Competition between high-speed rail and air transport in Iran: The case of Tehran-Isfahan

Given governments' significant investment in high-speed rail projects and their infrastructures, it is important for decision makers to maintain oversight on such projects and ensure they will be a competitive mode. This study evaluates the competition between the planned high-speed rail mode and current air transport based on the case of the Tehran-Isfahan route. First, the variables of ticket price, travel time, hospitality, and convenience were identified by reviewing past studies, and then the data required for developing the model were collected using questionnaires. The survey was conducted from January 2015 to April 2015 in the Mehrabad airport of Tehran, and 437 questionnaires were collected. The binomial logit model was applied to predict the probability of choosing each of the two modes. The results show that variables of travel time, ticket price, convenience, and hospitality competed to influence decisions; however, travel time is the most important variable in determining the share of each mode, and passengers are more sensitive to this variable than the others. In addition, long durations of trips, ticket prices, lack of food services, and highly packed arrangements of seats in high-speed rail decreased its utility versus air transport.