How profitable is high-speed rail?


How profitable is high-speed rail? With the right commercial strategy, high-speed rail (HSR) routes can be profitable, with some lines achieving modal shares of up to 65%.


Does rail have a future?

In a world becoming ever more urbanised, rail travel is well matched to urban needs. High-speed rail can serve as an alternative to short-distance air travel, and conventional and freight rail can complement other transport modes to provide efficient mobility.


Is high-speed rail in Europe profitable?

From a financial standpoint, only two HSR lines in the world are profitable: Paris-Lyon in France and Tokyo-Osaka in Japan. A third line, Hakata-Osaka in Japan, breaks even. The majority of high-speed rail lines require large government subsidies from both general taxpayers and drivers.


Does high-speed rail make a profit?

With the right commercial strategy, high-speed rail (HSR) routes can be profitable, with some lines achieving modal shares of up to 65%.


Do UK trains make a profit?

While rail workers have had their pay frozen in the same period, DfT data shows that the private train operators made £310 million in taxpayer-funded profits between March 2020 and September 2022.


Do European train companies make money?

In 2019, passenger operators made on average around 38.14 euros per train-kilometer in France, the leading country in the region for passenger operator revenue streams per train-kilometer. The country was followed by Luxembourg and Belgium, at around 29 and 28 euros, respectively.


Is UK rail profitable?

For the 2021/22 financial year, Network Rail recorded a £324M pre-tax profit. That is down from the £1.6bn profit recorded in the previous financial year. The profit dip has been blamed on inflationary-related cost pressures, with revenue only dipping slightly from £9.61bn last year to £9.55bn this year.


What is the most profitable railroad?

BNSF Railway leads the market The railroad focuses on transporting freight commodities such as coal, industrial or agricultural products. In 2022, the company generated some 24.49 billion U.S. dollars in freight revenue and hauled more than 10 million carloads across the country.


What is the most profitable railroad in the world?

Cumulatively, the top 10 railway companies in the world generated revenue of $237,432 million, with average revenue growth of 0.57%, the highest revenue was generated by Deutsche Bahn AG ($55,666 million), followed by SNCF Group ($41,094 million) and Indian Railways ($27,326 million), while Canadian National Railway Co ...


Will the US ever get high-speed rail?

CLIMATEWIRE | The first U.S.-made high-speed bullet trains will start running as early as 2024 between Boston, New York and Washington, with the promise of cutting transportation emissions by attracting new rail passengers who now drive or fly.


Is high-speed rail a good investment?

This investment has spurred economic benefits around California and across the country. Investment in high-speed rail is supporting jobs, labor income and economic output across a number of California's regions, including some of those hardest hit by the Great Recession.


Will high-speed rail hurt the economy?

Implementing high-speed rail will keep billions of dollars in the U.S. economy by decreasing the amount of oil that the U.S. consumes. According to the International Association of Railways (UIC), high-speed rail is eight times more energy efficient than airplanes and four times more efficient than automobile use.


Is China losing money in high-speed rail?

According to the latest data, as of the first half of 2022, the total liabilities of China National Railway Group totaled 6 trillion yuan, and in the first half of 2022 alone, it has lost 80.4 billion yuan, with an average loss of 400 million yuan per day.


Why the US has no high-speed rail?

While the US was a passenger train pioneer in the 19th century, after WWII, railways began to decline. The auto industry was booming, and Americans bought cars and houses in suburbs without rail connections. Highways (as well as aviation) became the focus of infrastructure spending, at the expense of rail.


Who pays for high speed rails?

FUNDING IN BRIEF Funding for California high-speed rail has come from the legislative appropriation of state special funds and from federal competitive grants. No funding comes from traditional state sources, such as the gas taxes or general fund dollars.


Is high-speed rail cheaper than driving?

A lot cheaper. That high-speed train ticket would cost about $75, compared to more than $200 to fly or drive. Ready to ride?


How would high-speed rail be funded?

Funding for California high-speed rail has come from the legislative appropriation of state special funds and from federal competitive grants. No funding comes from traditional state sources, such as the gas taxes or general fund dollars.