Road-rail substitution in the early motoring age, 1910-1938

Alban de Gmeline and Alexis Litvine ()
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Alban de Gmeline: University of Cambridge
Alexis Litvine: University of Cambridge, https://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/people/dr-alexis-litvine

No 43, Working Papers from Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge

Abstract: We investigate the closures of railway lines in France between 1910 and 1938 when France experienced rapid network shrinkage. Multiple hypotheses have been put forward, ranging from the financial troubles of railway companies, the competition of automobiles and interurban coach services, and the rationalisation of the network leading to its nationalisation and the creation of the SNCF in 1938. We provide a quantitative assessment of these factors using newly assembled data on road and rail networks and the first historical metric for passenger traffic at the station level. Finally, we analyse the impact in terms of spatial inequality.

JEL-codes: L92 N74 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-03-19, Revised 2025-03-19
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-his and nep-tre
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Published in Cambridge Working Paper in Economic & Social History, No. 43

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