Foursquare ITP assisted with the development of the methodology, data analysis, and case studies for this follow-on analysis to the 2014 report The Northeast Corridor and the American Economy. In this new analysis of the economic development impacts of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) rail, Foursquare ITP was responsible for providing an updated literature review of the economic development impacts of commuter and high-speed rail investments in Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Canada, expanding upon and updating case studies from the 2014 analysis, and developing new quantitative analyses.

We utilized previously collected and new qualitative and project information to develop a case study on innovation districts, agglomeration economies, and the new economy centered around the development of innovation districts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; and the University of Delaware’s STAR campus. Foursquare ITP also created a new case study on the Washington, DC-Baltimore economic relationship and its link to rail service and updated and expanded upon the assessments of the impact of access to the Northeast Corridor (NEC) for Port of Baltimore’s freight rail customers including gathering baseline economic metrics.

Solutions and Outcomes
  • Developed estimates developed estimates of business revenue generated and monetized trip time savings through a NEC service improvement scenario for three mid-sized cities: Wilmington, Delaware; Hartford, Connecticut; and Providence, Rhode Island.