Page 251 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 6

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

4.4 Population growth of each city and metropolitan areas with HSR services

Now I show the ICs trend with provincial population in the cases of cities that are city centre
of metropolitan areas (MA): Alacant, Barcelona, Córdoba, Madrid, Málaga, Sevilla, Tarragona,
València, Valladolid and Zaragoza.

Table 12 shows the cases of cities and MA of Sevilla, Córdoba, Puertollano, Ciudad Real and
Madrid where HSR services started in 1992. In this table, the IC trend of metropolitan area/
province of Madrid is similar to the IC trend of Ciudad Real city. This fact is more coherent
with the economic dynamic of metropolitan area of Madrid and more reasonable that the
IC trend of Madrid city showed in table 5. In addition, if Ciudad Real city is integrating in
metropolitan area of Madrid then is reasonable that both have the same IC trend. Noto
you also that in last two years of 2014 and 2015, the IC trend of MA of Madrid change to
increasing. In fact, during economic crisis period of 1991-1996, IC of MA of Madrid increase
but not very much. During the economic expansion period of 1997-2006, the IC trend increase
significantly. When started the economic crisis in 2007, the IC trend of MA of Madrid change
to stopping and from 2013, the IC trend now change to increasing it. This IC trend is general
to cities & MA with HSR services while cities & MA without HSR services maintain the IC trend
to decreasing.
The MA of Sevilla shows a period from 1991 to 1999 with a high IC trend. However, from
2000 to 2009 (economic expansion period), it IC trend is lower that one of Spain and all
cities with or without HSR services. That is, the HSR services not produced better economic
development that other cities or MA of Spain. Only from 2010, in crises economic period,
the IC trend change and move to values similar of Spain but always lower that values of
all cities & MA with HSR services. This analysis, as in previous point 5.2 for Sevilla city,
shows again that new infrastructures are necessary but not sufficient condition to economic
development.
The same case is the case of MA of Córdoba. In this case the calculus of IC has been done
with the population of province/MA of Córdoba. The results show an IC trend very lower than
Spain or all the other cities & metropolitan areas.

Table 12. Population Growth Index of cities/metropolitan areas that started HSR services in 1992.

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 249