High Speed Rail in Europe

Living in Paris is extremely convenient for travel in and around France.    Taking the TGV is one of the best ways to travel from Paris to neighbouring cities and countries.   I certainly took advantage of this when I was living over there, traveling from Paris to London, Amsterdam, Munich, Strasbourg, Lyon,  Marseille and Brussels.

High speed rail has become such a success in France and Europe, and now the European Union are pushing for an integrated European high speed rail network.    Should this project succeed, the next 20 years shall see the birth of two high-speed lines joining France and Spain as well as the construction of the strongly contested Lyon- Turin line between France and Italy.    A map below shows the European Union’s ambitions plans for high speed rail in Europe [1].

High speed rail vs air travel

So will these investments be worth it?     To be an attractive option for passengers, high-speed rail (HSR) must compete with air travel.      So I thought I would compare travel times a couple of high-speed lines that are expected to become available in the future.

As you can see I’m looking at two HSR projects due to bring Paris closer to both Munich and Madrid.  The LGV East Phase 2 [2] will put Munich 30 minutes closer to Paris upon completion in 2016.   The LGV SEA [3] (all phases) is expected to put Madrid at 5 hours and 45 minutes from Paris.

When I calculated total travel times I included an airport waiting time of 1 hour and 15 minutes.   Airports have to adhere to strict safety standards, which now mean that they are closing check-in 40 minutes prior to takeoff [4].  

Getting to and from the airport or train station is an important factor when deciding which mode of transport to use.   Stations are often located in the CBD so there is greater access to public transport.   Airports are usually very accessible by car as they are located outside the city and usually on motorways.   It is difficult to compare travel times from airports and train stations as a lot depends on passenger circumstance.

Conclusions

According to my calculations, traveling from Paris to Munich and Madrid was faster by plane, by 2h10 minutes and 2h45 minutes respectively.    I think this information shows that HSR will struggle to compete with air travel on long routes.   Shorter fast train trips, those less than 3 hours while connecting large cities, are likely to be more profitable and useful.    Moreover, the busiest flight routes in Europe are between cities within the same country, so there isn't a big demand for travel between countries [5].

Anyways, that's my two cents.   I think that some of these HSR lines aren't a particularly good use of public money.   Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Links: 

[1] Transport: New EU infrastructure policy IP-13-948 English ; [2] LGV Est European Phase 2 English - PDF download ; [3] LGV SEA paper discussing feasibility French ; [4] Easyjet Check-in Statement 2013 Engish ;[5] Top 10 airport pairs within the EU 2013 - Eurostat - Excel download - Map 2