Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study

and timely above and beyond the original motivation for studying passenger rail’s impact on
mobility in short- to medium-distance intercity corridors.
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
As the nation moves forward with the development of a more robust intercity passenger
rail network, the burden falls upon policymakers to ensure that states utilize the significant
investment of public resources necessary to build such a system in the most efficient manner
possible Given that the future of passenger rail in the United States appears to be primarily in
short- to medium-distance intercity corridors between 100 and 500 miles in length, a detailed
understanding of the regional mobility provided by these corridors is critical to the nation’s goals
for expanding its passenger rail system. Understanding passenger rail’s role in supporting
regional and intercity mobility is important for rail planners, who are tasked with developing
investment and service strategies for existing or proposed passenger rail service, and also for
policymakers, who are responsible for the efficient use of public resources for improving
mobility. Arguably, the southwest region of the United States has lagged behind other regions of
the country in the development of intercity passenger rail corridors. Consequently, the problem
examined by this study was to identify how passenger rail supports mobility in short- to medium-
distance intercity corridors with an emphasis on the southwest region of the United States. The
intercity passenger rail route that was selected for this study was the Heartland Flyer, a 206-mile
route between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas. Amtrak operates the
Heartland Flyer with financial support provided by the states of Oklahoma and Texas (5).
Study Objectives
The primary objective of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the mobility
implications of providing passenger rail service in a short- to medium-distance (100 to 500 mile)
intercity travel corridor through an analysis of responses to an on-board survey of passengers on
the Heartland Flyer. Mobility was measured through stated passenger preferences for
alternative travel arrangements if the rail service did not exist. An estimate of the number of
automobile, intercity bus, and air trips diverted onto the passenger rail route, as well as the
number of trips that are induced by the provision of passenger rail service in the Oklahoma City
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