Peripheral High-Speed Rail Stations in Spain

Abstract

A peripheral, or city-edge, location is relatively common for new HSR stations in small and medium-sized cities and less densely populated areas. In Spain, mainly as a result of local and regional pressure, only 9 of the 35 station (Desember 2015) with HSR services are peripherally located. This paper analyses the urban planning and development local strategies that have been undertaken around peripheral HSR stations in Spain. Peripherally located HSR stations cannot be analysed as a single typology because they respond to different territorial logics and have different characteristics. However, identifying different typologies helps to understand the characteristics and territorial functions that different stations perform. The second part of the paper analyses: the local planning and development strategies employed around HSR stations which are related to their territorial contexts; the specific characteristics of each station; and the different strategies employed by stakeholders. Governance seems a fundamental issue in the case of peripheral stations because they need coordinated actions to overcome the main challenges that they face, most of which are related to their territorial integration and external accessibility.