Geographies of High-Speed Rail

This insightful book explores the ongoing revolution in high-speed rail (HSR) development from a geographical perspective. Providing comprehensive coverage of global HSR systems, leading experts analyse the factors that help to explain where, why and how HSR has been built and the effects it has had on those places.Combining thematic and regional approaches, the book examines the strengths and weaknesses of HSR and presents impact assessments of its benefits and costs. Contributing authors investigate how the characteristics of places, including political systems, the natural environment, population distribution and urbanisation, shape the growth of HSR. They also consider how places can be affected by HSR construction, taking into account geopolitical, environmental and social equity impacts. The book uncovers the reasons behind HSR’s spatial distribution and concludes by debating the international issues influencing its expansion.Scholars and students of transport geography, transport planning, transport economics and spatial planning will find this book an invaluable resource. Policy makers and practitioners within rail- and HSR-oriented organisations will also benefit from the discussions on the social, economic, environmental and political patterns associated with HSR development.