Accessibility impact of future high speed rail corridor on the piedmont Atlantic megaregion

This study evaluates the accessibility impact of future high speed rail (HSR) corridor on the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion (PAM) in the United States. A geographic information system (GIS) tool is used to conduct the accessibility assessment. The door-to-door approach is adopted to evaluate the multimodal (including roadways and HSR) travel time. Three accessibility indicators are selected, including the weighted average travel time (WATT), daily accessibility (DA), and potential accessibility (PA). The selected accessibility indicators are calculated by using the estimated travel time at the geographical level. The average accessibility scores of the counties in the PAM during peak and off-peak hours are estimated and compared. The results indicate that the building of the HSR corridor within the PAM will improve the accessibility at the megaregional level. However, the coefficient of variation results indicate that the inequality will also increase due to the new HSR corridor. The relationships between megaregional accessibility scores (i.e., WATT) and HSR services (such as headway and speed) are explored. Several policy implications are drawn in terms of enhancing the megaregional accessibility.