The Economics and Politics of High-Speed Rail: Lessons from Experiences Abroad

摘要

High-speed rail (HSR) has become a controversial topic in the transport and public policy arenas as a result of recent programmatic initiatives in several countries including the United States, China, Spain, the UK, and the European Union as a whole. There has been vociferous debate about the efficacy of developing HSR lines or systems, especially because of the very high costs involved and disagreements about HSR's benefits. This new focus on HSR has prompted increased attention from the research community, including a special section of the Journal of Transport Geography in May 2012 featuring diverse viewpoints on the topic. Another significant research contribution is this book. The Economics and Politics of High-Speed Rail: Lessons from Experiences Abroad, written by Daniel Albalate and Germa Bel, two distinguished economists from the University of Barcelona, Spain.