Final Report Summary - SCARSE (Spatial Competition between Railway Stations)
SCARSE - Spatial competition between railway stations
(See figures in the attachment)
Policy makers and railway operators share a similar goal, increasing the use of rail, whether to meet policy goals (e.g. improved accessibility) or to improve the railways' financial viability. It is now recognised that in order to increase rail use and encourage a shift from road to rail attention must be focused not only on improving the rail journey but also on the station environment and the journey to and from the station. Research now acknowledged the need to consider a rail journey as a 'chain' of journeys from door-to-door. In this context, a key factor in rail use is the number and location of railway stations and their catchment area, the focus of the SCARSE research.
Public transportation infrastructure in urban areas has a significant impact on urban land patterns, like residential and commercial land uses, especially heavy infrastructure like rail. While this impact is long-term and might not be immediate it plays a major factor in shaping the economic landscape of cities. Especially, the impact of railway station on their surroundings is evident. Considerations of the number and locations of rail stations within a specific urban area therefore must also account for their effect on commercial land-use and the spatial distribution of economic activities, the stations' impact area, as defined and investigated in the SCARSE research.
In the Amsterdam urban area, there are 12 railway stations alongside a well developed public transportation network and cycling infrastructure, making it an ideal case study for the SCARSE research. In cooperation with the department of spatial economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and based on data provided by the Dutch railway company (NS) the number and location of railway stations in Amsterdam was examined.
It is clear that in Amsterdam there is some overlap in the catchment area of the different stations. This overlap suggests an oversupply of railway stations, which overall, from a network or a city perspective, can be counterproductive when aiming to increase rail use and improve the profitability of rail operation. Although all of the 12 stations are in use, it is not clear that demand is high enough to justify them all. In general, there can be over provision of railway stations within a city.
Next, an analysis of the factors affecting the choice of a departure station was carried out. In following such an analysis, a discrete choice model was applied to understand the choice of a departure station (out of the 12). The main factors considered were travel time to the destination from different departure stations and the access time by different modes of transport to each of the different stations. The results demonstrated that rail passengers in Amsterdam place a higher value on shortening the travel time to the station than the travel time by rail (higher disutility from access time vs. rail time). Second, considering different access modes to the station, the results show that up to a distance of about 2km to the station, using the bicycle is most attractive, while for greater distances public transport is the preferred choice (or has higher utility). For all distances from the station, driving a car to the station is the least attractive.
To analyse the impact of railway stations on commercial land use in Amsterdam a 'third dimension' approach was adopted in which the height of buildings classified as commercial land use was used as a proxy for the volume of commercial activities. An econometric analysis verified that the location of higher buildings is influenced by accessibility, hence the increased concentration of commercial activity close to a railway station, although being close to a motorway exit is also important. This provides important evidence for the role of rail planning in shaping the economic landscape of a city.
(See figures in the attachment)
Policy makers and railway operators share a similar goal, increasing the use of rail, whether to meet policy goals (e.g. improved accessibility) or to improve the railways' financial viability. It is now recognised that in order to increase rail use and encourage a shift from road to rail attention must be focused not only on improving the rail journey but also on the station environment and the journey to and from the station. Research now acknowledged the need to consider a rail journey as a 'chain' of journeys from door-to-door. In this context, a key factor in rail use is the number and location of railway stations and their catchment area, the focus of the SCARSE research.
Public transportation infrastructure in urban areas has a significant impact on urban land patterns, like residential and commercial land uses, especially heavy infrastructure like rail. While this impact is long-term and might not be immediate it plays a major factor in shaping the economic landscape of cities. Especially, the impact of railway station on their surroundings is evident. Considerations of the number and locations of rail stations within a specific urban area therefore must also account for their effect on commercial land-use and the spatial distribution of economic activities, the stations' impact area, as defined and investigated in the SCARSE research.
In the Amsterdam urban area, there are 12 railway stations alongside a well developed public transportation network and cycling infrastructure, making it an ideal case study for the SCARSE research. In cooperation with the department of spatial economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and based on data provided by the Dutch railway company (NS) the number and location of railway stations in Amsterdam was examined.
It is clear that in Amsterdam there is some overlap in the catchment area of the different stations. This overlap suggests an oversupply of railway stations, which overall, from a network or a city perspective, can be counterproductive when aiming to increase rail use and improve the profitability of rail operation. Although all of the 12 stations are in use, it is not clear that demand is high enough to justify them all. In general, there can be over provision of railway stations within a city.
Next, an analysis of the factors affecting the choice of a departure station was carried out. In following such an analysis, a discrete choice model was applied to understand the choice of a departure station (out of the 12). The main factors considered were travel time to the destination from different departure stations and the access time by different modes of transport to each of the different stations. The results demonstrated that rail passengers in Amsterdam place a higher value on shortening the travel time to the station than the travel time by rail (higher disutility from access time vs. rail time). Second, considering different access modes to the station, the results show that up to a distance of about 2km to the station, using the bicycle is most attractive, while for greater distances public transport is the preferred choice (or has higher utility). For all distances from the station, driving a car to the station is the least attractive.
To analyse the impact of railway stations on commercial land use in Amsterdam a 'third dimension' approach was adopted in which the height of buildings classified as commercial land use was used as a proxy for the volume of commercial activities. An econometric analysis verified that the location of higher buildings is influenced by accessibility, hence the increased concentration of commercial activity close to a railway station, although being close to a motorway exit is also important. This provides important evidence for the role of rail planning in shaping the economic landscape of a city.