Major air-rail study published in Spain
Friday, 28 Oct 2011 09:22
According to the group, the objectives of the Aero-Ave project are to analyse the impact of integration between long distance transport modes (air and high speed railways), and to evaluate how such integration may facilitate improvements in interconnections between long distance modes and urban transport networks.
Currently the project is close to its completion, having concluded the reports 1 and 2.
Report 1 gathers a literature review and a revision of the international experience. It contains three main parts - a review of literature concerning published works on the air-rail intermodality issue; a revision of the current intermodality situation at main airports in Europe: Roissy-CDG, Zurich, Copenhague-Kastrup, London-Heathrow, Amsterdam-Schiphol, Brussels and Lyon-St. Exupéry; and a deep analysis of the most successful experience of air-rail intermodality in Europe: the air-railway supply as provided in Germany from Frankfurt airport as well as the air-rail cooperation between Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa.
Report 2 gathers the theoretical models and the identification of barriers and opportunities for the air-rail intermodality based on the fact that high speed railways and planes have been considered as substitutive modes that compete between each other.
However, according to the project managers, in spite of competition advantages, it might be possible that integration between planes and high speed railway becomes more beneficial. As a conclusion, the Group states, that the cooperation is beneficial for operators that take part in the integration process, though social benefit of intermodality remains uncertain when there are capacity restrictions (due to competition losses in the market).
Working groups
Two working groups were constituted for the identification of barriers and opportunities for intermodality. Within these groups the elements that customers valued the most were identified - like total travel time, price, baggage management or the integrated management of booking and boarding passes, were considered as very relevant on the users’ part in order to accept intermodality.
Barriers associated to lack of technological change or to normal practices in the operation of different transport modes were not considered as an insurmountable aspect, being the main problem for the development of intermodality the need to implement cooperation agreements among different agents that would be beneficial for them all. One of the most important elements identified is that the final price would be lower than the sum of prices for each of the trip parts.
Spanish lines
The case studies to be published in the project are: Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Toledo, Airport and HSR Málaga and routes connecting the Canaries with Mainland Spain.
In the Madrid-Barcelona case study it is not only the route what is examined, but a set of domestic routes with origin in Madrid. By econometric means the Group evaluates whether the high speed rail has significantly changed the frequency, the number of passengers and the market share of airlines. The results show that it has reduced on average the number of air transport operations by 17%. On the other hand the demand has increased substantially, though the weight of air transport in the total market has been reduced, as it reduced the weight of the dominant Spanish air carrier Iberia on air markets.
The case study of Madrid-Toledo analyzes the HSR attraction of users coming from other modes of transport (private vehicle, bus) due to an improvement in intermodality (connection Madrid Center-Madrid Barajas Airport). A stated and revealed preference survey is conducted. For the case of stated preferences the questionnaire is directed to workers who live in Toledo but need to travel through Madrid Barajas for business reasons.
Málaga airport
In the case study of the Airport and HSR Málaga, the purpose consists of assessing the benefits and costs associated with the strategies of competition and cooperation in an intermodal transport system that combines air and high speed railway transport. In the exercise of evaluation the Group assesses the current situation at the Málaga-Madrid route, a situation in which both modes of transport compete, against another theoretical scenario in which they assume that all passengers switch to the high speed railway as result of a strategy of cooperation between air carriers and the high speed railway company.
Finally, in the case study of the routes between the Canary Islands and Mainland Spain, the modal integration between the HSR and the air services is examined. This case study emphasises the most relevant attributes for this alternative to be sufficiently attractive for users in order to compete with the current alternative air transport-air transport.
Airlines
For airlines, trains can generate new demands by expanding the traveller catchment areas around the airport, going from a local area to a regional one.
In Europe, several initiatives of intermodal air rail services are now emerging (TGV Air in France, Fly Air Bagagge in Switzerland, AIRail in Germany), which demonstrate how the interconnection between modes can work in practice and benefit both operators and users.
However, although there are “a priori” conditions that allow the appearance of such commercial initiatives, aero-rail intermodality is not an element that can easily arise in a natural way. Sometimes a boost may be needed to show operators the benefits of collaboration between modes, and this is where there is a scope for action for the public sector by promoting the necessary agreements and the performance of some investments to facilitate intermodality.
The factors identified in this research project as the main necessary elements for the development of intermodal air-rail services are the following five:
Other important factors, such as the price of the services or single check-in services are also relevant but not critical to the success of intermodal products.
In the case of single check-in, despite the undoubted advantages offered to users regarding the convenience of making a complete trip with no obligation to pick up their baggage at the connection point between modes and their transfer to the next section, the high costs incurred by operators and coordination requirements make this an issue that can slow the development of an intermodal service, rather than promote it.
To enhance the development of intermodal services in Spain, the Group proposes that the Ministry of Public Works can prepare an Aero-Railway Intermodality Development Plan to analyze the corridors where such services could commercially operate, and identify the investment needs and other support policies.
Proposals
Given the results and conclusions of the research project Aero-Ave Group proposes:
Currently the project is close to its completion, having concluded the reports 1 and 2.
Report 1 gathers a literature review and a revision of the international experience. It contains three main parts - a review of literature concerning published works on the air-rail intermodality issue; a revision of the current intermodality situation at main airports in Europe: Roissy-CDG, Zurich, Copenhague-Kastrup, London-Heathrow, Amsterdam-Schiphol, Brussels and Lyon-St. Exupéry; and a deep analysis of the most successful experience of air-rail intermodality in Europe: the air-railway supply as provided in Germany from Frankfurt airport as well as the air-rail cooperation between Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa.
Report 2 gathers the theoretical models and the identification of barriers and opportunities for the air-rail intermodality based on the fact that high speed railways and planes have been considered as substitutive modes that compete between each other.
However, according to the project managers, in spite of competition advantages, it might be possible that integration between planes and high speed railway becomes more beneficial. As a conclusion, the Group states, that the cooperation is beneficial for operators that take part in the integration process, though social benefit of intermodality remains uncertain when there are capacity restrictions (due to competition losses in the market).
Working groups
Two working groups were constituted for the identification of barriers and opportunities for intermodality. Within these groups the elements that customers valued the most were identified - like total travel time, price, baggage management or the integrated management of booking and boarding passes, were considered as very relevant on the users’ part in order to accept intermodality.
Barriers associated to lack of technological change or to normal practices in the operation of different transport modes were not considered as an insurmountable aspect, being the main problem for the development of intermodality the need to implement cooperation agreements among different agents that would be beneficial for them all. One of the most important elements identified is that the final price would be lower than the sum of prices for each of the trip parts.
Spanish lines
The case studies to be published in the project are: Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Toledo, Airport and HSR Málaga and routes connecting the Canaries with Mainland Spain.
In the Madrid-Barcelona case study it is not only the route what is examined, but a set of domestic routes with origin in Madrid. By econometric means the Group evaluates whether the high speed rail has significantly changed the frequency, the number of passengers and the market share of airlines. The results show that it has reduced on average the number of air transport operations by 17%. On the other hand the demand has increased substantially, though the weight of air transport in the total market has been reduced, as it reduced the weight of the dominant Spanish air carrier Iberia on air markets.
The case study of Madrid-Toledo analyzes the HSR attraction of users coming from other modes of transport (private vehicle, bus) due to an improvement in intermodality (connection Madrid Center-Madrid Barajas Airport). A stated and revealed preference survey is conducted. For the case of stated preferences the questionnaire is directed to workers who live in Toledo but need to travel through Madrid Barajas for business reasons.
Málaga airport
In the case study of the Airport and HSR Málaga, the purpose consists of assessing the benefits and costs associated with the strategies of competition and cooperation in an intermodal transport system that combines air and high speed railway transport. In the exercise of evaluation the Group assesses the current situation at the Málaga-Madrid route, a situation in which both modes of transport compete, against another theoretical scenario in which they assume that all passengers switch to the high speed railway as result of a strategy of cooperation between air carriers and the high speed railway company.
Finally, in the case study of the routes between the Canary Islands and Mainland Spain, the modal integration between the HSR and the air services is examined. This case study emphasises the most relevant attributes for this alternative to be sufficiently attractive for users in order to compete with the current alternative air transport-air transport.
Airlines
For airlines, trains can generate new demands by expanding the traveller catchment areas around the airport, going from a local area to a regional one.
In Europe, several initiatives of intermodal air rail services are now emerging (TGV Air in France, Fly Air Bagagge in Switzerland, AIRail in Germany), which demonstrate how the interconnection between modes can work in practice and benefit both operators and users.
However, although there are “a priori” conditions that allow the appearance of such commercial initiatives, aero-rail intermodality is not an element that can easily arise in a natural way. Sometimes a boost may be needed to show operators the benefits of collaboration between modes, and this is where there is a scope for action for the public sector by promoting the necessary agreements and the performance of some investments to facilitate intermodality.
The factors identified in this research project as the main necessary elements for the development of intermodal air-rail services are the following five:
- Infrastructure Connection
- Full-time travel
- Volume of activity at the airport
- Unified Ticketing
- Information
Other important factors, such as the price of the services or single check-in services are also relevant but not critical to the success of intermodal products.
In the case of single check-in, despite the undoubted advantages offered to users regarding the convenience of making a complete trip with no obligation to pick up their baggage at the connection point between modes and their transfer to the next section, the high costs incurred by operators and coordination requirements make this an issue that can slow the development of an intermodal service, rather than promote it.
To enhance the development of intermodal services in Spain, the Group proposes that the Ministry of Public Works can prepare an Aero-Railway Intermodality Development Plan to analyze the corridors where such services could commercially operate, and identify the investment needs and other support policies.
Proposals
Given the results and conclusions of the research project Aero-Ave Group proposes:
- Promote the development of connection infrastructure between air and rail modes in the main Spanish airports (mainly Madrid and Barcelona, but not excluding those other airports of other cities that will have in medium-term, high-speed rail services).
- So that intermodal services reach optimum quality, the ideal would be to develop integrated rail stations in airports. However, there may be other intermodal alternatives that may also be operative (with more discomfort to the passengers), whenever there is an efficient interface for connecting modes. Thus, for example, some space at airports can be reserved to speed up the check in of passengers accessing the rail mode, as well as improving the information available in each of the modes on the schedule of the other ones.
- As exploratory experience to evaluate the potential of air rail intermodal services in Madrid, the Group proposes to allocate a space in Terminal 4 of Barajas to develop a fast connection interface for travellers who enter Madrid through high-speed trains. With the possession of an AVE (Spain´s high speed train) ticket used that same day, the airline passenger would have an express check-in counter and also quick access to security controls, to facilitate connections between modes.
- To elaborate, jointly by Iberia and Renfe, several pilot programmes in selected routes to develop intermodal services.
- To explore the potential to develop new touristic packages to visit two cities, integrating an air and high-speed train ticket, with a multi-day stay in both places.
- To evaluate, through real life experiences, the cost of an intermodal service, unified ticketing and unique check-in
- To estimate the emission reductions achieved with intermodality, from real data taken from practical experiences.
- Foundation for Applied Economic Studies (FEDEA)
- Spanish Railways Foundation
- University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
- University of Castilla-La Mancha
- Transportation Technical Team and Territory
- Foundation Research Institute Innaxis
- Renfe
- ADIF
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