Hitachi Rail study shows Americans would travel by rail versus flying and driving if options were available

According to the latest global survey commissioned by Hitachi Rail, more than half of Americans back reducing or eliminating short-haul flights where high speed rail alternatives exist. The findings, unveiled as Hitachi Rail participates in America’s annual High Speed Rail conference in Washington, D.C., underlines a growing appetite to travel by long-distance rail as opposed to flying or driving.  

The research, carried out by SavantaComres, collected data from approximately 1,000 people each in 12 different cities around the world, including Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubai, London, Milan, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Warsaw, Toronto, Canada, San Francisco, Calif., and Washington D.C. Hitachi Rail notes the results from 1,000 Washingtonians and 1,000 San Franciscans provides a statistically accurate picture of how citizens view long distance travel, which was defined as any journey of at least 2.5 hours. 

While access to high-speed rail is currently limited in the U.S. the report shows that if high-speed options were more widely available, it would change how survey respondents would travel over longer distances. More than half of the respondents (54 percent) would support reducing or eliminating short haul flights if there were a competing high speed rail line and almost half would also back increasing air taxes to fund rail infrastructure. 

According to Hitachi Rail, in recent decades, high speed rail has transformed travel in parts of Asia and Europe, helping to replace short-haul flights with more sustainable journeys. The report notes that although this is not currently the case in America, there is an increasing appetite in its potential and the annual U.S. High Speed Rail Conference brings together key industry, political and business leaders to explore opportunities to scale up high-speed rail across the U.S. 

The report details that one in five American respondents believe they will travel more by train in the next five years. Of interest to policymakers and planners, the research also tested what factors motivate how a person chooses to travel. For American respondents, comfort (69 percent), convenience (62 percent) and cost (57 percent) trumped length of journey and were identified as the three most important factors for selecting their mode of transport. 

“We know that high-speed rail can transform how people travel, creating a modal shift away from higher-pollution transit options such as planes and cars and onto sustainable trains. This is evident in the high-speed rail lines Hitachi Rail operates across the globe,” said Joseph Pozza, president of Hitachi Rail, North America. “Our research underlines that there is growing public support for high-speed rail in America, with more than half even prepared to support a reduction on short haul flights where rail alternatives exist. As an industry, we should take heed of this public appetite and work together to make it a reality.” 

The full report can be found here.