Resumen de Contribución al diseño eficiente de la configuración en planta de líneas de alta velocidad
Building a high-speed line requires significant investment and its design strongly influences the operation, with the aggravating circumstance that subsequent modifications not initially planned are not always feasible at a reasonable cost. It is therefore necessary to define optimal infrastructure configurations. Design principles of high-speed lines have remained unchanged for 50 years and are similar to all lines. For this reason it is crucial to review, update and adapt them to the future and specific requirements of each line. This thesis identifies two dimensions which should be considered when designing a new high speed line: -Time dimension: capacity requirements are not constant throughout the life cycle of the infrastructure. Usually there is an upward trend but subject to many uncertainties. Thus, the time dimension involves the study of scalable design, which allows adapting supply to demand mitigating the risk of any cost overrun. - Spatial dimension: not all lines and even not all sections of a line have the same functionality in a railway network. Traffic patterns, demand volumes and speed requirements, differ from one section to another, so that the equipment must also be different and adapted to the particular conditions. Moreover, sometimes a new highspeed line is planned to link populations that hitherto had conventional line to reduce travel times. In such cases, a decision will have to be taken on what to do with the existing line. The aim of this thesis is to undertake a systematic analysis considering both dimensions and addressing in detail technical and economic aspects to finally present the Two-dimensional design methodology for high speed lines as a tool to achieve efficient design. The analysis is confined to the track layout of new high speed lines. On the basis of a detailed analysis of the high-speed networks in Japan, France and Spain, common design patterns are identified. Furthermore, using graph theory and network science, it is quantified how the structure and topology of the networks influence operation and capacity. An analysis of the economic implications of adopting different designs (single track, double track, scalable design…) is performed. Infrastructure investment, maintenance and operation costs, as well as costs and revenues of a railway operator and external costs are discussed. All cost and revenue drivers are identified. Guideline values are provided, detailed enough to undertake a socio-economic assessment in the absence of actual data. Subsequently, technical aspects are addressed, analysing in depth time and spatial dimensions, presenting, evaluating and comparing the design solutions available. The analysis is based on simulation, combining different infrastructure variants, train types and headways. It allows drawing some general conclusions, always bearing in mind that each line has its particularities and constraints. Following study of economic and technical aspects in both dimensions they are interconnected, presenting the Two-dimensional design methodology for high speed lines. The proposed methodology is applied to the Ourense-Lugo high speed line to verify its usability.
