Within the context of the UIC Alliance of Universities for High-Speed Rail (UIC AUHSR), a global academic network established in 2015 under the aegis of UIC for the development of High-Speed Rail, the fifth International Symposium on High-Speed Rail Socioeconomic Impacts was held successfully online on 9 and 10 September 2025.

Chaired by Prof. Francesca Pagliara, member of the Alliance and Professor at the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering of the University of Naples Federico II, together with the UIC team led by Bertrand Minary, UIC Passenger Director and Coordinator of the Middle East and Latin American Regions, and Michele Gesualdi, UIC High-Speed Rail Advisor, the Symposium was attended by over 100 participants from across the sector including experts and railway representatives from Europe and across the world, UIC, and high-level institutions.

Following the success of the last four editions:

• https://uic.org/events/4th-international-workshop-on-high-speed-rail-socioeconomic-impacts
• https://uic.org/events/3rd-international-workshop-on-high-speed-rail-socioeconomic-impacts
• https://uic.org/events/2nd-international-workshop-on-high-speed-rail-socioeconomic-impacts
  and
• https://uic.org/events/https-uic-org-events-1st-international-workshop-on-high-speed-rail-socioeconomic-impacts UIC has decided to support this initiative to be organised annually by the University of Naples Federico II. The aim of this Symposium is to explore recent research on the analysis and quantification of the effects, both on economy and on society, of investments in HSR systems.

Prof. Francesca Pagliara gave a warm welcome to all the participants, highlighting that the increasing number of paper contributions every year is proof to the community of expertise and know-how and the growing interest in the subject of socioeconomic impacts on High-Speed Rail.

The programme, composed of seven sessions over one-and-a-half days, gave participants the opportunity to learn and exchange on recent research on HSR around the world – where High-Speed Rail is a reality, in the pipeline or a work in progress and to quantify its socio-economic impacts.
The Symposium opening remarks were delivered by a number of leading figures in the sector, notably:

• Moderator Prof. Francesca Pagliara (Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Italy)
• Prof. Francesco Pirozzi (Head of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Italy)
• Mr Bertrand Minary (UIC Passenger Director and Coordinator of Middle East and Latin American Regions)
• Mr Michele Gesualdi (UIC High-Speed Rail Advisor)
• Mr Rogier Vergouwen (Chairman High-Speed Rail Netherlands Foundation, the Netherlands)
• Mrs Alice Rodriguez (Deputy Director of External Affairs at the California High-Speed Rail Authority, USA)
• Mr Pierpaolo Settembri – Deputy Head of Cabinet Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Sustainable Transport and Tourism, European Commission – The EU Masterplan on High-Speed Rail.

The sessions on the first day focused on high-speed rail in the context of competition and integration, with case studies looking at competition between high-speed rail and air transport, the effects of liberalisation on ticket sales, and the various competitive models and regulatory issues of high-speed rail over the years.

The sessions on the second day focused on high-speed rail in the context of land use impacts, with case studies looking at the impact of high-speed rail on regional development, urban agglomerations, as well as territorial cohesion along the design process. Moreover the last two sessions dealt with methods for HSR investments evaluation.

This year two Best Paper Awards, one sponsored by the Asian Development Bank Institute, represented by Mr KE Seetha Ram, Senior Consulting Specialist at ADBI in Japan, and one sponsored by the Italian Society of Transport Economics and Logistics, represented by the President Prof. Caludio Ferrari from the University of Genoa in Italy, for the best 1000-word paper, were assigned.

This was followed by the closing remarks delivered by Prof. Francesca Pagliara and Mrs Dorien Rookmaker.

In conclusion, the breadth of topics covered continues to expand significantly with each edition, underscoring that high-speed rail remains a priority for rail authorities, industry leaders, and academic institutions alike, which represents a strong commitment to evaluating the true benefits of high-speed rail projects.

For further information about becoming a member of the AUHSR, please contact Michele Gesualdi, UIC High-Speed Rail Advisor.

For more information on obtaining AUHSR membership please visit: https://uic.org/events/auhsr-membership-application