High speed rail has been gaining more and more ground at national level, due to the increasing awareness in terms of mobility and economic growth. The authorities are betting on the implementation of these projects which, without a doubt, make rail transport the most attractive mode of transport and a viable alternative to road and air transport. Travel time reduction, increased safety and comfort contribute to the increase in profitability and the reduction of the environmental impact.
Poland is one of the European countries planning to build a high speed railway network. To that end, following an increase in demand, starting 2014, Poland will implement high speed rail projects. Until now, the government has allocated over EUR 18 Million for the elaboration of the pre-feasibility projects, while the EU will co-finance the feasibility projects with over EUR 80 Million. Warsaw-Lodz-Poznan-Wroclaw (450 km) will be one of the largest high speed rails, linking Dresden, Prague and Berlin.
In order to build this new high speed rail network, Poland signed an agreement with the Czech Republic for the provision of high speed transport services on the Warsaw-Prague route. For both parties involved, the development of this project brings many challenges in terms of interoperability, legislation, financing and connection to the European network. “We aim to reach a speed of 350 km/h using driver cabin signalling. Therefore, we need to make some changes in the national legislation. We also need to elaborate a new set of internal regulations in terms of signalling, maintenance, staff, traffic control etc.”, said Marek Pawlik, Vice President PKP PLK, during an interview for Railway Pro (see the July 2010 issue).
Turkey makes first step
Moving from the European area towards Central Asia, the most ambitious country in terms of high speed rail construction is Turkey. The Ankara-Istanbul (533 km) and Ankara-Konya (306 km) high speed rail lines represented the first step towards the implementation of a new high speed rail network. The authorities plan to increase the market share of the Ankara-Istanbul link up to 78%. “In the first 10 years we plan to build a high speed rail network which crosses the entire country and we will do so. Passengers need mobility and this
determines the development of new projects for the provision of high speed transport services”, said Erol Inan, Deputy Director General of TCDD. The Turkish Government adopted the national strategy for infrastructure development for the construction of 14,500 km of new rail lines, most of which high speed rail, by 2023. The necessary investments amount to over USD 32 Billion. By 2035, an additional 2,400 km of rail lines will be built. The new railway network will include around 12,000 km of high speed rail.
by Pamela Luică
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