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número 6 - junio - 2018. Pág 239 - 255

High-speed rail and urban development in Spain from 1992 to 2016

Miralles i Garcia, José Luis

Universitat Politècnica de València
1

Abstract

In April 1992 started the first High-Speed Rail service between Madrid and Seville in
Spain. In other countries, usually, the HSR services are introduced when conventional
train services accomplish its top capacity. However, Spanish decide explain its HSR
network to all the territory. On the other hand, traditional theory of economic growth
say that infrastructures are necessary but not sufficient to economic growth. In
this sense, investment in infrastructures, especially in transport infrastructures, is
justified, in general, for promoting economic growth. Today, 25 years after first HSR
services in Spain, a large HSR network connect many Spanish cities with a length of
2,444.1 km in 2013. Really, HSR network is a territorial laboratory to test the theory
about relationship between new transport infrastructure and economic growth. In
addition, from 1992 to now, economics trends in Spain has three cycles: crisis cycle
1992-1997, expansive cycle 1998-2007 and crisis cycle 2008-2016. According classical
theory, new transport infrastructures allows comparative advantage to cities with new
services. In consequence, today is a good moment to realize a comparative analyze
between Spanish cities with or without HSR services. The population of each city is
a good indicator of economic trends. In fact, cities with economic growth increase
population while cities with negative economic growth decrease population. However,
the analysis is more complicated because of two causes. On the one hand, the most
important cities connected by HSR form metropolitan areas with special interior
dynamics. For example, maybe city center can decrease while metropolitan area
increase. On the other hand, the start of HSR services on each city is different because
the network increase progressively. So is it necessary a special progressive comparison.
This paper shows the evolution of inhabitants of cities that have HSR services and
compare this evolution whit general evolution of Spain in function of date that HSR
services started. On the other, hand the main cities are the center of their respective
metropolitan areas. In this situation, another comparative analysis has been realized
for metropolitan areas. The results show that the HSR has served to consolidate and
extend the hinterland of the main metropolitan areas with interesting and significant
exceptions. In fact, HSR services includes two kind of services: long and average
distance. Really, the services for average distance explain the relationship between
HSR and metropolitan areas evolution.

Keywords: HSR territorial impact, regional development, urban development, cities system.

1 Miralles i Garcia, José Luis. Universitat Politècnica de València. Email: jlmirall@urb.upv.es

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 239