A socio-spatial analysis of commuter preferences and behavior for driving sustainable rail network development

To support sustainable transportation network development, Türkiye made big investments in the rail sector, including High-Speed Rail (HSR) services. To better understand the rail commuter sector and its potential connection to the Eurasian corridors in the future, current trends in the Turkish rail commuter transportation sector are investigated using the nationwide conducted rail commuter survey. Spatial analysis of the trips of 7028 rail commuters showed major desire lines, which are centered around a few cities with relatively shorter intercity travel distances. Further analysis of sociodemographic information showed a higher rate of young and middle-aged travelers who were mostly male, suggesting gender inequality in the rail commuter sector. Rail commuters preferred HSR mostly for “shorter time” and “more comfort” reasons and conventional rail for “lower cost” and “more comfort”. Binary logit analysis of the business trips also revealed that being male, having a higher age, and returning the same day have a positive impact on the likelihood of making a business trip.