Effects of network economies in high-speed rail: the Spanish case

Abstract

The first high-speed rail was inaugurated in Spain in April 1992 on the Madrid–Seville route with great success in passenger occupancy and notable impact on the regional development. The Madrid–Barcelona–French Border high speed rail has not been inaugurated yet, as it has been subject to delay in the engineering work. These facts have led public opinion to be very favorable toward the Madrid–Seville high speed rail but unfavorable toward the Madrid–Barcelona–French Border route. In this paper, we will compare the “ex post” cost–benefit analysis by De Rus and Inglada (Ann Reg Sci 31:175–188, 1997) for the Madrid–Seville route with the “ex ante” cost–benefit analysis made by Inglada and Coto-Millán (Essays on Microeconomics and Industrial Organization. Springer Physica, Heidelberg, 2004) for the Madrid–Barcelona–French Border route. The basic assumptions of time values, accident values and social discount rate of 6% in real terms are the same in both studies.