Territorial Implications of High-Speed Rail—A Spanish Perspective ed. by José M. de Ureña (review)

Regular commercial operation of passenger trains at maximum speeds significantly higher than long-standing traditional levels first began in 1964 in Japan between Tokyo and Osaka. This pioneering step was followed in 1981 by opening of the first high-speed rail (HSR) line in France between Paris and Lyon. Initially, top commercial speeds on these two lines were 210 km/h and 260 km/h, respectively. Later, they were raised on both to at or near 300 km/h, which is now typical for operation on lines purposely designed and built to provide HSR service.

Operational success and customer acceptance of these striking innovations in surface passenger transport sparked the building of additional HSR lines in Japan and France, and inspired emulation elsewhere. Today, HSR lines of varying total length are in service in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Italy, and Spain.

Viewed in terms of system length (leaving aside China), Spain has become a standout. In 2010, openings of additional lines made its HSR network the largest among HSR-situs countries in the European Union and the OECD. Spain's achievement has set in motion changes that pose a broad range of profoundly significant implications, not only for transport service providers and users (both passenger and freight), but also for land-use patterns, the economic and social vitality of communities, and public sector funding and resource allocation choices. Presentation of a broad understanding of these implications, primarily for Spain but with some comparative observations drawn from elsewhere, is the stated objective of this book. Most of the book's eleven chapters present information and analysis drawn from research conducted within several Spanish universities by scholars from five different disciplines (architecture, geography, urban and regional planning, transport engineering, and economics). Several key findings obtained from this broad-ranging collection of scholarly work, along with commentary on them, merit attention within the confines of the present review.

Structure of high-speed passenger service offerings: The original intended objective of HSR implementation was movement of passengers exclusively between metropolises over distances of 500-700 km within two to three hours. However, pressures from smaller communities situated at intermediate points along HSR lines caused establishment of stations at such locations. To serve them adequately without requiring stops by long-haul trains that would compromise fulfillment of demand requirements for travel within the 500-700 km range, medium-distance (below 250 km) high-speed trains have been introduced where permitted by available track capacity. These shorter-haul trains offer a source of additional revenue contributory to coverage of the high costs of HSL construction and maintenance, provided that the additional revenue garnered exceeds all incremental costs incurred in obtaining it.

HSR vis-à-vis freight transport: Implications for rail freight transport posed by HSR receive scant attention in the book. It is acknowledged that addition of freight movements where capacity permits could increase the net economic benefit obtainable from high-speed infrastructure investment (p. 239). How this might be accomplished without detriment to high-speed passenger service performance and freight-driven increments in HSL capital and maintenance costs is not, however, given attention. It is noted (p. 30) that large amounts of passenger traffic have shifted from conventional rail lines to new parallel high-speed track. Not noted is the potential collateral benefit that this shift poses in the form of increased capacity on conventional lines for accommodation of higher volumes of freight traffic on schedules driven primarily by freight transport requirements rather than by subordination to passenger service requirements (a common challenging condition on many conventional rail lines in Europe). Realization of this potential benefit would require that the additional income from increased freight traffic (plus such income as might still...