An accessibility approach to railways and municipal population growth, 1840–1930

In the 19th century, railway networks strongly improved accessibility. In this paper we examine the impact of accessibility improvements on municipal population growth in the Netherlands between 1840 and 1930, using census data. By mapping a multimodal transport network and calculating the shortest travel time between all municipalities, we generate an accessibility indicator which is strongly influenced by railway connections. The regressions show that high rail accessibility levels are positively related to municipal population growth from 1880 onwards. The impact of rail accessibility was stronger at the end of the 19th century, as industrialization took off. The overall impact of rail on population growth has been modest, however. In our model, crowding and urbanization effects dominate.

Highlight► Impacts of railway network development on accessibility indicators are computed. ► Accessibility changes are decomposed in a railway part and a population part. ► Municipal population growth has mainly been affected by proximity in city networks. ► After 1880 municipal growth was positively affected by rail accessibility. ► The contribution of railway development to municipal growth has been modest.