Evaluation of the accessibility effects and proximity related externalities of commuter rail service

The impact of commuter rail service upon communities is examined via the analysis of single-family residential property values, with both beneficial and deleterious impacts evaluated. The primary motivations for this research are threefold: the growth of commuter rail services throughout the U.S., the ongoing debate in a number of U.S. metropolitan areas concerning the existence and extent of impacts from commuter rail facilities upon residential properties, and the current lack of adequate empirical evidence concerning the capitalization effects of commuter rail facilities. Revealed preference hedonic price models are utilized in conjunction with quasiexperimental approaches and paired data analysis, with the resulting analytic framework applied to a case study of commuter rail service in metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts. Results of the paired data analyses indicate that variations in accessibility to commuter rail stations within a given community do have a statistically significant but small impact upon single-family residential property values. Quasi-experimental hedonic price models yield inconsistent findings, with statistically significant property value premiums of 3.0 percent and 9.9 percent observed for homes within walking distance of commuter rail stations in two of the five study areas. At the regional level, there is some evidence that commuter rail accessibility to downtown terminals has a statistically significant appreciative impact upon single-family residential property values. Estimates of the elasticity of single-family residential property sales price with respect to commuter rail line haul travel time range from -0.16 to -0.18. A statistically significant sales price premium of about 3.8 percent is also observed for single-family residential properties by virtue of their being located within a community directly served by commuter rail. Regarding proximity related externalities, both paired data analyses and hedonic price models reveal no consistent statistically significant reductions in the value of properties in proximity to rail rights-of-way. For the grade crossing analyses, there were no statistically significant effects upon property values identified. The implications of the findings of this research, and the potential development of appropriate policy responses to the impacts that have been examined, are discussed in the context of the planning, design, and operation of new commuter rail facilities. Thesis Advisor: Dr. Nigel H. M. Wilson Title: Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering