Page 41 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 6

High-speed rail in developing countries and potential inequalities of use: the case of Morocco

Table 1. High speed lines in developing countries

Km of line
Country Under Long term
In operation
construction planning
China 23,914 10,730 1,525
India 4,630
Turkey 688 469 1,134
Morocco 183 480
Malaysia (to Singapore) 350
Egypt 1,210
Brazil 511
Russia 2,978
Kazakhstan 1,011
Iran 425 870
Thaïland 2,877
Mexico 210
Indonesia 712
South Africa 2,390
Vietnam 1,600
Total in developing countries 24,602 11,807 22,506
Total in the world 37,964 14,973 35,640
Source: based on data from UIC (July 2017)

After China, HSLs were inaugurated in Turkey in 2009, with the 232 km line between Ankara
and Eskisehir. The network has subsequently been expanded towards Konya, as well as towards
Istanbul.
In all, 469 km of lines are currently under construction. Iran and Morocco have also built lines,
which will soon be operational. At the beginning of April 2017, there were more than 24,602
km of lines in operation in developing countries, representing 65% of the world total. Moreover,
numerous developing countries are characterized by high‐speed rail projects. Some 11,807 km
of lines are under construction in developing countries, accounting for 79% of the worldwide
total, and a further 22,506 km are currently in the planning stages, representing 63,1% of all
planned lines worldwide. These lines are improving, or are set to improve, the accessibility of
the cities served to varying degrees . These lines and projects are or will be taking shape in
3
very different socio‐economic contexts characterized by significant inequalities.
2.2 Socio‐economic contexts in developing countries characterized by
significant inequalities

Developing countries are characterized by lower levels of income per capita (Table 2).

3 This improvement depends on numerous factors (Delaplace, 2017): speed, the existing service, the topography of territories
crossed, geographical characteristics (Campos, Rus de, 2009), the degree of urbanization, etc., or the management of interchange,
access and egress times in stations (Givoni and Banister, 2011).

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 39