2010 Structural Engineering Traveling Fellowship
Iconic Form: High-Speed Rail Structures

Worldwide, high-speed railway development has accelerated to address society’s need for convenient, reliable, and sustainable intercity transportation. Unique to high-speed railway lines, trains require dedicated tracks that are straight and level to safely maintain punctual, high-speed operation. Likewise, guideways, which are commonly employed across urbanized zones, flood basins, and diverse terrain, represent the greatest visual impact of high-speed rail. Infrastructure is ubiquitous in the developed world, although too often lacks considerable consolidation with both scenic and urban landscape. The structural engineer, the designer of bridges and iconic modern station structures, has the opportunity to positively transform the environment through innovative, high-performance design—promoting harmony between landscape and infrastructure.

This decade, high-speed rail has the potential to redefine the context of regional intercity travel for North America, where passenger rail travel has fallen out of favor despite increasingly congested highways and inconvenient short-haul air travel. With no reference available, this research seeks to document the aesthetic development and structural innovation of high-speed railroad bridges and stations worldwide to understand the contextual value of iconic form.

Connecting cities with unprecedented speed, comfort, and convenience, high-speed rail has redefined the experience of intercity travel worldwide. High-speed rail is synonymous with sleek, modern trains that cruise between cities with ever increasing speed. Internationally, train velocities above 200 kph (124 mph) are considered high-speed, whereas the United States Federal Railroad Administration uses a substandard of 110 mph. Once viewed as the technical ceiling for rail velocity, the current standard operating velocity ranges from 156 to 220 mph for wheel on rail, and beyond 250 mph for magnetically levitated vehicles along special guideways.

Inherently, politicians are quick to call any rail service in excess of their local benchmark high-speed rail. Under this definition of new rail service, does any moderately fast train qualify as a high-speed train? For example, Acela Express service operated by Amtrak (America’s National Railroad Passenger Corporation) may attain speeds of 150 mph, although only briefly since the train operates on shared track. Promoted as high-speed service, the train averages velocities less than 90 mph. This service is not radically different than traditional train service, and certainly does not redefine the experience of intercity travel or offer greater mobility to the population. “Current discussions of high-speed rail programs and policies sometimes fail to clearly distinguish” between shared and dedicated track infrastructure. [1] Among the benefits associated with dedicated trackage, it should be noted that maximum speed is only one component of high-speed rail (HSR) service.

Bringing people, their ideas, and urban locations closer together, a new context of intercity connectivity is realized. Specifically designed, grade-separated HSR passenger corridors offer punctual service at speeds in excess of 187 mph, coupled with a record of unsurpassed safety and reliability. Whereas highways and airports require wide tracts of land, high-speed lines simply require straight and level track alignments over viaducts and through tunnels. Too often modern transportation infrastructure lacks harmony with the environment as a result of scale and visibility, however as a result of HSR’s limited right-of-way requirement, the structural engineer has the unique opportunity to design elegant bridges and viaducts to promote a barrier free landscape. Reversing the trend of wasteful land and energy use for intercity transportation, HSR offers practical solutions to society’s growing environmental concerns while allowing “for the establishment of more solid relations between the small urban centers and the large cities.” [2]

Icons to the advancement of society, new avant-garde stations have become an enjoyable part of the journey and integral fabric of cities. Historically, railway stations took shape during the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century. Inspired by function, “‘cathedrals of transport under the canopy of the railway heaven made from glass and steel’ were created.” [3] Today, “railway architecture has entered its second great age . . . the revival is prompted by . . . the advent of the high-speed train,” along with “the reemergence of the structural engineer as a creator of station architecture.” [4] The role of the modern station is perhaps best demonstrated by stations located within the urban context.

Promoting urban development, conveniently located stations are increasingly essential to a city’s economic success. At the confluence of pedestrian-friendly avenues, urban stations have the opportunity to engage the city around. “Great cities have vibrant urban districts. These exist at a variety of scales that range from very dense downtown core areas to medium density mixed-use districts focused around commuter transit facilities.” [5] Attracting customers in transit, retail has long taken advantage of the high volume of foot-traffic in and around stations. However, Santiago Calatrava points out that within some stations “you get the feeling that you are in a shopping mall,” and it is therefore important to maintain logical organization of a station’s layout.

Portal between train and urban landscape, the station provides access to infrastructure with an inviting character. Whereas “airports are always out of town and do not affect our daily experience of living in, or being a visitor to, a city. The train station provides not only a first impression of a city, it is also our point of reference while in that city.” [6] Offering service directly between city centers, high-speed train service benefits from a significant reduction in overall travel time associated with the journey to and from the airport. Additionally, rail passengers benefit from less wait time and delays resulting from security and weather.

Surpassing the experience of flying, a comfortable ride can be expected onboard sleek high-speed trains. The modern train typically provides a comfortable environment featuring ergonomically designed seats with ample leg room in all classes. Conducive to business, select high-speed trains have wireless internet along with electrical connections from every seat, and premier trains offer conference rooms for a private meeting on the go.

Where built, HSR has often entered into competition with airlines, often putting air routes out of business. While this may adversely affect some airlines, other airlines have formed beneficial transportation alliances with high-speed rail operators, allowing passengers to seamlessly connect at airport stations to regional high-speed service. For underserved rural destinations, this in turn helps airlines reduce unprofitable short-haul flights. As evidence of improved appreciation for HSR service, net profits in 2009 from HSR service reached six billion dollars worldwide—tripled from the year 2000. [7]

Investment for HSR is frequently the source of intense transportation policy debate. Often government funded and reliant on subsidized fares, opponents cite “that virtually no HSR lines anywhere in the world have earned enough revenue to cover both their construction and operating costs.” [8] While this is true with the exception of the world’s first high-speed lines in Japan and France, this narrow perspective fails to recognize the indirect, diverse economic benefits beyond the platform’s edge. Promoting commerce, governments worldwide already subsidize transportation infrastructure. Recognized as a practical investment to alleviate future highway and airport congestion while promoting interregional and urban development; HSR offers a superior mode of intercity transportation that also meets strategic energy and environmental goals associated with petroleum consumption.

The advantages of a well-developed HSR system are clear. Although this report is not a study of the HSR’s potential economic benefits, measures of societal impact must not be based solely on ticket revenue. Specifically, this report instead focuses on the role of HSR station and viaduct architecture, often brought forth by innovative structural form.

Notes

[1] David Randall Peterman, John Frittelli, William J. Mallett, “High Speed Rail in the United States,” (Washington D.C: Congressional Research Service, 2009), 1.

[2] Alessia Ferrarini, ed., The Twenty-First Century Railway Station (Milan: Electa SpA, 2007), 22.

[3] Karlhans Müller, The Architecture of Transport in the Federal Republic of Germany (Munich: Heinz Moos Verlag, 1981), 37.

[4] Marcus Binney, Architecture of Rail: The Way Ahead (London: Academy Editions, 1995), 6.

[5] Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, SOM City Design Practice: Vibrant Urban Districts (Chicago: 2010), 63.

[6] Adrian Mourby, “The Calatrava Connection,” Eurostar Metropolitan Magazine (June 2010): 76.

[7] Railways (Nuremberg: Deutsche Bahn Railway Museum, 2010).

[8] “High Speed Rail in the United States,” 4.

Fellow Experience

In May of 2010, I set out on a journey across three continents during the summer break between graduate studies with the support of the SOM Foundation’s 2010 Structural Engineering Travel Fellowship. Following the purchase of long-haul flights and rail-passes where available, my remaining budget for 100 days of travel quickly diminished as the trip progressed from an optimistic $75 a day, presenting some interesting challenges. Traveling westward around the world, I sought to plan an efficient route to limit backtracking as well as the incursion of additional expenses while permitting additional visits to sites of interest along the way. The focus of my open-ended itinerary was to locate, visit, and record observations of as many iconic high-speed rail bridges and stations as possible through the Sigma lens of my Father’s Nikon D70 digital SLR camera.

Traveling primarily by high-speed train, in addition to a wide range of all other modes imaginable (including metro, light-rail, bus, ferry, rental car, bicycle, plane, and the slow train in addition to trekking, hitchhiking, and the odd aerial gondola), I had the unparalleled opportunity to study the context of intercity travel through travel, from the perspective of the passenger. Despite my prior experience as a keen budget traveler, I quickly discovered that I had set out on an exciting “whirlwind” adventure, constantly on the move, spending a substantial amount of time planning out daily logistics. While my original interest was split among high-speed rail bridge and station structures, the logistics of locating and visiting innovative high-speed rail bridges proved difficult.

An exercise of logistics, learning about the existence of high-speed rail bridges involved countless hours browsing Wikipedia forums and Structurae.de databases, before as well during travels; deducing what is actually a high-speed railway bridge and whether a visit was possible. High-speed railway bridges are commonly located away from population centers in the countryside, across diverse geography. The location and routes to such bridges were typically identified by sight from aerial imagery on Google Maps, although not without mistake leading to adventurous visits. Stations, however, were much easier to locate and visit. Many books and journal articles have been written on modern stations, and the architecturally acclaimed stations are often well publicized. Thankfully, the passenger journey aboard a high-speed train always begins and concludes at a station, simplifying visits and permitting first-hand observations from the perspective of the passenger.

As my research focused on structures often among the world’s largest, developing an appreciation of the structures through observations and visit was unexpectedly difficult. I’ve learned that among Fellowship recipients this is a common criticism of large-scale structures. Intimate observations of a structure’s character, form, and member connections at the confluence of forces were hindered by scale and facade. Likewise, professional interviews along with background research prior to and following site visits were integral to forming an appreciation of the structures. Through objective understanding relating to the urban and cultural context, these exceptional opportunities helped improve my knowledge as a structural engineering student.

In addition to fulfilling my original intentions of the travel fellowship, travel proved to be an exciting and memorable experience. Aiding my future career, the perspective gained through travel and background research for this report led to a splendid, and unexpected opportunity to engage in performance evaluation research for high-speed rail station designs—to study the value of station designs through the comparison of the passenger experience, operational efficiency, site connectivity, and societal impacts.

I owe much gratitude to the SOM Foundation and selection jury for supporting my ambitions to investigate the structural form of high-speed rail bridges and stations around the world. The structures visited demonstrate the breadth of development and innovation of high-speed railway systems worldwide. Following the centuries-old tradition of grand station design, many of the stations visited were among the most impressive structures I came across. Likewise, the difficulty of locating interesting high-speed railway bridges despite their wide usage and often increased visibility, demonstrates the structural engineer’s obligation to seek innovative and cost-effective designs for public infrastructure. It is my hope that this report will inspire enthusiasm for high-speed rail structural design, as well as promote a culture of design excellence for the United States’ initial investment in high-speed railway infrastructure. The vision for regional high-speed rail service in the United States has the opportunity to enhance urban plans, enhance landscapes, and improve the context of intercity travel for decades to come.

Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom

China

Japan

United States