The Midwest High Speed Rail Association and Siemens sponsored a study of the regional economic impact that would be associated with operating a high speed rail system serving major metropolitan areas in the Chicago region.
The study utilized TREDIS to evaluate the long-run productivity and economic growth implications of alternative scenarios in which high speed train service would bring about changes in travel times, costs, reliability and intercity market access affecting different segments of economic activity. The study examined implications for same-day business travel, convention and tourism activity, as well as implications of market access changes for the development of business clusters linking R&D centers with banking, production centers and market areas.