Page 4 - 360.revista de alta velocidad Nº1

360.revista de alta velocidad
360.

Articles........................................................................................................................5
On the social and economic profitability of high-speed railway lines..........................................................5
Jaime Barreiro Gi
Abstract: Investments in infrastructures for the transport system should not be dissociated from regional development policies and
territorial planning. Neither should those used on high-speed railway lines be seen as a simple response to the congestion of other
modes of transport in metropolitan environments. Without these precautions, the ex ante evaluation of such investments is reduced to
a mere verification of explicit profitabilities, disregarding their potential as factors of growth and development.
Keywords: Transport system, high-speed rail, regional development, economic growth, territorial planning.

Effects of the trunk nature of the high-speed network on design and operation..........................................17
Alberto García Álvarez
Abstract: Infrastructures (including those of high speed) are constructed to make an efficient transport service possible. In this respect,
analysing the characteristics of the network and its various constituent sections can be of use in making design decisions that contribute
to transport service efficiency.
The radial-trunk nature of the Spanish high-speed network allows us to identify two groups of line sections with completely different
functionalities in the network: the trunk sections and the peripheral sections. Both must be designed with different characteristics,
and operation on each one must be adapted to its characteristics and functionality in the network. The infrastructure charge should
send out different signals in order to increase efficiency.
Keywords: Network structure, capacity, rail operation.

The added value of passengers attracted from road to high-speed...........................................................23
Lorenzo Jaro Arias
Abstract: The socioeconomic value of a captured private car user is more than double that of a captured air passenger. Moreover, the
capturable market is much larger, in spite of which the high-speed train focuses its efforts on attracting air passengers and wins over
few private car users.
The recent and envisaged evolution of high speed in Spain has entailed carrying out market research and profitability studies, whose
results for long distance routes, analysed and focused on the different market niches, clearly show that although the high-speed train
is competing strongly with the plane, it needs to become more competitive with respect to road transport modes, particularly the car,
but also the bus. The demand data suggest there is an important market niche, even though high speed is already in operation, and the
usual socioeconomic analyses in this type of study identify a greater saving from the captured road passenger as compared with the
captured air passenger.
Keywords: Cost-benefit analysis, modal transfer.
Can high-speed trains run faster and reduce their energy consumption?...................................................35
Ignacio González Franco
Abstract: Increasing the speed at which a train can run on downhill sections (downgrades) owing to the force of gravity and the train’s
inertia can mean a shorter journey time and less energy consumed (due to a reduction in the use of the brake). Moreover, this speed
increase on downgrades offers other possibilities such as a reduction in train power and/or a lower maximum speed. Both alternatives
maintain the necessary journey time on a route, since the time lost on upgrades (uphill sections) and on horizontal sections will be
offset by the time gained on downgrades (downhill sections). This also entails a reduction in train costs and an additional reduction in
energy consumption.
Keywords: Maximum speed, efficiency, downgrade, energy consumed, power.

The importance of speed on the railway...........................................................................................45
Eduardo Romo

Determining the optimum speed of a high-speed train in order to minimize carbon dioxide emissions in a
corridor...................................................................................................................................53
María del Pilar Martín Cañizares
Abstract: As train speeds increase, this mode of transport attracts air passengers (a 10-minute journey time reduction means an increase
of between 2% and 5% in the train’s market share), and as the aeroplane’s energy consumption and emissions are much higher than the
high-speed train’s, the net effect in the corridor is positive. This article establishes a methodology to determine the train’s speed in
which the emissions in the corridor (meaning the sum of train and plane) are minimized.
By way of example, the proposed methodology is applied to the Madrid-Barcelona route, where the speeds that would minimize emissions
in the corridor range between 350 and 400 kilometres per hour.
Keywords: emissions, market share, modal competition, high speed.

4 360.revista de alta velocidad/ número 1 • noviembre 2011