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Central versus Peripheral High-Speed Rail Stations: Opportunities For Companies to Relocate?
The cases of Reims Central Station and Champagne-Ardenne Station

companies in both types of areas, and the trade‐off between centrality and peripherality in a
given city, have not been analysed to date.

2.1 High‐speed rail service, location choices and the behaviour of companies

HSR is expected to attract firms, especially in domains related to metropolitan activities such as
business consultancy and research and development (R&D) (Agences d’urbanisme du Grand Est,
2005, ISIS, 2004, TE & MS, 2007, Kamel and Matthewman, 2008, Kantor, 2008, Lee, 2007, Sands,
1993, Urena et al., 2009, Vickerman, 1991). It will induce the relocation of certainly activities
(typically office‐based) in cities that are served by HSR, particularly in major cities (RFF, 2010,
Garmendia et al., 2008, Rietveld et al., 2001, Sands, 1993) or in large intermediate cities (Urena
et al., 2009); however, there is no global ex‐post evidence for this (Lee, 2007, Bazin et al., 2013,
Beckerich et al., 2016) (see Table 1).
The effects depend on different characteristics, including the types of firms, stations, and HST
services concerned, as well as connections to the rest of the railway network.
Some authors consider that HSR plays a role in the attractiveness of locations due to improved
accessibility and an “image effect” (Willigers, 2008, Willigers and van Wee, 2011) – but the accessibility
effect depends on the type of HST service (Willigers, 2008, Willigers and van Wee, 2011).

Table 1. Different effects of HSR on firms’ behaviour, competitiveness and location

Types of effects Authors
Increase in business real‐estate prices Kamel and Matthewman 2008; Kantor, 2008,; SEEDA, 2008
Development of office real estate Bazin et al. 2009; Kamel and Matthewman 2008; Sands, 1993; SEEDA, 2008
Development of commercial real estate Haynes, 1997; SEEDA, 2008
Increase in the attractiveness of territories Lee, 2007; Mannone 1995; Vickerman and Ulied 2006; Agences
d’urbanisme du Grand Est, 2005; ISIS, 2004
Increase in the attractiveness of large Urena et al., 2009
intermediate cities
Little impact on attractiveness for firms RFF, 2010; Mannone, 1995; Bazin et al. 2009; Haynes, 1997
Attractiveness depending on the type of
HSR service and the type of firm Willigers, 2008; Willigers and van Wee, 2011
Attractiveness depending on the type of station Mannone, 2009, 2013; Willigers, 2008; Vickerman,2015

Location of business consultancy activities Agences d’urbanisme du Grand Est, 2005; ISIS, 2004; TE & MS, 2007;
Kamel and Matthewman, 2008; Kantor, 2008; Lee, 2007; Sands, 1993;
and more broadly metropolitan activities Urena et al., 2009; Vickerman, 1991; Willigers, 2011
Development of business parks Preston, 2009 ; Agences d’urbanisme du Grand Est, 2005
Relocation of local firms Willigers, 2008; Bazin et al., 2009; Beckerich et al., 2016
Relocation of some activities (offices, Rietveld et al., 2001, Garmendia et al., 2008; Sands, 1993; Preston,
financial, etc.) to cities served by HSR, 2009; GLA, 2008; Bertolini and Spit, 1998; Murakami and Cervero,
particularly larger cities 2012
Failure of some business parks Facchinetti‐Mannone, 2009, 2010; Sands, 1993; Troin, 2008
Development of urban projects and Kamel and Matthewman 2008
additional investments
Increase in the office occupancy rate Kamel and Matthewman 2008
Increase in productivity and competitiveness Vickerman and Ulied 2006; Preston, 2009; INSEE, 2017; Martin, 1997
Widening of the market area Preston, 2009; Ollivro, 1997
Enlarging the labour market, especially for Preston, 2009; Cheng, 2009; Kamel and Matthewman, 2008; Haynes
highly qualified employees 1997
Source: authors’ own work.

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 139