High-Speed Rail Markets, Infrastructure Investments, and Manufacturing

Ghosal, the author of this article, attempts to investigate the history and development of high-speed rail (HSR). High-speed rail, by definition, is a type of rail transit that works substantially quicker than ordinary rail traffic. A high-speed rail system often employs specialized dedicated tracks and integrated system train stock. According to the author, numerous cities are establishing high-speed rail with the goal of connecting large cities. The HSR is frequently designed for some high-speed systems and passenger transit. They also provide additional freight services. History and Development of HSR

Since the railway's origin in Europe during the industrial revolution, the passengers’ trains speed acted as an essential argument for competition among other different companies. This incident was mainly witnessed at the 19th century’s beginning. Additionally, the rails speed constituted a technological development evidence of the most advanced countries during the time. A consideration of high speed for railways was represented by an impressive locomotive from the George Stephenson in 1829 (Ghosal, 2017).

The Shinkansen Birth in 1964

In Europe, after some significant records of speed, the beginning of the Japanese nation railways amazed the world. The author clarifies that this high-speed rail operated at a speed of 515 km/h. The main aim of building the line was to provide capacity for the new system of transport (Levinson, 2010). This transport was a necessity for the impressively Japanese economy’s rapid growth. In effect, the HSR (the high-speed rail) was born.

1964 – 1981: The TGV’s Birth

After the Shinkansen operation’s big success, the technical progress in various countries such as Germany, United Kingdom, France, and Italy started to engage in the development of the innovations and technologies aimed at establishing the basis for the "future passenger railway." In contrast to the concept of Shinkansen, the new HSR of European was fully compatible with the railways that were already existing. As a result, it largely conditioned the continued system development in the Old continent (Ghosal, 2017).

The Spread of the HSR Services in the World (1981 – 2009)

After the TGV’s big success, each of the countries in Europe looked for the new competitive generation of medium and long-distance passenger rail services. Often, they developed as well as importing other new technologies. In 1988, both German and Italy joined the group of countries that were offering the services of high-speed rail in Europe. Subsequently, Belgium further joined these countries in 1997. Moreover, the UK and Netherlands joined these countries in 2003 and 2009 respectively (Ghosal, 2017).

2009 and Beyond

China started a new perspective and dimension of HSR on 1 August 2008. This HSR operates at an average speed of 120 km/h (Levinson, 2010). This process is a presentation of just one of the steps for huge development for the transformation of the traveling way of the most populated countries globally.

Conclusion

Noticeably, the history and development of HSR have resulted in enhancement of the transport system in various countries. Evidently, the speed of the railway even increased considerably before 1850. Further, this speed increased from 100 km/h to 130 km/h in 1854. At the 20th century beginning, this speed was increased to 200 km/h. These were just records of speed, in any case. In revenue operation, the maximum speed was much more modest. In the 1930s, the average speed was 135 km/h with the top speed reaching 180 km/h with the introduction of the electric, steam, and diesel powertrains.

References

California High-Speed Rail Authority - State of California. (2017). Hsr.ca.gov. Retrieved 28 October 2017, from http://www.hsr.ca.gov/

Ghosal, V. (2017). High-Speed Rail Markets, Infrastructure Investments, and Manufacturing Capabilities. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2926108

Levinson, D. (2010). Economic Development Impacts of High-Speed Rail. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1736327