Assessment of Cross‐Border Spillover Effects of National Transport Infrastructure Plans: An Accessibility Approach

Abstract

Traditional transport infrastructure assessment methodologies rarely include the full range of strategic benefits for the transportation system. One of these benefits is the contribution to cross‐border integration, critical for the European integration process. However, this is a key issue in strategic planning and decision‐making processes, as its inclusion may increase the probability of large‐scale transport infrastructure projects being funded. This paper presents a methodology for the measurement of the contribution of transport infrastructure plans to European integration. The methodology is based on the measurement of the improvement in network efficiency in cross‐border regions of neighbouring countries, via accessibility calculations in a Geographical Information System support. The methodology was tested by applying it to the ambitious road and rail network extensions included in the Spanish Strategic Transport and Infrastructure Plan (PEIT) 2005–2020. The results show significant and important network efficiency improvements of the PEIT outside the Spanish border. For the road mode, while the Spanish average accessibility improvement accounts for 2.6%, average improvements in cross‐border regions of France and Portugal are of 1.8%. And for the rail mode, the corresponding Spanish value is 34.5%, whereas in neighbouring regions it accounts for 20.2%. These results stress the significant importance of this strategic benefit and the consequent need for its inclusion in strategic planning processes. Finally, the paper identifies the potential of the methodology when applied at different administrative levels, such as the local or state levels.

Acknowledgements

The discussion in this paper is based on the results of two research projects funded by the Spanish Government. The first one, titled ‘Assessment of Territorial Impacts of Transport Infrastructure Investments. Application: Analysis of the Spanish Transport Network’, has been funded by the Ministry of Public Works. The second one, titled ‘Assessment of the Effects of Transport Infrastructure Plans on Mobility, the Territory and the Socio‐economic System, in the Context of the Enlargement of the European Union’, has been funded by the 2004/2007 Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology Research, Development and Innovation Programme. The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of the members of the research teams of the above projects and the financial support from the Spanish Government. The useful comments from four anonymous referees are also greatly acknowledged.

Notes

1. This subsection is not aimed at providing an exhaustive list of all scientific contributions to the concept of accessibility. Extensive reviews and existing classifications of accessibility indicators/measures can be found in, for example, Baradaran and Ramjerdi (2001) and Reggiani (1998).