scholarly journals Evaluating Innovative Financing Mechanisms for the California High-Speed Rail Project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shailesh Chandra ◽  
Timothy Thai ◽  
Vivek Mishra ◽  
Princeton Wong

Millions of dollars are involved in high-speed rail (HSR) infrastructure construction and maintenance. Large-scale projects like HSR require funding from a variety of avenues beyond those available through public monies. Although HSR serves the general public’s mobility needs, any funds (whether State or Federal) flowing from the public exchequer usually undergo strict review and scrutiny. Funds from public agencies are always limited, making such traditional financing mechanisms unsustainable for fulfilling HSR’s long-term operational and maintenance cost needs—on top of initial costs involved in construction. Therefore, any sustainable means of financing HSR projects would always be welcome. This research presents an alternate revenue generation mechanism that could be sustainable for financing HSR’s construction, operation, and maintenance. The methodology involves determining key HSR stations, which, after development and improvement, could significantly add value to businesses and real estate growth. Any form of real estate taxes levied on properties surrounding such stations could substantially support the HSR project’s funding needs. In this research, a bi-objective optimization problem is posed in conjunction with a Pareto-optimal front framework to identify those key stations. With 28 California HSR stations used as an example, it was observed that the four proposed HSR stations in Fullerton, Millbrae-SFO, San Francisco Transbay Terminal, and San Diego would be excellent candidates for development. Their development could increase the economic vitality of surrounding businesses. The findings could serve as valuable information for California HSR authorities to focus on developing key stations that would generate an alternate funding source for an HSR project facing funding challenges.

2018 ◽  
pp. 86-105
Author(s):  
Carlos Hugo Soria Caceres

RESUMENLas infraestructuras de transporte presentes sobre el territorio condicionan las relaciones sociales y de comunicación de muchos espacios. Grandes estaciones, puertos o aeropuertos se presentan como ejes de centralidad sobre los que se distribuyen flujos de mercancías y personas, configurando a su vez el diseño y la funcionalidad de las ciudades. Hoy en día, con el avance producido en sectores como el ferrocarril de alta velocidad, las estaciones han transformado su función principal de nudo de intercambio, proyectándose como nuevos espacios comerciales y de negocio. En este artículo se analiza este nuevo fenómeno de transformación espacial y social vinculado a la alta velocidad ferroviaria, focalizando su ámbito en España. Se desgrana a su vez el papel de las comunidades sociales, políticas y empresariales para la ciudad y el espacio público presentes en las nuevas estaciones de ferroviarias. Palabras clave: ferrocarril; espacio público; urbanismo. ABSTRACTThis work aims to discuss the transport infrastructures presents on the territory and the conditions to the social and communication relations of many spaces. Large stations, ports or airports are presented as axes of centrality on which flows of goods and people are distributed, configuring in turn the design and functionality of cities. Nowadays, with the advance produced in sectors such as high-speed rail, the stations have transformed their main function as an exchange hub, projecting themselves as new commercial and business spaces. This article analyzes this new phenomenon of spatial and social transformation linked to high-speed rail, focusing its scope in Spain. At the same time, the role of the social, political and business communities for the city and the public space present in the new railway stations.Keywords: railroad; public space; urbanism.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Márcio De Paula Filgueiras

Neste texto vou apresentar alguns aspectos de um conflito que acompanhei na Califórnia, entre 2010 e 2011, em que representantes de algumas cidades localizada na Baía de San Fancisco, como Palo Alto e Atherton, desafiaram judicialmente uma agência estadual porque o projeto do trem de alta velocidade (High Speed Rail Project) que ligaria Los Angeles a San Francisco incluiria uma rota que atravessaria suas vizinhanças, causando efeitos ambientais e financeiros indesejados. Ações legais deste tipo, voltadas para a proteção do interesse público, são conhecidas naquele país pelo termo genérico public interest litigation. A partir deste caso, mostrarei alguns aspectos dos modelos de acesso a direitos e das noções de interesse público que podem ser visualizada em ação nos Estados Unidos. No final do artigo apresentarei um contraste, ainda que limitado, com o que pude observar no Brasil, a respeito da administração judicial de conflitos coletivos.


Author(s):  
Rafael A. Gonzalez ◽  
Alexander Verbraeck ◽  
Ajantha Dahanayake

Coordinating the response of multiple public agencies to a large-scale crisis is a challenge that has been studied predominantly according to the information-processing view. In this paper, the authors extend this view with the notion of emergence giving special attention to information and communication technology (ICT). The extended framework is applied in a case study of crisis response exercises in the public sector. The findings suggest that current practices concentrate on standards and hierarchy, but mutual adjustment and emergent coordination also occur and are susceptible to analysis and equally relevant to understand coordination practices. In addition, ICT can provide information processing capabilities needed for coordination but may also create information processing needs by increasing the volume of data and the interconnectedness of responders. Applying the extended framework improves the understanding of coordination and forms the basis for its future use in designing ICT to support coordination in crisis response and e-government.


Author(s):  
Xudong Gao

China is a developing country but has made impressive progress in technological capability development. One strategy proved to be effective is the use of large-scale programs to help technological capability development. Examples include the subway equipment industry, the high-speed rail industry, the power generation equipment industry, the power transmission industry, the telecom equipment industry, etc. In all these sectors, China was lagging behind the technological innovation frontier before the related large-scale programs but is now among the world leaders. In this chapter we will try to understand the process of initiating and managing these large-scale programs.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael A. Gonzalez ◽  
Alexander Verbraeck ◽  
Ajantha Dahanayake

Coordinating the response of multiple public agencies to a large-scale crisis is a challenge that has been studied predominantly according to the information-processing view. In this paper, the authors extend this view with the notion of emergence giving special attention to information and communication technology (ICT). The extended framework is applied in a case study of crisis response exercises in the public sector. The findings suggest that current practices concentrate on standards and hierarchy, but mutual adjustment and emergent coordination also occur and are susceptible to analysis and equally relevant to understand coordination practices. In addition, ICT can provide information processing capabilities needed for coordination but may also create information processing needs by increasing the volume of data and the interconnectedness of responders. Applying the extended framework improves the understanding of coordination and forms the basis for its future use in designing ICT to support coordination in crisis response and e-government.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Jing Zuo ◽  
Jianwu Dang ◽  
Min Lyu

In large-scale high-speed rail networks (HSRNs), the occurrence of occasional malfunctions or accidents is unavoidable. The key issue considered in this study is the optimal allocation of the maintenance costs, based on the stochastic risk assessment for HSRNs. Inspired by the theoretical risk evaluation methods in the complex network, three major factors, including the local effects, global effects, and component self-effects are considered in the process of assessing the impact on the network components (nodes or lines). By introducing the component failure occurrence probability, which is considered to be an exponential function changing with the component maintenance costs, a feasible stochastic risk assessment model of the HSRNs together with the component impact assessment is proposed that can better unify the impact assessment of both the high-speed rail stations and railways. An optimal allocation algorithm based on a Lagrangian relaxation approach is designed. Correspondingly, the optimal cost allocation scheme can be determined using the algorithm to eliminate the various HSRN risks under the given costs. Furthermore, a real-world case study of the HSRNs in eastern China is illustrated. Compared with the genetic algorithm, the simulation shows that the approach can solve the optimal cost allocation problem to more effectively reduce the risks of large-scale HSRNs in practice.


Subject The high-speed rail sector in Europe. Significance High-speed rail continues to develop in Europe, but there are increasing concerns about the balance of economic benefits and costs as well as, in some cases, the public acceptability of the sector. Hopes that the industry's development in Europe would provide a base for exports may be optimistic, in the face especially of Chinese competition. Impacts Growth in the European market will continue, but much of the sector's potential development is in other regions, especially Asia. The breakdown of the Schengen zone or introduction of airport-style security would blight the environment for the European sector. Liberalisation, driven by either national or EU reforms, could increase competition on Europe's densest national and international routes. Spain's fiscal and centre-periphery challenges could make its development of high-speed rail especially sensitive.


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