International Lessons for Promoting Transit Connections to High-Speed Rail Systems

As the California High-Speed Rail (HSR) project becomes reality, many communities involved in, or affected by, the California HSR project have considered how to connect the new HSR passenger services to local urban transportation systems – such as bus and light rail systems – and how they can take advantage of HSR accessibility and speed throughout the state. European and other overseas systems have decades of experience in forging connections between HSR and various transportation options. This study examines international HSR stations and identifies patterns in transit connections associated with stations on the basis of size, population levels, and other characteristics. Additionally, a closer examination is made of the lessons that can be learned from a strategic sample of overseas HSR stations, correlated to similar cities in the planned California system. Generally, the findings from the comparison suggest that California cities must make significant strides to approach the level of integration and ease of access to other modes that systems outside the U.S. now enjoy.