World rail speed record broken.

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ecoclean

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On April 3rd, 2007, a TGV train travelling between Paris and Strasbourg broke the world record for speed over conventional track systems.

It clocked a massive 575km/h (357mph) using a twin engined, double decker trainset - thats about as fast as a spitfire could fly during WW2!

The world record for fastest 'train' goes to the Japanese Maglev (magnetic levitation), set in 2003 when it clocked the slightly faster speed of 581km/h (361mph). Some would argue that this is a different type of record, as the maglev floats instead of 'riding the rails'!!

Congratulations to the French. With superfast trains and an unblemished record on their TGV network, they have proven that with significant investment, rail travel can be a viable alternative to road and air travel.

C'est Magnifique!
 
Very Cool . . .

There has been talk here in California for years of doing a high-speed rail line linking LA and San Francisco, and most likely Las Vegas as well. It would make a huge amount of sense going through the Central Valley as it could also connect to Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton, and up to Sacramento. Some state representatives have been taking a close look at this latest French development.

I've wondered a bit about the technology of this TGV. The newspaper claimed it had two "supercharged locomotives" which must be diesel, since you can't supercharge a turbine engine, but it also mentioned electric lines. I know the Paris-Strasbourg line has been electrified for decades, so all I can figure is that the train takes so much electric power it must use the supercharged engines to augment the available electric power from the lines. What I wonder is why they don't still use the tubine trains they used years ago . . . I remember hearing them warming up in train stations like a bunch of grounded airliners.
 
Very cool!Love the TVG train system.Have a book on it-guess who made the brake systems for each of the TVG train generations--WESTINGHOUSE!This record setter must be a fourth generation system-the first generation was DC traction motors-2nd AC traction-third syncronous traction motors.Wonder what the fourth is.All of the first three generation use all electric traction-no combustion engines at all-power can be taken for the electric locos-one point-last trailing.The car behind the lead loco is a tender that contain traction motors and for holding baggage-on trailing the car just before the locomotive.The traction motors in the tender cars are fed from the loco.Could also be termed a "slug"Also the power taken by the TVG locomotives can come from Overhead lines-or third rail-LV DC-The higher speeds are from the overhead Hi Volt lines.
turbine engines have been tried on US Railroads-for long haul freight.That is where they were most econmical.for short runs or multiple stops turbines are less efficient than deisels.Turbine locomotive-built by EMD-had tender cars that held the fuel and lube oil for the turbine-the turbine engine was an Allison-same engine used in the C130but instead of spinning a propellor-the turbine would turn the traction generator -were packaged as 4500hp locomotives.I saw one once hauling a coal train from Wyoming.UP used them.That coal train was HAULING-Me an another fellow clocked him at 75MPH plus from our car.All of the EMD turbines have been pulled from service and replaced with newer electronically controlled fuel injected Deisels.The Deisles are less expensive to operate and maintain.the turbines were an interesting experiment-beleive some languish in RR museams.
 
The high speed rail plan for California is still stuck in the talking stage and the price has ballooned up to $40 billion now. Apparently they are very interested in the same or a similar system to the record-setting TGV. We're going to need something way huger than the dot-com boom to come up with that kind of spare change around here. Much as I'd like to see it happen, and I know I'd use it instead of air travel if it passes through my town as planned, I don't see this getting off the drawing board any time soon.
 
Talk and talk and more costly studies is all we ever get here in Canada when it comes to hi speed rail. I don't think it's ever going to come about. What's maddening about it is that Bombardier, the maker of many of these trains is a Canadian company.
 
TGV

Only the Eurostar (Channel Tunnel TGVs) can take power from 3rd rail systems. This is because 3rd rail was used on part of the route that the trains needed to traverse to London from the tunnel.

Normal French TGVs operate from overhead pantographs only. These take power at 25,000V 50Hz (AC) from the overhead lines on highspeed lines. Most can also operate on older 1500V DC overhead lines too. 1500V DC is used on "Lignes Classiques" (older lines) particularly suburban ones around Paris. TGV trains may have to pass through these en route to stations etc at lower speed.

The Thalys version (Runs on the Paris-Brussels-Cologne-Amsterdam corridor) takes power from:
25kV 50Hz, 15kV 16 2/3 Hz, 3kV DC and 1.5kV DC without complaining! Only operates at full speed while on 25kV though.

These trains are rated from 6.45Megawatts to 12.24Megawatts!!!

Also they don't really have locomotives. They're "powercars" they can't actually operate without a train and are permanently attached to it.

The next version will not have powercars, rather it will have distributed power under each coach.

They're designed and built by Alstom
Here's one going past at a meet 553km/h

 
HEre's the 574.8km/h

Here's a report from Euronews (part of the European Broadcasting Union)
Sadly, it's factually inaccurate:

It states that none have been exported outside of France:
1) TGVs are operating in other countries
AVE : Spain
Eurostar: UK & Belgium
KTX : South Korea
Thalys : Belgium, Netherlands and Germany

USA: the Acela Express which uses TGV technology, but isn't a pure TGV. It's made under licence by Bombardier. It's also not as fast.

2) It states that the existing TGV record was set in 1990, actually another was set in Feb 2007 (see above)
:)

 
En théorie, oui - mais pratiquement...

Yeah, saw that on TV. LOOKS pretty cool but in real life the train will never go that fast. I think they said something about 300+ km/h.

Alex
 
In normal operation about 350km/h or 217 mph.

They're moving towards "AGV" which is basically putting the power under each coach i.e. motorised bogies. They'll take the speed up to >360km/h in normal operation.

Basically means each axel will have a 600kW asynchronous motor (a tad more powerful than your average washer! hehe)

The westinghouse link's interesting. Westinghouse no longer owns what was Westinghouse Brakes, it's now Knorr-Bremse AG. They're a major German brake system manufacturer who have been consolidating for a while. E.g. they bought a large chunk of a Bosch's brake manufacturing/vechicle control systems.

The train's not actually stopped by normal brakes though, the key technology's in the "eddy current brakes" which are electromagnetic. They were developed by the original TGV consortium which is all pretty much part of Alstom thesedays.
 
In the US Locomotives are the term used for the powered vehicle that pulls or pushes the train cars.The book I have was written in that terminology.The motors are used for the primary braking-from hi speed.The Conventional brakes are used for low speeds(traction motor braking is less effective)and for backup.also TVG trains have braking batteries esp for the AC and Snycronous motors to stop them in an emergency if the main power is lost.The engineer can use the brake batteries to force DC into the AC type motors to stop them quickly in an emergency-its like the idea of a rectified AC being applied to a radial arm saw motor to stop the blade quickly so you don't have to wait for it to coast down after cuts.The radial arm saw motor is an induction type-DeWalt used these manual push button electric brakes on their machines-the DC emerg brakes on a train work in a similar way.You put DC into an AC type motor it will stop quickly.
 
More info about train brakes

Tolivac, the Westinghouse you refer to is known as the Westinghouse Air Brake company, WABCO, started by the same George Westinghouse. At one time, I was believed that the WABCO plant and the Westinghouse Electric plants would become so big that the two buildings would touch each other but such never happened, the WABCO site is now a shopping center. What is left of WABCO is now called Wabtec. George also founded Union Switch and Signal, which had a huge plant but now makes many of their parts in China, they are now part of American Standard.

Sounds like you need a visit to the Westinghouse Museum.

 
Californa actually had a delegation on the epic TGV speed test run. Saw it on France2 news and cannot remember the state senator's name. She was Asian if that helps, and it was noted on French news that CA is planning a high speed rail link which one supposes was the reason for the senator's trip.

L.
 
Sadly the Alcela Express doesn't really go all that fast. It can go a lot faster than it does for most of its journey, but track conditions prevent it from gettin gup to its stop speed of 150mph or 241km/h.

It only run sat full speed for 18 miles in Rohde Island and Massachusetts!!

From Wiki article :
High-speed rail is usually defined as traveling faster than 200 km/h, or about 125 mph. The highest speed attained by Acela Express is 150 mph (241 km/h) on two sections of track in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which total 18 miles (29 km). There are also many miles of track, especially north of New Haven, that have been upgraded to 110 mph and 125 mph (177 km/h and 201 km/h). South of New York, Acela Express is limited to 135 mph (217 km/h) with many stretches of 125 mph (201 km/h). Although the track is straight enough to allow 150 mph (241 km/h) in several areas here, the overhead catenary support system was constructed during the Great Depression. As such, it does not have the constant-tension features of the new catenary east of New Haven, and it cannot support running speeds over 135 mph (217 km/h), although the Pennsylvania Railroad did run Metroliner test trains as fast as 164 mph and briefly ran the Metroliner service at speeds reaching 150 mph. The slowest section of the electrified NEC is the portion owned by Metro-North Railroad and the Connecticut Department of Transportation between New Haven and New Rochelle. Trains here are limited to only 90 mph (145 km/h) on a four-mile (6-km) stretch in New York State, and to 75 mph (121 km/h) between the New York state line and New Haven. Additionally, tilting is not allowed anywhere on Metro-North or ConnDOT property. At maximum tilt, the built-too-wide Acela Express trainset would pass other trains on parallel tracks only 10 inches (25 cm) away.
The scheduled transit time for the 5:00 a.m. departure from Washington, D.C. (the quickest stopping pattern) to Boston's South Station on Acela Express service is roughly 6 hours 36 minutes. Allowing for the fifteen minute scheduled layover in New York City, the average speed is 72 mph (116 km/h) for the 456 mi (734 km) trip. For the 225 mi (362 km) journey between Washington, D.C. and New York's Penn Station, the transit time is 2 hours 48 minutes, an average speed of 80 mph (129 km/h).
 
Amtrak does not own the ROW (Right of Way) on the NEC that runs through Conn, the state does and Conn makes the rules. As such there are speed restrictions though the NEC/Conn that effectivly limit how fast all trains move. One also must remember the NEC as it passes through Conn has lots of curves which also limit how fast trains can run, and pretty much rules out high speeds.
 
And that's why hi speed rail in N.America never seems to get anywhere past the talking stage. It's a patchwork quilt of different ownerships, row's and trackage rights when they need a dedicated rail.
 
YeaBut

One has to understand how things got that way. Basically after the 1950's when passenger rail both long and short distance began to drop off (mainly due to highway construction and people switching to automobiles), RR's dropped passenger service. Next the RR's simply went bankrupt and or sold off excess capacity and property. Amtrak was created by the Feds as a cobbled together batch of RRs. The NEC is part of a small batch of rail ROWs that Amtrak actually owns, the rest belongs to freight railroads.

L.
 

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