THE IMPACT OF A LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM ON THE STRUCTURE OF HOUSE PRICES - A HEDONIC LONGITUDINAL-STUDY

In 1992 two conventional railway lines in Greater Manchester were repl aced by a new light rail system called Metrolink, which offered rail a ccess to the city centre. This paper uses hedonic price methodology to examine whether any of the claimed benefits were capitalised in house prices. No discernible effect in the pattern of house prices was foun d when comparing ''before'' and ''after'' results. This finding contra sts with claims made for urban transit schemes in other countries. Rea sons for the differences and methodological problems with the current literature are discussed.