High-speed railway developments and corporate location decisions: The role of accessibility

Accessibility is a major factor that determines the effects of transport infrastructure developments on corporate location decisions. High-speed railways have an impact on accessibility by reducing travel times and increasing comfort. However, little research on its effects on location choices has been carried out so far. Still, high-speed railway infrastructure development is advocated for these effects on regional economy. This research uses interviews among corporate decision makers to determine how a change in accessibility due to new high-speed rail infrastructure is perceived by these corporate decision makers and what impact high-speed train connections have on the location choices of firms. It differs from most previous research because it links the empirical results of a qualitative research to theoretical concepts about accessibility, thereby primarily focussing on the areas around large railway stations with a high-speed train connection. In-dept interviews are held among recently (re)located firm branches to identify accessibility related factors that play a role in the location decision process. For these interviews we start from the assumption that for firms three aspects of accessibility by passenger transport systems are of importance: access and accessibilit