High Speed Rail Improvements

Why having two stops close together on a high-speed railway line can prove to be detrimental to the efficiency of the lineHaving two stations on a high-speed railway line that are close together such as in a major city relegates the speed of a high-speed train to that of a slower, inner-city form of transport for that portion of the journey. This is because the train must stop at the first station, before accelerating again and then immediately decelerating as it approaches the station at the other end of the city.If there was only one station on a high-speed network serving each major city, then more people would have to rely on the inner-city form of transportation to join the line.What if the inner-city form of transport was of a good standard? Both scenarios (having one station or two stations in the same city) require a form of transport, whether it is an inner-city form of transport or a high-speed train to travel at the same speed because as mentioned earlier, a high-speed train cannot travel so fast if it has just stopped. It behaves exactly like an inner-city train in terms of speed. Here are some of the key advantages and disadvantages of scrapping one of the two stations that serve the same city.

Advantages

•With less stations, the train journey will take less time, benefitting the passenger•The train can be more quickly be put back into circulation, allowing more economic efficiency•Some potential stress in transferring to another form of transport may occur•With less stations, there will be less wear and tear of the train due to breaking, enhancing longevity of the trains•The sometimes-astronomical costs of building a new station can be avoided

Disadvantages

•Some time will be lost for passengers preferring to depart at the now, absent station as they would have to switch transport to an inner-city type instead and wait for it to arrive. A direct train avoids the need to change to another form of transport•Some time will be lost for passengers preferring to join the line at the now, absent station as they would have to switch transport to an inner-city type instead and wait for it to arrive. A direct train avoids the need to change to another form of transportThe disadvantages listed above however, are not as big as one would assume. If a station is missing, people would be forced to use the inner-city form of transportation to join or exit the high-speed line. However, unless the missing station were right outside the person’s house, they would likely use a form of inner-city form of transportation to join or exit the high-speed line even if the extra station was present. Hence, time lost in waiting to switch to an inner-city form of transport would always occur whether the extra high-speed station was there or not. Since both the high-speed line and the inner-city form of transport travel at the same speed within the city, no time would therefore be lost for most passengers if the extra station was missing. There are other factors to consider such as the standard required of the inner-city form of transport to replace the high-speed station, the differing popularity of the stations etc. We can discuss these in greater detail.