appears that developing an integrated transport system
is crucial to the performance of the HSR. This point will
be expanded upon next.
2.3. Towards an integrated transport system
Developing an integrated system is not only
beneficial to the system itself but also to passengers
and the regions served by the lines. It is important to
remember that HSR is only one element of a total
transport system in an urban area and that it should
contribute to bringing passengers ‘‘door-to-door’’ in the
vast majority of trips reaching beyond the access points
of HSR. A properly integrated transport system, where
HSR is complemented by other modes, can avoid
disorderly competition, encourage a sensible distribution
of occupancy and stimulate cooperation among
operators. It is also worth remembering that the impact
of HSR may not only be beneficial to the cities it
connects, but also to the cities in surrounding regions. In
order to achieve this, it is desirable that an urban region
be linked to a network of HSR lines, with regional
services operating in harmony with HSR through
seamless connections and timetable-matching. Done in
this way, an integrated transport system can improve the
spatial penetration of HSR, putting it within reach of
more passengers. The following sections will discuss in
more detail the relationships with different modes with
which HSR can integrate.
2.3.1. Aircraft: from competition to cooperation
HSR competes with air travel in medium to long
distances. Hall (1991) has made some assumptions
comparing the time differences between HSR and air
travel in terms of door-to-door journeys. In a city-centre-
to-city-centre HSR journey, travellers are assumed to be
able to reach the train station in 15 min and then the train
in another five minutes; at the other end, 15 min are
allowed to reach the final destination. For air, the model is
based on a 45 min journey to the airport and another
60 min for check-in and waiting time; at the other end,
five minutes are calculated to exit the terminal and
another 45 min to arrive at the final destination. The total
access and waiting time is thus modelled at 35 min by rail
and 155 min by air. On this basis, the break-even distance
between HSR and air is 530 km for a 200 km/h high-
speed train or 960 km for a 300 km/h high-speed service
(Hall, 1991).
Evidence also suggests that HSR competes strongly
with air travel on many shorter-distance links between
major metropolitan areas (see also Table 2). In France,
between the years 1980 and 1985, the total number of