gridlines 2 12 14 22 Inside Sorting through the Under the Alps by Golden anniversary Tracking HSR in the HSR decision factors fast rail doesn’t slow Japan’s US and Russia silver bullet Why high-speed rail? Gridlines is PwC’s magazine devoted to infrastructure. Stories focus on four areas: emerging trends and technologies driving infrastructure transformation, ways to manage risks and seize opportunities, tactics that can help with day-to-day challenges, and inter- views with experts at the heart of thought and action. Gridlines combines PwC’s analysis and insight with reporting on critical developments and directions. Cover photo—An ICE train arrives in Cologne, Germany Photo above—The first .italo train, scheduled to begin HSR service in 2012 for the Italian operator NTV, leaves the La Rochelle plant in France where it was produced. www.pwc.com © 2011 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. OUTLOOK | WINTER 2011 Seizing the opportunities in high-speed rail demands rigorous thinking on a range of issues High-speed rail can mean many works best through an examination dramatic technical advances today things, depending on context. For a of the overarching considerations. in areas like magnetic levitation and traveler, HSR typically delivers com- We also look at several examples of safety, carrying more passengers fort, speed, punctuality, safety and HSR around the world. than the world’s biggest airline, reliability just to begin—especially making a healthy profit on its when journeying between central ‘Why high-speed rail’ provides busiest lines, and posting safety and city business districts at a time of an overview of the social and eco- punctuality records even in a nation increasing airline delays. For those nomic realities of where and when prone to earthquakes. The Japanese who remember pictures of the first HSR works, why it does and when it system remains a textbook example Richard Abadie Shinkansen whizzing past Mount may not. A range of complex, inter- of a nation using HSR in the right Fuji in 1964 or the TGV streaming related issues is involved in sorting way and in the right places. Histori- Global capital projects out when it is the right choice for and infrastructure leader. from Paris to Lyon in the early cally, the Shinkansen also offers a 1980s, these images revolutionized a region or nation. The decision lesson in the personal vision and the popular view of rail travel. requires careful balancing of all the commitment required to bring factors ranging from the distance transformative infrastructure ideas Today, HSR remains a covered to the preferences of the from the drawing board to reality. powerful symbol of a nation’s population and the tangible and commitment to infrastructure. intangible costs and benefits that ‘Continental divides’ compares But for a planner, engineer or are expected. the challenges and plans of the government official charged with United States and Russia in dealing considering it, HSR presents a ‘Under the Alps by fast rail’ with HSR. For large nations like complex decision-making process, takes a look at one railway line that these two (and China) with cities especially at a time when fiscal is being planned to address a num- very far apart, a HSR network may constraints demand prudent ber of strategic objectives: To take be a regional or inter-regional link prioritization. pressure off the heavy truck traffic unlike the transcontinental railway between France and Italy which lines these countries built in the HSR can play an important role in transfer 85% of their freight by 19th century. a nation’s transportation network, truck; to complete a strategic piece depending on a range of demo- of the European HSR network; I hope you enjoy this edition of graphic, geographic, social and and to reduce accidents and traffic Gridlines focusing on high-speed economic factors. Determining densities on Alpine passes. When rail. Please contact me to discuss when it is the right solution is as the link is completed, its 53-kilome- any of the issues raised here. much an art as a science, requiring ter tunnel under the Alps also will a view that balances local prefer- represent a significant piece of engi- Yours truly, ences with big-picture economic neering even for the 21st century. and engineering practicalities. Mak- ing that judgment goes to the heart ‘Shinkansen speeds ahead’ of properly deploying HSR today. updates the history of Japan’s groundbreaking high-speed rail line This issue of Gridlines investigates on the eve of its 50th anniversary. why and when high-speed rail The Shinkansen still is making INFRASTRUCTURE IN TRANSFORMATION High-speed rail: Why, when and how the signals line up By Julian Smith It has been almost 50 years since the first Definition helps to set the stage. According Germany followed a strategy of upgrading high-speed rail (HSR) train captured the global to the 1996 European Union (EU) directive that existing lines to create its ICE (Intercity- imagination as it zipped past Mount Fuji 10 has now become the global template,1 HSR is Express) network.2 As of last year, ICE carried days before the opening of the 1964 Tokyo composed of: a) specifically built (or dedicated) 60% of German rail passengers, or 78 million Olympics. Today, HSR’s speed, punctuality, lines capable of speeds equal to or greater than people.3 While its multi-hub system differs and, above all, safety have not only achieved 250 kilometers per hour (kph); b) upgraded substantially from France’s network, which con- celebrated status among travelers throughout lines capable of speeds of about 200 kph; and nects distant city-pairs with few stops and has the world, but have fundamentally transformed c) upgraded lines with HSR features because of Paris as its central hub, both systems—in fact, passenger transport in several countries. topographical, relief, or zoning constraints, on Europe’s HSR network in general—rely on what which speed is adapted to each case. has become a key EU-wide principle of high- At the same time, the social and economic speed rail: interoperability.4 benefits and costs of HSR continue to be Given this definition, every country that builds debated worldwide: When and where does HSR HSR initially faces an obvious, and prudential, 1 Annex I, Council Directive 96/48/EC of 23 July 1996 on the interop- erability of the trans-European high-speed rail system, at http:// work best; how does it fit in among a nation’s dilemma: whether to build new and dedicated eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31996L004 infrastructure priorities; what are the envi- infrastructure or make significant improve- 8:EN:HTML. Europe is now so identified with high-speed rail that the very definition of it in most of the world, from the US Congress to the ronmental, political, and cost considerations? ments, at less expense, of existing lines that will International Union of Railways, has been adapted from this directive. These questions are being resolved against the nevertheless provide enhanced passenger ser- See David Randall Peterman, John Frittelli, and William J. Mallett, High Speed Rail (HSR) in the United States, Congressional Research backdrop of advancing technology, changing vice. The latter option does not preclude HSR, Service (CRS), December 8, 2009, p. 1, and, more relevantly, UIC (International Union of Railways), “General definitions of highspeed,” demographics in a rapidly urbanizing world, however. In most cases, the choice is deter- at http://www.uic.org/spip.php?article971. and funding challenges at all levels. Ultimately, mined by the particular characteristics of each 2 In addition to different needs, it was also hampered by legal chal- the answers are as complex as the questions. country’s rail infrastructure, and the immediate lenges for about 20 years. See Peterman et al., HSR in the United And they depend on finding the balance that needs and travel habits of passengers. States, p. 11. 3 “20 years of high speed in Germany,” UIC, http://www.uic.org/com/ fits local conditions and the distinct factors at article/20-years-of-high-speed-in-germany?page=thickbox_enews . work in each case. France, for example, constructed completely 4 Interoperability was enshrined in Directive 96/48/EC. Several dedicated TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) lines, subsequent EU directives, including 2004/50/EC of 29 April 2004 and 2008/57/EC of 17 June 2008, have amended or elaborated upon connected to the existing network, while Directive 96/48/EC. 2 | Gridlines | PwC urban regeneration cultural norms wider economic benefits punctuality sound barriers dedicated track funding reliability convenience infrastructure multimodal speed co-modality tilting train demographics agglomeration cost central business district/CBD competitiveness intermodality maglev private sector comfort regional energy efficiency safety balance environmental impact AV/AC priorities TEN-T CO2 emissions distance interoperability vision security ballast mats electrification political will economics sustainability population density standard gauge urbanization technology inter-regional A complex network of issues Interoperability simply means that techni- a high proportion of upgraded conventional (see http://www.amtrak40th.com/amtraks- cal specifications for HSR are harmonized on an lines also used by other traffic. This illustrates history/1980s). But the obvious connection EU-wide basis so that HSR can cross national the point that HSR is not a discrete concept was to planes: a leather seat and a glass of wine boundaries.