Is high speed rail feasible?


Is high speed rail feasible? Constructing a high-speed line requires a massive upfront capital investment. Given the number of years required to bring a high-speed rail project to an operational state, obtaining construction capital from conventional commercial financing sources is not feasible.


Is high-speed rail in Europe profitable?

From a financial standpoint, only two HSR lines in the world are profitable: Paris-Lyon in France and Tokyo-Osaka in Japan. A third line, Hakata-Osaka in Japan, breaks even. The majority of high-speed rail lines require large government subsidies from both general taxpayers and drivers.


How much debt would HSR cause?

However, it seems that the aggressive campaign to reap the lucrative economic dividends of HSR has increased the state-run operator's total liabilities, which as of the end of 2021 reached 5.91 trillion yuan ($882 billion), or roughly 5% of China's GDP, reported Asia Nikkei.


Is high speed rail good for climate change?

High-Speed Rail is the Solution. Shifting drivers to trains creates fewer greenhouse gas emissions, since trains are far more energy efficient than cars (or planes).


What country is leading in building high speed rails?

High-speed train revolution China has built around 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers) of dedicated high-speed railways since 2008 and plans to top 43,000 miles (70,000 kilometers) by 2035. Meanwhile, the United States has just 375 route-miles of track cleared for operation at more than 100 mph.


Can hyperloops substitute high speed rails in the future?

The Hyperloop system is expected to be a faster and economical alternative to conventional short- range aviation and high-speed rails. Moreover, a market study by NASA (Taylor et al., 2016) concluded that developing Hyperloop facilities would be cheaper than other high-speed railway Page 5 5 networks.


Should we build high speed rails?

Implementing high-speed rail (HSR) will provide Americans with more transportation choices. It will also make sure that America remains an economic engine, and meets the environmental and energy challenges of this century.


Is China high-speed rail profitable?

In 2021, Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway Co., Ltd. earned a total net profit of 4.8 billion yuan, an increase of more than 49 percent from the previous year. Established in Beijing in 2007, it is the only railroad company in China that introduces social cash investors and Sino-foreign cooperative operations.


Is high speed rail more environmentally friendly than planes?

Eurostar estimates that a one-way train trip emits around 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) of CO2 per passenger, making it a much more sustainable choice compared to flying.


Is China losing money in high-speed rail?

According to the latest data, as of the first half of 2022, the total liabilities of China National Railway Group totaled 6 trillion yuan, and in the first half of 2022 alone, it has lost 80.4 billion yuan, with an average loss of 400 million yuan per day.


Is building high-speed rail bad for the environment?

HSR reduces traffic congestion and gaseous waste emissions, as well as environmental pollution, by replacing traditional transportation (Anderson, 2014). According to the study of Chen et al. (2016), HSR has a significant and positive effect on environmental degradation.


Which European country has the most high-speed rail?

France has the second largest high-speed network in Europe, with 2,800 km (1,740 mi) of operative HSR lines in June 2021, only behind Spain's 3,762 km (2,338 mi).


How much money is China losing on high-speed rail?

Wider Risks to the Chinese Economy In 2020, China Railway's final profit and loss statement recorded losses of ¥55 billion CNY (approx. ¥1.1 trillion JPY/ $7.9 billion USD), while in 2021, it was in the red by ¥49.8 billion CNY (approx. ¥1 trillion JPY/ $7.2 billion USD).


Will the US ever build high-speed rail?

High-speed rail lines are proposed for California, Nevada, Texas, Georgia and the Pacific Northwest, and already under construction in California's Central Valley.