High-speed train integration in the urban fabric. The case of Segovia-Guiomar

Abstract

The arrival of the high-speed train service generates opportunities for dynamisation that particularly affects the local scale. Local scale authorities usually react by deploying planning and management resources to guarantee the best possible integration of new infrastructure in the local environment, striving to make sure that these new elements are coherent with the existing urban fabric and to maximise the level of accessibility generated by its presence. In this article, we examine the measures undertaken in Segovia and associated with the establishment of its new high-speed train station. The fact that the station was located in a peripheral area implies the need to undertake a wide range of measures to manage physical planning and maximise mobility. Municipal and territorial planning highlights the importance of infrastructure and of integrating a station and its immediate surroundings within the wider urban area. This normally entails the development of land through urban planning and additional transport infrastructure. For the present, managing mobility implies structuring the interaction between the railway station and the urban centre by coordinating bus services with train schedules.