Abstract

VENTURA FERNANDEZ, Jesús  and  GAVIRA NARVAEZ, Antonio. The relationships of relief and population distribution with the conformation of the railway network in Andalusia (Spain). Perspectiva Geográfica [online]. 2022, vol.27, n.2, pp.101-121.  Epub Mar 17, 2023. ISSN 0123-3769.  https://doi.org/10.19053/01233769.13214.

The study of the factors that affect the design and maintenance of any infrastructure has a long geographic tradition and an enormous applied interest. This is even more so for rail transport, which, due to its characteristics, has more resistance to change. The physical medium through which its routes run and the system of human settlements they connect are the keys to understanding their origins and possibilities for development. In the case of Andalusia, the southernmost region of Europe, this analysis is of great importance due to the singularities of its orography and the demographic changes that have taken place in recent decades. In addition, from the perspective of territorial planning, Andalusia has opted to promote this more sustainable means of transport, as it is public, collective, non-polluting, and has an excellent capacity for intermodality. In this sense, incongruities are detected with actions that, in practice, do not certainly impact this line. The results of the study reflect that, in spite of the physical conditioning factors, nowadays technically solvable as a general rule, the needs of the citizens are not being adequately met in the different parts of the Andalusian territory, so it is concluded that until this fact is not assumed as an objective to be achieved by the public administrations involved, the referred railway impulse will not be really effective and will be masked by partial actions, of significant economic impact (High Speed), but with specific repercussions and that does not favor the whole Andalusian territory.

Keywords : topography; demography; railway transport; rural development; Andalusia.

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