ABSTRACT
In Spain the conventional rail network has a different gauge to that used internationally by the High-Speed rail (HSR) network. The introduction of new infrastructure inevitably has a spatial effect on the local territory. Degraded station neighbourhoods, tracks and infrastructure trapped within the urban fabric that act as barriers and railway spaces that lack functionality, are frequently found in the centres of Spanish cities. Urban development projects around stations normally have the aim of creating urban centrality that takes advantage of the fact that the station is both a transport node and a central place. In the case of Guadalajara, on the Madrid Barcelona HSR line, the technical logic of the infrastructure has clearly prevailed over any territorial logic. Nodal infrastructure such as that associated with HSR services should therefore form part of a series of that, by acting within the local territory, allow opportunities for socio-economic development.
