The International Union of Railways (UIC) has published the report Financial Models for High-Speed Rail Infrastructure, a comprehensive study examining how high-speed rail projects can be structured, financed, and delivered in a context of growing policy ambition and increasing pressure on public finances.
Developed in collaboration with the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) of the European University Institute, and with the active support of four major UIC member organisations — ADIF (Spain), DB (Germany), FSI (Italy), and SNCF (France) — the study draws on the analysis of around 20 high-speed rail projects across Europe, Asia, and the Americas to assess the strengths, limitations, and conditions for success of three principal financing approaches.
High-speed rail is among the most financially demanding infrastructure investments a government can undertake. With an average construction cost average around EUR 45.5 million per kilometre at a global level (with significant variation across countries and project types: costs can run considerably higher in challenging terrain or urban environments, and considerably lower in countries with mature procurement systems and favourable geography), negative cash flows that can persist for over a decade, and revenue streams structurally constrained by regulation, the sector requires careful and tailored financial architecture. At the same time, the European Commission’s mandate to develop an EU High-Speed Rail Master Plan has placed the question of investment frameworks at the centre of the transport policy debate. (....)