Page 165 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 6

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número 6 - junio - 2018. Pág 163 - 177

Which way to the city centre? Pedestrian itineraries between High

Speed Rail stations and historic centres. Assessing urban quality and

tourist behaviour through GPS tracks in Toledo.

Coronado, José María

Moyano, Amparo

Romero de Ávila, Vicente

Rodríguez Lázaro, Francisco Javier

Ruiz Fernández, Rita

Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
1

Abstract
In heritage cities close to big metropolitan areas as Toledo, declared Unesco
World Heritage, High Speed Rail has become the favourite access mode for single-
day tourists visiting the city. The access from the station to the historic centre
becomes a relevant subject to study, as tourists can choose between different
transport modes: walking, buses, tourist buses and taxi. Walking should be
encouraged because it is more sustainable and tourists’ experience starts just
in the rail station. In the case of Toledo, two pedestrian itineraries have been
assessed, considering the quality of public space, the wide of footpaths, the
continuity, etc. In addition, the use of these itineraries for reaching the city
centre and tourists’ behaviour when walking around the historic city have been
also analysed using GPS tracks shared in social networks such as Wikiloc. This is a
powerful tool to understand the points of interests of the city, the density of use
of the different streets and the use of different access to the walled city.

Keywords: High Speed Rail, tourism, urban quality, pedestrian behavior, GPS.

1 Coronado, José María. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Email: josemaria.coronado@uclm.es
Moyano, Amparo. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Email: amparo.moyano@uclm.es
Romero de Ávila, Vicente. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Email: Vicente.RomeroAvila@uclm.es
Rodríguez Lázaro, Francisco Javier. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Email: Fcojavier.rodriguez@uclm.es
Ruiz Fernández, Rita. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Email: rita.ruiz@uclm.es

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 163