Agata Pomykała

Transport Systems
History of development High Speed Railways.
UIC impact

World speed record: 578,6 km/h, France, April 2007, Source: UIC

The 10 th jubilee congress of the HS is a good opportunity to pre- international project was the construction of HSL North (LGV Nord, fr.
sent the influence of the UIC on the development of high-speed ligne à grande vitesse), line from Paris to Lille and further to London
railways and the history of cyclic congresses. UIC (International and Brussels [7].
Railway Union ( fr. Union International des Chemin de fer), as the In parallel with the construction of high-speed lines and the crea-
worldwide professional association representing the railway sec- tion of international passenger transport operators in Europe, strate-
tor and promoting rail transport, leads an innovative and dynamic gic projects for the development of the high-speed rail network were
sector. Since 1922, UIC supports their Members in their efforts to prepared as part of UIC’s work. In 1972, it was developed by the
develop new business and areas of activities, as well as proposes specially appointed Commission Directional Plan for European Infra-
new ways to improve technical and environmental performance of structure resulting from the intense work of representatives of the
rail transport. European railways. It was based on the analysis of the existing and
potential links of the most urbanized and economically developed re-
gions in Europe. Their goal was to indicate the relations that forecast
Already at the turn of 1950s and 1960s, the rapid growth of motori- the largest volume of transport. The subject of the analysis was both
sation rate has reduced the role of railway in fulfilling its mission of the complementarity of the railway with the transport chain and the
serving to the society. This state has been caused by social changes, definition of the connection network allowing guarantee of the use of
economic development and increasing value of time. Temporary ac- the most important advantages of the railway: convenience of travel,
tivities aimed the improvement of value of existing infrastructure, frequency of connections, security and the possibility of convenient
slight shortening of the journey time and increasing the frequency communication. The result of the work was the designation of a core
of trains, had not solved the intensified problems. In turn, they led network covering 40,000 km of main railway lines [10].
to a diminution of attractiveness of rail offer and caused a loss of In 1985, work began on the preparation of a proposal for a Eu-
shares in market. ropean high-speed network. This initiative coincided with the will to
If in 1950s and 1960s most of problems were linked to the insuf- quickly develop the European network which in the communication
ficient capacity of the lines, in 1970s and 1980s it was clearly visible COM/ 86/341 of June 30, 1986 [3] was expressed by the Commis-
that transportation, especially in terms of passenger transportation sion of the European Communities. The project was implemented
at medium and long distances, is not competitive in relation to car with the participation of 12 national railway countries associated in
and air transport. A deteriorating situation of rail companies, the in- the European Community. A working group created as part of the
creasing loss of market and unpromising prognoses without explicit European Railways Community officially presented a plan to the gov-
changes in the offer (travel time!) were the reason for building High ernments and leaders of the European Community in January 1989.
Speed Lines (HSL). In the next years the willingness to establish In December 1989, a european working group passed a resolution
a Trans-European network became significant as it would contribute based on the creation of a top-level group to carry on the high speed
to fulfilling the assumptions of creating a common economic area, rail development researches on a European scale. The first stage of
and, especially, a free movement of passengers and foods, and also rapport was ready in December 1990 and included a European draft
it would support the intensification of cultural, economic and political master plan for the 2010 horizon [9]. In February 1991 Proposal for
cooperation between the linked countries [2]. The first high speed a Council Decision concerning the establishment of a network of high

4 En
/2018 7
Transport Systems

Tab. 1. High Speed Lines in the world

Distances
Country In Under Long term Total
operation construction Planned planning
ASIA (16) 31 875 12 988 6 174 14 382 65 419
Bahrain&Qatar – – – 180 180
China1) 26 869 10 738 1 268 257 39 132
India – – 508 4 126 4 634
Indonesia – – 712 – 712
Iran – – 1 351 1 499 2 850
Japan 3 041 402 194 – 3 637
Kazakstan – – – 1 011 1 011
Malaysia&Singapore – – 350 – 350
Saudi Arabia – 453 – – 453
South Korea 887 – 49 – 936 Fig. 1. Links in the network showing the eight main gateways [10, p. 393]
Taiwan 354 – – – 354
Thailand – – 615 2 262 2 877 extension stage of the researches, the Baltic Countries, Belarus,
Turkey 724 1 395 1 127 3 447 6 693 Ukraine, Moldavia and Russia have been involved in the project [9].
Vietnam – – – 1 600 1 600 In 1992, UIC presented the long term master plan, which was
EUROPE (19) 9 236 1 697 2 659 8 172 21 764 prepared in occasion of EURAILSPEED 92. The network idea, initially
Austria 244 243 24 – 511 based on North-South axis and in relation with main routes of the
Belgium 209 – – – 209 European Community, has later on evolved in order to satisfy the new
Czech Republic – – – 810 810 need of development of East-West routes. In its central part, corre-
Denmark – 56 – – 56 sponding to the most crowed area (from London, Paris and Barcelona
Estonia&Latvia – – – 870 870 in the West, till Warsaw, Budapest and Belgrade in the East), they
&Lithuania
France 2 776 – – 1 786 4 562 are also the main gateways to the more peripheral regions (Fig. 1):
¡¡ London for the British Isles,
Germany 1 658 185 – 210 2 053
¡¡ Hamburg towards Scandinavia,
Italy 896 53 – 152 1 101
¡¡ Warsaw and Budapest for extensions towards the East,
Norway – – – 333 333
¡¡ Belgrade to the Balcans,
Poland 224 – 484 598 1 306
¡¡ Bologna for Italy,
Portugal – – – 596 596
¡¡ Barcelona and Paris for the Iberian Peninsula and the „Atlantic side”.
Russia – – 770 2 208 2 978
Spain 2 852 904 1 061 – 4 817 In this way, UIC proposed a linked network, connecting three types
Sweden – 11 – 739 750 of lines: very high speed: 300–350 km/h, upgraded lines for about
Switzerland 144 15 – – 159 200 km/h, already existing lines acting as connection and spreading
The Netherlands 120 – – – 120 instruments [9].
United Kindom 113 230 320 – 663 The next stage of work to improve transport links in Europe was to
OTHER (8) 735 392 624 7 474 9 225 prioritize transport corridors during the second pan-European trans-
Australia – – – 1 749 1 749 port conference in Crete (1994) and to develop and complete them
Brazil – – – 511 511 10th corridor during the third pan-European conference in Helsinki
Canada – – – 290 290 (1997). Further on, in order to expand the transport network to the
Egypt – – – 1 210 1 210 candidate countries for the European Union, the Transport Infrastruc-
Mexico – – – 210 210 ture Needs Assessment (TINA) was established. The works on the
Morocco – 200 – 1 114 1 314 creation of a single European transport area were finalized by the
South Africa – – – 2 390 2 390 Regulation No 1315/2013 adopted by the European Parliament and
USA 735 192 624 – 1 551 the Council of the European Union, and sets the European high speed
TOTAL (43) 41 846 15 077 9 457 30 028 96 408 rail network in the 2030 and 2050 perspective.
1)
passanger dedicated lines. High Speed Railway today
Source: self – study, based on data of UIC Passenger Department, 01.04.2018. The pace of work and the direct reasons for the decision of building
the first high-speed lines in particular countries were different. Each
speed trains was presented in Brussels by the Commission of the of them, in their own rhythm, in accordance with prevailing customs
European Communities [1]. and organizational culture, prepared the first concepts and projects.
In 1988, UIC created The High Speed Mission (fr. Mission grande High-speed rail systems, although based on the same ideas and
vittese) with the aim of inciting the idea of the European high speed meeting the same needs, differs in the organizational, technical and
network and coordinating the action of the railway companies in financing arrangements. The detailed information on this topic can
a geographic environment going beyond the European Community be found in the works of M. Leboeuf [5] and prof. A. López Pita [6].
borders. By a close examination of the economic, technical, financial The further development of high-speed rail systems and the deci-
fields, it ended up in enlarging the first draft master plan to West and sions made to build them in other countries is the best testimony
Central Europe, Scandinavia and Balkans. Lately, thanks to a new confirming the rightness of this idea.

8 4 En
/2018
 Transport Systems
Other European Companies
Italy (Trenitalia) – 2013
800
Spain (Renfe Operadora)
Other European Companies
Germany (DB AG)
700 Italy (Trenitalia) – 2013
France (SNCF)
Spain (Renfe Operadora)
Taiwan (Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.)
Germany (DB AG)
Korea (Korail)
600 France (SNCF)
Japan (JR group)
Taiwan (Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.)
China (China Railway)
500 Korea (Korail)
Japan (JR group)
China (China Railway)
400

300

200

100
2015 2016

0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Fig. 2. High Speed Traffic in the world in 2016 [passenger-km (billions)] Fig. 3. Evolution of the world High Speed Rail network [4]
Source: self – study, based on data of UIC Passenger Department
References
The congresses organized by UIC related to the development of 1. Communication from the Commission to the Council regarding
high-speed railways are held cyclically every 2–3 years in different a European High Speed Train Network Proposal for a Council De-
countries of the world. Their summary contain Fig. 2. cision concerning the establishing of a network of high speed
trains SEC(90) 2402 final, Brussels, 6.02.1991
Tab. 2. High Speed Congresses 2. Dyr T., Strategy for the development of the trans-European trans-
Name Date Location port network (in Polish), „Technika Transportu Szynowego” 2012,
EURAILSPEED 1992 27–29 April 1992 Belgium, Bruxelles
nr 1–2.
EURAILSPEED 1995 4–6 October 1995 France, Lille
3. European network of high-speed trains COM/86/341
z 30.06.1986 r. [acces: 04.04.2018] https://cordis.europa.eu/
EURAILSPEED 1998 28–30 October 1998 Germany, Berlin
news/rcn/233_pl.html
EURAILSPEED 2002 23–25 October 2002 Spain, Madrid
4. Ishii T., High Speed data on the world. Presentation, UIC Intercity
EURAILSPEED 2005 7–9 November 2005 Italy, Milano
& High Speed Technical meeting, Warsaw, 7th February, 2017
Netherlands, 5. Leboeuf M., High Speed Rail, Le cherche midi, 2014
UIC HIGHSPEED 2008 17–19 March 2008
Amsterdam
6. Pita A. L., UIC study on Origin and Financing of first high-speed
7th World Congress on High Speed Rail 6–9 December 2010 China, Beijing
lines in the world, 2014.
8th World Congress on High Speed Rail 10–13 September 2012 USA, Washington
7. Pomykala A., Socio-economic aspects of the high-speed rail sys-
9th World Congress on High Speed Rail 7–10 July 2015 Japan, Tokyo
tem in Poland, [in] Siergiejczyk M. (ed.) High Speed Railway in
10th World Congress on High Speed Rail 8–11 May 2018 Turkey, Ankara Poland. Railway Research Institute Warsaw, 2015
Source: [8, p. 46]. 8. Pomykala A., The UIC role in the development of High Speed Rail-
way (in Polish). „Technika Transportu Szynowego” 2017, No. 5.
Tab. 3. The first high Speer lines in selected countries 9. Walrave M., The development of high speed rail innovation and
Country Section Speed [km/h] Inauguration tradition. Prospects for the future. „Rivista Internazionale Di Sci-
enze Sociali”, 1993, Vol. 101, No. 3. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/sta-
from 210 up
Japan Tokyo–Osaka October 1964 ble/41623791 [acess: 28.03.2018]
270
10. Żurkowski A., High Speed – UIC, Poland (in Polish), „Technika
24th February 1977
Italy Florence–Rome 250 Transportu Szynowego”, 2005, No. 5–6.
(first section)
France LN1 Paris South–East 300 22nd September 1981
Germany Fulda–Wörzburg 280 1988
Spain Madrid–Seville 270 1992
Agata Pomykała
Agata Pomykala works in Railway Institute in Warsaw. She
Belgium Brussels–French border 300 1997 is a graduate of the Technical University in Lublin (Mana-
China Qinhuangdao–Shenyang 250 2003 gement and Marketing) and postgraduate of French-Po-
lish School Organisation and Management/EDHEC Bussi-
United Kindom Channel Tunel–Fawkhan Junction 300 2003 nes School (Master en Management Europeen).
South Korea Seul–Dongdaegu 300 2004 In 2009-2011 as a project director in the High Speed Cen-
tre, PKP PLK S.A., she was in charge of strategy planning
Taiwan Taipei–Kaohsiung 300 2007 and communication. In 2011-2012 she was the project
Netherlands Schiphol–Belgian border 300 2009 manager in PKP INTERCITY and was responsible for deve-
lopment and marketing of passenger service between Poland and Czech Republic,
Turkey (Ankara)–Sinkan–Eskisehir 250 2009 Germany and Austria. In years 2013-2014 she was the General Secretary of the
Austria Vienna–Sankt Pölten 230 2012 Polish Association of Transport Engineers & Technicians.

Source: self-study based on [5].

4 En
/2018 9