a car involved in construction of the high- or plane trip. Similar energy savings speed rail link between London and are achieved on other European high- the Channel Tunnel. speed rail lines. • Well-designed high-speed rail stations • Replacing oil with electricity makes zero located in city centers spark economic emissions possible – Energy savings development and encourage revitaliza- translate into reduced emissions of tion of urban areas: pollutants that cause global warming or respiratory problems – particularly o A study of the Frankfurt-Cologne when railroads power their trains with high-speed rail line in Germany renewable energy. In Sweden, the estimated that areas surrounding country’s high-speed trains are pow- two towns with new high-speed rail ered entirely with renewable energy, stations experienced a 2.7 percent cutting emissions of global warming increase in overall economic activ- pollutants by 99 percent. ity compared with the rest of the region. High-speed rail is safe and reliable. In California, reliable service via high-speed o Office space in the vicinity of high- rail could be an attractive alternative to speed rail stations in France and oft-delayed intercity flights and travel on northern Europe generally fetches congested freeways. higher rents than in other parts of the same cities. • There has never been a fatal accident on Japan’s Shinkansen high-speed rail o The city of Lyon experienced a 43 system or during high-speed operation percent increase in the amount of 2 Next Stop: California office space near its high-speed rail France and Spain, as well as in the station following the completion of U.S. Northeast. a high-speed rail link to Paris. • Two high-speed rail lines – the French o Property values near stations on TGV line between Paris and Lyon Japan’s Shinkansen network have and the original Japanese Shinkansen been estimated to be 67 percent line from Tokyo to Osaka – have cov- higher than property values further ered their initial costs of construction away. through fares. o Several cities have used high-speed Properly planned high-speed rail can rail as the catalyst for ambitious encourage sustainable land use and de- urban redevelopment efforts. The velopment patterns. In California, focus- city of Lille, France, used its rail ing new development around high-speed station as the core of a multi-use rail stations can reduce pressure to develop development that now accommo- in outlying areas, create new centers of dates 6,000 jobs. The new interna- commerce and activity, and enable riders tional high-speed rail terminal at to access high-speed rail stations by public London’s St. Pancras station is the transportation, by bike, or on foot. centerpiece of a major redevelop- ment project that will add 1,800 • Cities throughout Europe have paired residential units, as well as hotels, the arrival of high-speed rail with ex- offices and cultural venues in the pansion of local public transportation heart of London. options – in some cases, using new high-speed rail lines to bolster local • High-speed rail can expand labor commuter rail service. markets and increase the potential for face-to-face interactions that cre- • By putting stations in smart locations ate value in the growing “knowledge and providing transit connections, economy.” A British study projects high-speed rail can encourage greater that the construction of the nation’s shifts in development patterns and first high-speed rail line will lead to transportation choices. more than $26 billion in net economic benefits over the next 60 years. • Proper land-use policies in areas that receive high-speed rail stations, High-speed rail lines generally coupled with effective development cover their operating costs with fare of station areas, can ensure that revenues.