Social and Spatial Equity/Equality in Relation to High-Speed Trains: Lessons from Turkey’s High-Speed Train Experience

Abstract

In the twentieth century, high-speed trains (HSTs) were added to the choice of transportation modes in Japan and Europe, and in the twenty-first century HST networks in developing countries have been advanced. It is planned to enhance these networks further in the future. Developing countries are characterized by income inequalities and, thus, it is important to find out who uses HSTs. If they are only viable in the wealthiest regions, then this mode of transportation will induce spatial inequity. If HST travel is too expensive, then HSTs will induce social inequity. Numerous studies have explored the relationship between HSTs and equity, but they have mostly covered economically developed countries, with only a few studies being carried out in economically developing countries apart from China. As such, the aim of this article is to fill the gap in the literature by analyzing the case of Turkey’s HSTs. The study presents a review of the literature pertaining to HSTs and the issue of equity, then uses Turkey’s socioeconomic development index to make comparisons of HST service accessibility according to different social groups, ages, and occupations. Ticket price and accessibility indicators are used to work out how HSTs can be a tool for reducing accessibility inequalities. The results indicate that HSTs do not necessarily reinforce the existing accessibility inequalities in Turkey, but can be a tool for improving equity in three ways: their ticket pricing policy; their considerable range, in that they serve numerous cities all over the country; and the way they are used in relation to different groups.