RESEARCH ARTICLE


High-Speed Rail for Freight: Potential Developments and Impacts on Urban Dynamics



Mathieu Strale*
Université Libre de Bruxelles- Institut de gestion de l’environnement et d’aménagement du territoire (IGEAT-ULB), unité de géographie appliquée et de géomarketing, Avenue F. D. Roosevelt, 50, CP 130/03 1050 Bruxelles Belgique


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Creative Commons License
© Mathieu Strale; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode), which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Université Libre de Bruxelles- Institut de gestion de l’environnement et d’aménagement du territoire (IGEAT-ULB), unité de géographie appliquée et de géomarketing Avenue F. D. Roosevelt, 50, CP 130/03 1050 Bruxelles Belgique; E-mail: mstrale@ulb.ac.be


Abstract

At present, high-speed rail is used only as a mode of passenger transport. Yet, the acceleration of logistics and freight transport flows could be compatible with high-speed rail capabilities. This article examines the experiences, literature and prospects of high-speed rail for freight. It uses three hypotheses to evaluate the development of freight high-speed rail services in Europe. The article concludes by describing the potential impacts on urban dynamics. It appears that the potential of freight high-speed rail services is limited in Europe, because of logistical constraints and network capabilities. Nevertheless, policies followed in Europe may change the situation.

Keywords: Europe, Freight transportation, High speed rail, Urban logistics.