Source:
International Union of RailwaysTravel Times before and after the
Introduction of a High Speed Rail Service (hours)High speed rail has been a technology actively contributing
to regional space / time convergence. The setting of high speed
rail systems has considerably improved
travel time between several major metropolitan areas, on average a 50%
reduction. In many cases (such as Paris / Lyon on the Paris / Marseille
axis) the drop in travel time has placed new areas within commuting
range, implying that some HSR corridors an become commuter rail
lines. The high speed train system has also the advantage of servicing
central areas (for most stations) with an overall higher level of
accessibility to the city. By including travel time to stations commonly
well serviced by public transit, the high speed train system can compete
effectively with short and medium distance air transport. In recent
years, several new systems were brought online in Asia, including in South
Korea (2004), Taiwan (2007) and China (2009). In the case of China
the service time improvements were particularly impressive since the
existing rail passenger network is slow and congested.