IMPROVING THE DOOR-TO-DOOR TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

Led by SEEDA – the South East England Development Agency – the HST Connect project has 14 strategic and investment partners in England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. It will stimulate the development of stations as spatial, social and economic crossroads in urban areas throughout North West Europe. The project concentrates on two key issues: developing the secondary public transport system to feed efficiently and economically into the primary HST network and making stations better places to travel to, through and from – and to do business in. Better accessibility to stations and better station environments help improve economic performance and cultural integration and will reduce social exclusion.

The HST Connect Maastricht-Liège subproject focuses on establishing a direct connection with the HST network. This will lead to greater territorial cohesion through the improvement of sustainable transport and will reduce the travel time considerably. Furthermore, the traveller will have to pay less, as this direct connection will avoid the necessity to buy an expensive train ticket for the short transnational track and a separate HST-Thalys ticket. The project will lead to a further integration and improvement of the transport functions of the Maastricht station and its direct surroundings. Finally, the project will strengthen the current economic (re)developments in the direct Maastricht station environment. The HST Connect Maastricht-Liège subproject is co-financed by the European Union (ERDF, € 907.000) the Province of Limburg (€ 400.000) and the City of Maastricht (€ 400.000) and is strategically supported by the City of Liège (€ 30.000).

European Policy Background: High Speed Train mobility is a strategic issue in relation to spatial development in Europe. The European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) as well as the Spatial Vision for North West Europe highlights the policy implications of connecting accessibility to economic prosperity.