DATE2019-01-08 12:44:23
IDABSTRACT2014/503
CONTACTgulcin.dalkic@metu.edu.tr
PRESENTATIONORAL
INVITED0
IDSESSION5
TITLE HIGH SPEED RAIL DEVELOPMENT IN TURKEY: GOVERNMENT POLICY, INVESTMENTS AND USERS PERSPECTIVE
AUTHORSGulcin Dalkic (1)|Ela Babalik Sutcliffe (2)|Hediye Tuydes (3)
AFFILIATIONS
  1. Middle East Technical University Department of Civil Engineering, ANKARA, TURKEY
  2. Middle East Technical University, Department of City and Regional Planning, ANKARA, TURKEY
  3. Middle East Technical University Department of Civil Engineering, ANKARA, TURKEY
ABSTRACTSustainable development has become a major goal for development policies of governments, local, national, and even supra-national. The transport sector often receives a major emphasis in these policies because it contributes significantly to the creation of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. It is one of the major consumers of energy sources as well as land. High speed railway investments are the one of the important components of sustainable transport strategy to reduce carbon intensive long-distance travel because when high speed train operates, it is expected that there will be a shift from road and air to rail. As a result, high speed rail investments have increased significantly in the world. In Turkey too, there is increasing investment in high-speed railways and a number of lines have already begun operation. In addition there are many projects that are in planning stage and about 20 years later there will be a very strong high speed railway network in Turkey which facilitates intercity transportation. Increasing investment of high speed train projects can bring many environmental, social and physical externalities; they can be effective in reducing CO2 emissions in the transport sector. This is often the justification of investment in rail systems; however, this desired impact can only occur if there is a shift to railways in passenger transport from road and air transport since these are the main transport modes that cause fossil fuel combustion. In order to provide a better understanding of whether a passenger transport shift will occur from road and air transport to rail transport, a user survey has been carried out with 211 people in 16 cities where high-speed railway lines are being planned. The presentation aims to analyze high speed rail investments in Turkey by focusing on possible passenger shifts from road and air transport to rail transport in the light of conducted surveys. It reveals perceptions, travel behaviour and attitudes, and mode choice tendencies of people living in close proximity to newly planned high-speed railway lines’ stations. All these results are used to explore whether these high-speed rail systems that are being planned are likely to be used by people who currently use road and air transport for long-distance travel. The analysis also highlights whether certain monetary or awareness-raising policies should be implemented to encourage a modal shift from road and air to rail transportation.
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