ABSTRACT
Across the EU27,1 travel by high-speed rail (HSR) has been the main driving force behind the recent growth in passenger rail travel. Although its overall share of travel is still modest – rail travel accounts for about 6.2 per cent of all travel in the EU27 (as measured by distance or passenger-kilometres), there has been a steady growth in the EU15 countries since 1990, about 1.5 per cent per annum. This has been seen by some as a rail renaissance or a second rail age in Europe (Givoni and Holvad 2009). However, the renaissance is not universal; the increase among the EU15 has been countered by a dramatic and continuing decline in rail travel in the newer members (EU12), where by 2011 the distance travelled by rail had fallen to one-third of its 1990 level. In addition, some observers challenge whether additional HSR is the best way forward.
