Sustainable Transport: Is High-speed Rail Sustainable?
Introduction
A Deep Dive into High-Speed Rail This blog aims to dissect the notion of high-speed rail being labelled as ‘sustainable’. We will critically examine schemes such as High Speed 2 (HS2) as a case study and extend our discussion to countries like Japan and France. The objective is to scrutinise whether high-speed rail truly embodies sustainability, both from an environmental perspective and an economic lens.
Definition
The concept of sustainability, as per the Cambridge dictionary, is described as “the quality of causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time” (Cambridge,1999, p.n/s).
Fig 1: Bullet Train, Ravencroft, 5 November 2023
The birth of high-speed rail
The birth of highspeed rail began in 1964 with the introduction of the Shinkansen line, a $377 million investment by Japan, which introduced the world to 200 km/h rail speeds. It was thought impossible, with European trains reaching only 160km/h. This groundbreaking development made rail travel relevant for a short period, cutting the travel time between Tokyo and Osaka by half. At its peak, the line could transport 23,000 passengers per hour. This helped to share wealth between the two cities and reduce congestion.
The rise of the personal automobile, which was more convenient than train travel and the economic viability of flying made rail less attractive as planes offered higher speeds and more travel options. Newspapers from around the globe started to mock the Shinkansen project, with the Belfast Telegraph in 1978 publishing an article stating there had been a 50% rise in ticket prices, a 5% reduction in passenger travel and a 12% reduction in freight transport (Belfast T,1978.p.10). These figures were also further reported in London News’ 1982 article on train systems abroad (London News, 1982, p. 39).
However, in 1975, the Japanese government reinvested in high-speed rail and created the network we know today, which is over 2000km long and has transported over 10 billion passengers. While many lines have become profitable, the issue of high ticket prices is of grave concern. Japan is repeating its past formula of investing to half travel times, except this time it will cost $64 billion. The International Railways Journal stated an increase of $13.7bn in construction costs was required due to economic changes brought on by COVID-19 (Smith,2021)
Fig 2: TGV, , Gardner, 5 November 2023
Why does the world want high-speed Rail?
Japan is a crucial example of the exceptionally high costs linked to High-Speed Rail and begs the question of whether it is worth it? The joint Transport Research Centre states the benefits are “lower travel time, higher comfort, more reliability, higher capacity and reduced congestion” (Garg,2020. p.13). Congestion is the most significant factor to discuss. By persuading the public to swap their car for the train, the environmental benefits can be substantial, especially if the electricity for the tracks comes from renewable and sustainable sources. High-speed Rail can be sustainable if it reduces higher polluting modes of transport like planes and cars. TGV project in France is an excellent example of this by offering high-speed city connection and allowing for the ban of 2.5-hour internal flights in May of 2023, helping to reduce France’s carbon footprint.
Fig 3: HS2, Jack, November 03 2023
The Shortcomings of High-speed Rail
Not all high-speed rail projects are a success. California’s planned network hopes to reduce the congestion issues in LA, where the TomTom index states it takes 14.5 minutes to travel 10km, whereas in neighbouring San Diego, it takes 8. It also hopes to reduce the use of internal flights. Currently, the scheme is plagued with cost overruns, environmental concerns and political disputes, all seemingly commonplace factors when discussing high-speed rail.
Take the recent cancellation of HS2 as a critical example of the unstable nature of high-speed rail. Its inception came from a similar justification as California’s. The ageing, unreliable rail network dates back to the Victorian period, and the need for better transport links into London due to the high congestion rates, with the TomTom index rating it the 12th worst city in the world for congestion in 2022. The idea behind the project’s inception was justifiable. Still, unlike Japan’s Rail network, the first phase of the scheme would only cover 140 miles, meaning much of the country missed out on the benefits. The following phases would see it reach Manchester but missed out on the Northeast of England, further adding to the debate about the north-south divide. The project also ran £67bn over budget due to poor cost planning.
Conclusion
High-speed rail can be highly successful in attracting the general population away from planes and cars, helping to reduce congestion and CO2. That factor alone does not, however, mean it is environmentally sustainable.HS2 planned on destroying ancient woodlands and consumed 20M tonnes of concrete, and caused a concrete shortage in the UK, according to the New Civil Engineering Trust. It can be economically sustainable if a country can afford the upfront cost, which economic powerhouses like Japan, France, and America can. However, even nations as wealthy as the UK struggled to do so, meaning the argument for financial sustainability is brought further into question. Instead, we should look to upgrade and renew what we have before thinking about creating from scratch, as that will always be more sustainable both environmentally and economically.
Bibliography
List of Images
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Fig 2, Gardner, N. (2013) TGV [Online], Website. Available at: https://www.europebyrail.eu/the-tgv-network-expands/ (Accessed: 5 November 2023).
Fig 3, Jack, S. (2021) HS2 [Online], website. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64901985 (Accessed: 3 November 2023).
Publications
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Garg, A., Beri, P. and Siddhi Kasliwal (2020) Project Financing for a Sustainable Railways Project. London : Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Ginés de Rus (2008) The Economic Effects of High Speed Rail Investment. University of Las Palmas.
Online Sources
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Based on Ethan’s blog post regarding high-speed rail, Malaysia and Singapore are the other countries that are considering having this infrastructure in the future. The project was proposed in the 1990s, yet there is nothing has been done on-site and everything is still in the preliminary stage. The latest progress was the Malaysian government re-evaluating the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project due to worries that the project’s potential economic benefits may outweigh its costs (Ferlito, 2021). Is Malaysia capable of owning an HSR project?
Referring to the project proposal, in 2030, Malaysia needs to accommodate USD 1.589 billion which is 70% of the project cost while Singapore will do the rest, USD 641 million. A huge money spends on one infrastructure that only benefits Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is not a good move for the domestic economy of Malaysia. A few states in between the cities like Malacca and Negeri Sembilan, will never receive an overflow economy upon the infrastructure, in fact, may reduce the economic impact as mentioned by Hayakawa, Isono and Kumagai (2018).
Besides, HSR tickets will be expensive for most Malaysians and need subsidies from the government to use the infrastructure. This will be an extra debit to the government in order to maintain and keep the project in progress. The HSR provides other transportation options and it can be useful during the festive season because of the high usage of the North-South Expressway during that period. However, it still needs to rethink and consider other stops in between the cities which will cause additional budget for the project.
Therefore, Malaysia’s action to re-evaluate the project is good due to its high cost and economic benefits. However, having a high-speed rail can have a huge impact on the economy in the future while China is planning to continue their railway from Kunming, China to Bangkok, Thailand and end with Singapore as mentioned in Geopolitical Monitor in 2017. This can also benefit the environment as people see high-speed rail as an option rather than an aeroplane.
Reference:
Hayakawa, K., Isono, I., Kumagai, S., (2018). Potential Economic Impact of the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High Speed Rail, (11).
Ferlito. C, (2021), AsiaTimes: Rethinking Malaysia-Singapore high-speed rail. Available at: https://asiatimes.com/2021/01/rethinking-malaysia-singapore-high-speed-rail/ (Accessed: 23 November 2023)
Geopolitical Monitor (2017), Fact Sheet: Kunming-Singapore High-Speed Rail Network. Available at: https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/fact-sheet-kunming-singapore-high-speed-rail-network/ (Accessed: 23 November 2023)
This is an insightful and helpful post. The post highlights the debate surrounding high-speed rail’s political and economic feasibility in other nations while highlighting the system’s effectiveness in Japan as one of the green transportation options. All things considered, high-speed rail is regarded as a sustainable form of transportation that permeates every city, alleviates the current problem of traffic congestion, reduces travel times and generally makes life easier and more pleasant in today’s world where sustainability is valued.
In terms of environmental benefits, HRS combats climate change and reduces carbon emissions. According to Nie and Zhang’s (2021) panel data on 285 Chinese cities from 2004 to 2014, the input of HRS greatly reduces local carbon emissions and has a spilt-over effect within an 80-kilometer radius. Furthermore, because HSR has great cleanliness and low energy consumption, it can reduce some of the environmental pollution while in operation (Chester and Horvath, 2012). The main cause of air pollution is the release of greenhouse gases, and according to Anderson (2014), HSR emits significantly less carbon dioxide than cars and aeroplanes. As a result, from an environmental standpoint, it achieves sustainable development.
From a financial point of view, while the construction of HRS needs more economic input, it also results in more economic output. For example, Japan’s Shinkansen’s corporate suppliers and manufacturing chain, which significantly lowers time, allowing them to cover a boarder range of industries (Bernard et al, 2019). Consequently, HRS improve business efficiency while also improving access and communication across cities, generating improved external circumstances for economic development (Israel and Cohen-Blankshtain, 2010). Furthermore, there are some financial expenses associated with HRS maintenance, but according to Pollalis et al. (2013), the sustainability of HRS can be optimized through the use of smart grids for traction power, which can be recycled or refurbished to minimize waste and resource depletion. Therefore, it can be shown that HRS is comparatively sustainable compared to other forms of transportation, but it must be continuously optimized and altered in order to provide better benefits.
reference:
Anderson, M. L. (2014). Subways, Strikes, and Slowdowns: The Impacts of Public Transit on Traffic Congestion. Am. Econ. Rev. 104 (9), 2763–2796. doi:10.1257/aer.104.9.2763
Bernard, A. B., Moxnes, A., and Saito, Y. U. (2019). Production Networks, Geography, and Firm Performance. J. Political Econ. 127 (2), 639–688. doi:10.1086/700764
Chester, M., and Horvath, A. (2012). High-speed Rail with Emerging Automobiles and Aircraft Can Reduce Environmental Impacts in California’s Future. Environ. Res. Lett. 7 (3), 034012. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/7/3/034012
Israel, E., and Cohen-Blankshtain, G. (2010). Testing the Decentralization Effects of Rail Systems: Empirical Findings from Israel. Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 44 (7), 523–536. doi:10.1016/j.tra.2010.03.021
Nie, L. and Zhang, Z. (2021). Is high-speed rail green?: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China. [online] JSTOR. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep35934 [Accessed 18 Nov. 2023].
Pollalis, S.N., Georgoulias, A., Ramos, S.J. and Schodek, D. (2013). Infrastructure Sustainability and Design. Routledge.