Wider economic impacts of high-speed rail: example of agglomeration benefits assessment on Bretagne Pays de Loire high speed rail project

Abstract

Abstract Wider economic impacts are indirect effects of transport infrastructure on the whole economy. That is a major change in rationale from the cost-benefit analysis to a greater range of impacts on labour and intermediary goods and services markets. Wider effects are mainly considered as agglomeration benefits, although there is some research gap on possible losses. This paper examines the possibility of applying the UK agglomeration effects assessment method to the new French Bretagne Pays de Loire (BPL) high speed line to be opened 2017. Besides some theoretical limitation of accounted both users surplus and productivity gains, the methodology is likely to change along with region-specific economic features and initial accessibility levels. Furthermore, data availability and reliability in France might challenge the direct application of the UK method onto French projects. This paper is a preliminary work of a global study on wider economic impacts of high speed rail projects and explores the possibility of assessing agglomeration effects and productivity gains to be drawn from infrastructure schemes.