| Author: | Gu, Hongyi |
| Title: | Three essays on the heterogeneous impact of high-speed rail on aviation |
| Advisors: | Wan, Yulai Sarah (LMS) Czerny, Achim I. (LMS) |
| Degree: | Ph.D. |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Department: | Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies |
| Pages: | xiii, 119 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | The rapid expansion of high-speed rail (HSR) networks has fundamentally transformed intercity transportation systems, particularly in China, which operates 68% of the world's HSR infrastructure till 2023. This thesis examines the multifaceted interactions between HSR and air transport through three interconnected studies, addressing critical gaps in understanding their competitive dynamics, strategic adaptations, and systemic impacts. First, we investigate how airfare adjustments channel HSR's impact on air traffic, decomposing price-relevant and price-irrelevant effects across heterogeneous markets. Our analysis reveals that airlines' fare responses significantly influence net traffic outcomes, with medium-quality HSR routes experiencing air traffic growth through fare reductions, while high-quality HSR routes see declines due to airfare increases. These findings highlight the crucial role of market-specific factors in shaping HSR-aviation competition. Second, we analyze airlines' scheduling strategies in response to HSR competition, demonstrating heterogeneous response patterns that vary by route characteristics. On long-haul and slot-controlled routes, airlines increase departure-time differentiation, whereas short-haul routes exhibit flight clustering. This study reveals an important asymmetry in strategic flexibility, with severely affected markets showing limited differentiation options compared to moderately competitive ones. Third, we develop an innovative framework to assess HSR's effects on airport catchment areas and inter-airport competition, incorporating door-to-door travel times at the itinerary level. Our findings demonstrate significant heterogeneity, with major hub airports benefiting from catchment expansion while smaller regional airports experience contraction. Additionally, we observe a modest system-wide rise in competition intensity among airports. This uneven distribution of HSR's effects highlights the importance of coordinated infrastructure planning to ensure balanced regional accessibility. Collectively, these studies advance empirical understanding of HSR-aviation interactions, provide evidence of constrained airline strategic scheduling responses, and develop innovative methodologies for airport accessibility analysis. The findings offer valuable guidance for policymakers and transportation planners, highlighting the need for integrated policies that balance HSR development with aviation sector sustainability. The research particularly emphasizes addressing emerging disparities between hub and regional airports, offering key insights for managing the complexities of multimodal transportation systems. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | open access |
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