The socioeconomic impact of train stations : evidence from a 20-year study in Sweden
Rojas, Alexandra LU ; Palmqvist, Carl William LU
and Camporeale, Rosalia
LU
(2026)
In Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
204.
- Abstract
This study examines the long-term socioeconomic impacts of 44 train station openings between 1995 and 2015 across Swedish regions. Using the conditional difference-in-differences estimator developed by Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021), which accounts for variation in treatment effects across time and locations, we evaluate the impact on population, income, education, and unemployment. Twenty years after the openings, areas with new stations experienced an 18.2 % increase in total population, a 21.6 % rise in the working-age population, and a 22.5 % increase in total earned income relative to control areas. In contrast, no significant effects were observed on average earned income during any post-opening period. These areas saw a 5.8... (More)
This study examines the long-term socioeconomic impacts of 44 train station openings between 1995 and 2015 across Swedish regions. Using the conditional difference-in-differences estimator developed by Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021), which accounts for variation in treatment effects across time and locations, we evaluate the impact on population, income, education, and unemployment. Twenty years after the openings, areas with new stations experienced an 18.2 % increase in total population, a 21.6 % rise in the working-age population, and a 22.5 % increase in total earned income relative to control areas. In contrast, no significant effects were observed on average earned income during any post-opening period. These areas saw a 5.8 percentage point rise in post-secondary educational attainment, alongside a 2.7 percentage point increase in unemployment compared to control areas. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that impacts vary depending on initial income levels. Overall, the results show that the train stations were associated with substantial and lasting growth in population size and total earned income, alongside more complex socioeconomic shifts. These findings suggest that new stations can attract residents and trigger a range of socioeconomic changes that are not always predictable.
(Less)
- author
- Rojas, Alexandra
LU
; Palmqvist, Carl William
LU
and Camporeale, Rosalia
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-02
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Difference-in-differences, Economic impact, Education, Income, Population, Railway investments, Unemployment
- in
- Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
- volume
- 204
- article number
- 104826
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105024702658
- ISSN
- 0965-8564
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.tra.2025.104826
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors
- id
- 43c9a6af-1ff6-4661-a925-b2c814b4a365
- date added to LUP
- 2026-01-22 10:51:05
- date last changed
- 2026-01-29 12:51:14
@article{43c9a6af-1ff6-4661-a925-b2c814b4a365,
abstract = {{<p>This study examines the long-term socioeconomic impacts of 44 train station openings between 1995 and 2015 across Swedish regions. Using the conditional difference-in-differences estimator developed by Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021), which accounts for variation in treatment effects across time and locations, we evaluate the impact on population, income, education, and unemployment. Twenty years after the openings, areas with new stations experienced an 18.2 % increase in total population, a 21.6 % rise in the working-age population, and a 22.5 % increase in total earned income relative to control areas. In contrast, no significant effects were observed on average earned income during any post-opening period. These areas saw a 5.8 percentage point rise in post-secondary educational attainment, alongside a 2.7 percentage point increase in unemployment compared to control areas. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that impacts vary depending on initial income levels. Overall, the results show that the train stations were associated with substantial and lasting growth in population size and total earned income, alongside more complex socioeconomic shifts. These findings suggest that new stations can attract residents and trigger a range of socioeconomic changes that are not always predictable.</p>}},
author = {{Rojas, Alexandra and Palmqvist, Carl William and Camporeale, Rosalia}},
issn = {{0965-8564}},
keywords = {{Difference-in-differences; Economic impact; Education; Income; Population; Railway investments; Unemployment}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice}},
title = {{The socioeconomic impact of train stations : evidence from a 20-year study in Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2025.104826}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.tra.2025.104826}},
volume = {{204}},
year = {{2026}},
}