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This study surveys the characteristics of the corridors being considered by state and regional agencies for high-speed rail service in the United States. Using a data set of 21 systems at various stages of development, the study shows that the initiatives underway involve 64 corridors, the tracks of 21 freight railroads, and 15,552 unique miles of route.

The role of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in support­ing the development of passenger rail services in the state relates to the need for improved mobility. Given the fore­casted growth of the Texas population and freight movements, it is clear that substantial demands will be placed on the already heavily-used transportation infrastructure of the state. Railroads are viewed as a key element of a greater intermodal solution to supply increased travel demand and improve mobil­ity. It is widely hypothesized that rail service (particularly commuter rail on existing tracks) can be less costly than highway expansions when used for personal travel. However, it is foreseen that TxDOT will face many challenges, and in some cases opposition, when the agency proposes to accommodate both passenger and freight trains on the same track or the same right-of-way (ROW). In 2004, TxDOT contracted with the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) at The University of Texas at Austin…

1. INTRODUCTION Hedonic pricing methods explain the value of real estate in terms of the features of the property. This approach treats a certain property as a composite of characteristics to which value can be attached. The sum of the value of the individual characteristics makes up the value of the property as a whole. Studies on real estate prices generally categorise the value bearing features of properties into three types namely: physical, accessibly and environmental (Fujita 1989; Bowes and Ihlanfeldt 2001). Several studies have been conducted focusing on different features of interest. Accessibility as provided by different modes of transportation and railways in particular also received attention. In order to single out the effect of railway stations on property values, it is suggested in the literature that stations should be seen as nodes in a transport network and places in an area (Bertolini and Spit 1998). Based on this framework, recent empirical studies treat the node…

In 2002, we examined trends in air service in the United States in the 12 months following the September 11 attacks. We found a steep and continuing drop in air travel, and an overall reduction in the number of flights supplied. Using the industry standard data base, the Official Airline Guide (OAG), we examined air service levels at individual airports, and ranked them by both flights reduced and reduced seat availability within three airport categories: large hub, small and medium hub and non-hub commercial service airports.