The Milan-Bologna high-speed
rail line has transformed mobility, operating as "an accelerator
for national connectivity", according to a research project
called Imagine, carried out within the framework of the ESPON
programme, which is specialized in examining EU regional
policies..
It has also produced "small improvements" at the interregional
level, while making the infrastructure resemble more "a pipeline
than a backbone" as far as local transport is concerned.
"The high-speed corridor has had a significant effect on various
elements of mobility," the researchers write, with positive
effects on journey times between the provincial capitals,
reduced on average to 60 minutes, and on passenger flows.
Although there are no data on this last element, the fact that
commuting has increased can be deduced from the number of daily
trains trips, which have doubled since 2008, and an improvement
in occupancy rates.
"The extra capacity of this corridor created by the new train
line, coupled with the potential high demand, explains the
successful experience of the competition" between rail operators
Italo and Trenitalia, a competition that has "amplified the
positive effects of the train line", the researchers say.
"The only negative effect that has been observed is the loss of
connectivity between the intermediate cities, which the new
high-speed station at Reggio Emilia has only slightly improved".
In other words, the Milan-Bologna high-speed train line has
contributed to reinforcing the short and long-distance routes
between the main cities, while weakening medium-distance ones
and those for intermediate cities, the researchers explain.
The high-speed corridor has, therefore, produced a
"hierarchization of some cities at the expense of others",
functioning as "a pipeline" rather than as a "backbone".
"One can't say that the high-speed line has reduced regional
mobility, but it can be said that regions have not paid
sufficient attention to interregional mobility," explains Paolo
Beria, who teaches transport economics at Milan Polytechnic and
took part in the research.
"They should plan with each other and with Trenitalia.
"In a highly connected urban area like the one between Milan and
Bologna, with highly dynamic mobility over tens of kilometres,
you need a service that is regional," Beria concludes.
"Trains have to be frequent, relatively cheap, and travellers
must be able to buy a ticket just before the journey.
"Even for commuters, success is linked more to the success of
Milan and Bologna than to the high-speed corridor".
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