Invited paper - Highspeed rail systems: a new international benchmark for safety and its influence on supply chains

The world’s first highspeed rail systems have been built and operated in Japan since 1964. Commonly, the term ‘highspeed’ implies a train speed over new rail lines in excess of 250 km/h (155 mph), and over upgraded existing lines in excess of 200 km/h (124 mph). Interestingly, high-speed rail (HSR) infrastructures have been constructed in several countries in order to improve the connectivity between major cities. A report by International Union of Railway shows global HSR development in Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uzbekistan. In this study, we have thus proposed a new international benchmarking framework to assess the operational performance of highspeed rail systems. Of a particular focus, railway safety has been the primary concern by the public and will be a prime factor for benchmarking in this paper. The benchmarking framework adopts the official data published by rail regulators and governmental statistics bureaus. It is important to note that the framework can assess any HSR systems globally. However, for demonstrations in this study, five notable rail networks have been selected as case studies including China, France, Japan, Spain and South Korea. In addition, this paper will address the sensitivity of HSR development on supply chains using the HS2 development in the UK as the case study. This highlights the evaluation of the possible impact of the HS2 project on supply chains through the air-rail-road freight transportation and logistics, to consider business opportunities and potential synergies. The focus in study underpins the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (i.e. ‘Good Health & Well-Being’, ‘Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’, and ‘Sustainable Cities & Communities’).