The BCA of HSR: Should the Government Invest in High Speed Rail Infrastructure?
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Ginés De Rus
This paper deals with public investment in High-Speed Rail (HSR) infrastructure and tries to understand the economic rationale for allocating public money to the construction of new HSR lines. The examination of data on costs and demand shows that the case for investing in HSR requires several conditions to be met: an ex ante high volume of traffic in the corridor where the new lines are built, significant time savings, high average willingness of potential users to pay, the release of capacity in the conventional rail network and airports. On the contrary, net environmental benefits seem to be insignificant in influencing the social desirability of HSR investment. This paper discusses, within a cost-benefit analysis framework, under which conditions the expected benefits could justify the investment in HSR projects.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
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- The BCA of HSR: Should the Government Invest in High Speed Rail Infrastructure?
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Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- The Income Elasticity of the Value per Statistical Life: Transferring Estimates between High and Low Income Populations
- The BCA of HSR: Should the Government Invest in High Speed Rail Infrastructure?
- Benefit-Cost Analysis for Drinking Water Standards: Efficiency, Equity, and Affordability Considerations in Small Communities
- Case
- A Benefit-Cost Analysis of Private and Semi-Private Hospital Rooms
- Principles and Standards
- Incorporating Distributional Issues into Benefit Cost Analysis: Why, How, and Two Empirical Examples Using Non-market Valuation
