Urban Agglomerations in European Infrastructure Networks

Abstract

Infrastructure networks are often assumed to be important determinants of the economic potential of urban agglomerations. This paper addresses the position of 42 major European cities in three infrastructure networks: road, rail and air. A ranking of cities in terms of a gravity-based accesibility index is produced. Also the effects of planned or possible future developments in these networks are studied. The effects of changes in the air and road network on average accessibility are expected to be rather small; in the rail network the introduction of high-speed links will have considerable impacts on average accessibility. Existing inequalities in accessibility are expected to remain rather constant in the air system. In the rail system, the further introduction of high-speed links will increase existing inequalities by reinforcing the position of the cities in the north-western part of Europe. In the road system, on the other hand, it will be the peripheral countries which will benefit most. Further, we note that an analysis of non-physical border-related barriers to accessibility reveals that attention should not be restricted to improving physical infrastructure networks.