Investments in High-Speed Rail are Unprofitable – Whichever Variant You Choose: Trains Running at 320 or 250 Kilometres Per Hour.

This is evident from a new report from the Swedish Transport Administration, reports Svenska Dagbladet.

The work has previously established that it would be economically unprofitable for society – and extremely expensive – to build tracks for the very fastest trains. The new investigation shows that it would be an even worse deal to invest in trains that travel at 250 kilometres per hour, partly due to increased maintenance costs. For every hundred pounds invested, only 25 pounds are recovered according to the report.

”But it can still be money well spent, even if it's not economically viable for society,” Trafikverket's Lennart Kalander tells SvD.

With new high-speed lines, for example, there would be more space for freight trains on the current main lines – and some freight transport could be moved from the roads. Shorter journey times would lead to more people taking the train, also an environmental advantage.

Source: TT