Assessment of High-Speed Rail Service Coverage in Municipalities of Peninsular Spain

Abstract

The Spanish transportation and housing infrastructure plan has planned that in 2024 all provincial capitals in peninsular Spain are to be connected by high-speed rail lines. Nowadays, 35 stations are already operational. These stations and the roads to access them are very important, as these are the only access points for travelers to benefit from the high railway speed. The goal of this study is to evaluate the railway coverage of high-speed services in Spanish peninsular municipalities in 2018 and planned for 2024. A methodology and research tools related to accessibility from municipalities to stations have been used, based on Geographic information Systems. An interaction model was used based on the floating catchment area in three steps. The resulting thematic maps and the analysis of the number of municipalities and the resident population is based on the degree of coverage in 2018. Likewise, in 2024 almost all of the municipalities are planned to have high high-speed railway coverage, these being the most densely populated. The analysis allowed us to present a detailed view of the problem; a methodology and a specific application framework are offered to make the high-speed rail services in Spain more equitable.

Keywords

• floating catchment area in three steps
• railway stations of high-speed lines
• sustainable and equity planning
• territorial accessibility
• territorial governance and management