Este informe pretende contribuir al análisis económico de los proyectos de inversión en alta velocidad ferroviaria. La evaluación económica de proyectos puede ayudar a los gobiernos a formarse una idea más precisa sobre los beneficios esperados de distintas líneas de actuación que absorben dinero público para resolver un mismo problema de transporte. En este informe se trata de determinar las circunstancias en las que la inversión en alta velocidad es socialmente deseable y en que otras la sociedad gana posponiendo la inversión. La red de alta velocidad puede construirse gradualmente, añadiendo nuevas líneas una vez que la evaluación económica muestra una rentabilidad social positiva.

The technological revolution linked to high speed rail (HSR) has been accompanied by myths and claims about its contribution to society and the economy. Although HSR is unquestionably a technological advance that has become a symbol of modernity, this review and analysis of the international experiences shows that the conditions necessary to have a positive impact, economically, socially and environmentally, are enormously restrictive. The Economics and Politics of High Speed Rail: Lessons from Experiences Abroad, by Daniel Albalate and Germà Bel, introduces the main questions policy makers and scholars should examine when considering and studying HSR implementation, with particular emphasis on the US’s recent interest in this technology and possible application in California. Albalate and Bel then review the experiences of the most significant implementations of HSR around the globe. This in-depth international perspective includes chapters on the pioneers of HSR (Japan and France), the European followers (Germany, Spain and Italy), as well as Asian experiences in China, Taiwan, and Korea. Albalate and Bel’s study provides a clear distinction between the myths and realities associated with this transportation innovation. Among the most relevant findings, this study highlights how HSR projects that do not satisfy highly restrictive conditions—on mobility patterns, measured costs, and economically rational designs—that make it desirable have been the source of huge financial debacles and the economic failure of HSR in most cases, which result in unfortunate consequences for taxpayers. The Economics and Politics of High Speed Rail is a rigorous investigation of the economic and political challenges and ramifications of implementing new public transportation technology.

This report examines the key factors that drive the costs of high-speed rail investment and reviews the economic benefits delivered by high-speed rail services on the basis of experience in countries that have developed large high-speed rail networks.

High-speed Rail (HSR) is a technological transportation advance that has raised the interest of policy makers and researchers worldwide. The study of High-speed Rail is a recent phenomenon but has received increasing attention due to the extension of this mode of transportation around the globe. Evaluating High-Speed Rail contains some of the most recent and cutting edge studies on HSR from different disciplines. The book is organized around a variety of key topics related to the evaluation of High Speed Rail projects and experiences. These topics include: the economic appraisal and evaluation of High-Speed Rail projects; the evaluation of indirect and direct effects of High-Speed Rail; its territorial, redistributive and environmental impacts; its contribution or limitation to urban growth; and the management of challenges created by the arrival of High-Speed Rail lines to core cities. It also covers the contribution of High-Speed Rail to tourism and its impact on intermodal competition, with especial consideration to air transportation. Chapters analyse the expected effects of introducing on-track competition and designing public-private contracts to develop new lines. This cutting-edge volume offers rigorous analysis from top researchers in the field with a clear intention to deliver policy implications and provide the latest analysis on the impact of High Speed Rail. This book is suitable for students and academics interested in transportation infrastructure, economic impacts of public investments, mobility, planning and urban affairs, as well as researchers and policy makers in the transportation and infrastructure sector.

Over the past decade, China has built 25,000 km of dedicated highspeed railway—more than the rest of the world combined. What can we learn from this remarkable experience? China’s High-Speed Rail Development examines the Chinese experience to draw lessons for countries considering investing in high-speed rail. The report scrutinizes the planning and delivery mechanisms that enabled the rapid construction of the high-speed rail system. It highlights the role of long-term planning, consistent plan execution, and a joint venture structure that ensures active participation of provincial and local governments in project planning and financing. Traffic on China’s high-speed trains has grown to 1.7 billion passengers a year. The study examines the characteristics of the markets for which high-speed rail is competitive in China. It discusses the pricing and service design considerations that go into making high-speed rail services competitive with other modes and factors such as good urban connectivity that make the service attractive to customers. One of the most remarkable aspects of the Chinese experience is the rapid pace of high-quality construction. The report looks at the role of strong capacity development within and cooperation among China Railway Corporation, rail manufacturers, universities, research institutions, laboratories, and engineering centers that allowed for rapid technological advancement and localization of technology. It describes the project delivery structures and incentives for delivering quality and timely results. Finally, the report analyzes the financial and economic sustainability of the investment in high-speed rail. It finds that a developing country can price high-speed rail services affordably and still achieve financial viability, but this requires very high passenger density. Economic viability similarly depends on high passenger density.

Numerous countries have attempted to improve the performance of their railways by introducing more competition, but there is fierce debate and no consensus on how this is best achieved. This book reveals how railways were an obvious target for reform because they were often losing traffic and money, and because the government was typically deeply involved as either owner or regulator.

High Speed Rail's (HSR) main objective is to attract air passengers between big metropolitan areas however the main territorial implications in many cases occur not in these metropolitan areas but in the intermediate cities. These implications open up new spatial planning possibilities such as decentralization, new regional centres and urban renewal projects. This book presents the experience of 20 years of HSR in Spain including some explicit information, arguments and conclusions derived from HSR in other European Countries. It debates the HSR territorial implications at three scales: national, regional and local, thus being of interest for strategic debates at those scales, such as the decision of new national lines, the pros and cons of deviating the line to reach minor intermediate cities or the selection of precise locations for new stations and the development projects in their surroundings. Comparisons with the recent changes in accessibility, spatial distribution of population and activities, are made with mobility for working purposes and with the characteristics of the HSR passengers. This book also examines the actions, strategies and urban projects that medium size cities can use to make best use of HSR opportunities, synthesising the experience of HSR medium cities in Spain and Europe. The book's conclusions will be of interest, over and above scholars, to transport infrastructure decision makers, city and regional planners and managers, and transport companies.

This book is a guide to the economic evaluation of transport policies and investment projects through cost-benefit analysis (CBA). It covers the CBA of transportation projects and policies, and introduces the fundamental concepts of CBA before considering their application in real-world settings. A distinct focus of the book is on the practical applications of CBA. It includes real-world examples of CBA, such as high-speed rail investment and the subsidization of air transport, which illustrate the importance of using a rigorous analytical framework to evaluate transport projects and policies. The primary objective of this book is to present a basic model for the evaluation of transport projects and policies, with explicit assumptions and practical evaluation rules derived from it. The rules and measurement criteria derived from this model are applied to the examples mentioned above. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for students, practitioners, and policymakers involved in transport economics and evaluation, as it provides a comprehensive understanding of the principles and applications of CBA in the transport sector.