Amparo MOYANO, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Spain
Frédéric DOBRUSZKES, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
It is common that scholars and even official institutions rank HSR countries based on the national length of high-speed lines (HSLs). Similarly, countries with the longest HSR network glory in having the most developed HSR options. China would thus be the leading HSR country and Spain the leading European one. However, length is not everything and HSR network should be reviewed in light of urban systems and of population patterns.
In this paper, we argue coverage is more important than length, i.e. the share of countries’ population being served by HSR services. To assess this worldwide, we will cross the geography of HSR stations against the estimated number of residents available worldwide in a 1-km² grid through the Global Human Settlement Layers (GHSL) model. Various distance thresholds around stations will be considered (e.g., 10 km, 20 km and 30 km). In addition, a specific attention will be paid to those countries with mixed HSR operations (i.e., HSTs riding on both HSLs and conventional lines), in which computations will be made for HSLs only then for all railroads being served by HSTs. Finally, a critical comparative assessment will be carried out in terms of percentages of population served by country and the level of coverage in both densely populated and depopulated areas, helping to understand socio-political decisions adopted in each case.
Mots clés : Transport geography|Rail geography|High-speed rail|Spatial coverage
A102342FD