HIGH SPEED TRAINS

1. INTRODUCTION
When English inventor Richard Trevithick introduced the steam
locomotive on 21 February 1804 in Wales, it achieved a seed o! 8 km"h
#$ mh%& 'n 181$, Englishman (eorge )tehenson built the *orld+s !irst
*orkable steam locomotive& 'n 182$, he introduced the !irst assenger
train, *hich steamed along at 2$ km"h #1, mh%& Today, trains can !ly
do*n the tracks at $00 km"h #-11 mh%& .nd !ly they do, not touching the
tracks&
There is no de!ined seed at *hich you can call a train a high seed
train but trains running at and above1$0 km"h are called /igh )eed
Trains&
&
THE DECLINE OF RAIL AS A FORM OF PASSENGER TRANSPORT
)ince the automobile has become more *idesread *ith the
e0istence o! motor*ays, cars may reach seeds o! u to 1$ mh #120
km"h% or thereabouts deending on local la*s& )tandard mainline rail*ay
trains running at 100 mh #1,0 km"h% have !ound it di!!icult to comete
*ith the car, as once 2ourney time to and !rom the station and *aiting !or
the trains had been calculated, rail travel did no longer o!!er a signi!icant
2ourney time advantage over the car& 'n order to attract eole to rail*ays
ticket rices had to be at the lo*est ossible, meaning minimal ro!its& 3o
one *ould *ant to build a brand ne* rail*ay line4 the interest ayments
*ould crush any comany& .ll this has meant that in the early5mid 20
th
century ne* rail*ays *ere unheard o! and some small lines *ere o!ten
closed do*n because they made a loss&
't seems 6uite e0citing !or rail that no* today rail*ays are making a
come5back& Thousands o! miles"km o! ne* rail*ays has been built in the
last decade, and ne* lines are under construction all over the *orld& )ince
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1781, over 1000 km #,00 miles% o! ne* track has been laid !or high seed
trains in France&
PROBLEMS RUNNING ON EXISTING RAILWAYS
The rimary roblem *ith e0isting rail*ays is that they can have
tight curves& The centri!ugal !orces on an ob2ect going round a bend are
the !unction o! the s6uare o! velocity, i&e&, double the seed, 6uadrule
the centri!ugal !orces, trile the seed, centri!ugal !orces increase by nine5
!old& There!ore even *hat might aear mild curves rovide roblems at
seed&
8ther key roblems are that running on e0isting rail*ay4 the ne*
!ast trains have to be scheduled in around the conventional trains& This
can be a tricky thing, esecially on a busy net*ork4 !ast trains can easily
become stuck behind slo* running ones, resulting in delays&
)a!ety is also a aramount consideration& .lthough since initial
construction 100 years ago the track *ill have been relaced many times,
the !oundations o! the rail*ays are the same *hich means a!ter heavy
rains !or e0amle the track may sag slightly and lose some alignment, a
real roblem only at high seed& 9evel crossings also ose a roblem&
2. HIGH SPEED LINES
To have a high seed rail system, making the high seed trains is
really the ti o! an iceberg& What really makes systems a success or
!ailure is the rail*ay that they run at& Rail*ays like roads have seed
restrictions, and like on roads, o!ten the seed restrictions are belo* the
to seed o! the train& :uilding a !ast train is easy, but its building tracks
good enough to allo* trains to sa!ely and smoothly travel at 1,05200 mh
or 2$05-20 km"h, *hich are also long enough to allo* the trains to
accelerate u to these seeds #o!ten many miles% and decelerate, is 6uite
di!!icult
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2.1 FEATURES OF A HIGH SPEED RAILWAY
3o level crossings #grade crossings%
Fenced o!!
;oncrete !oundations
Wide sacing bet*een lines
;urves o! radius less than $ km are avoided and are tilted
(radients more than on conventional rail*ay line
Through stations are constructed *ith 4 tracks
Tunnels avoided
Level cro!"# are the most common reason !or accidents on rail*ays,
*here road vehicles break do*n or get stuck on the rail*ay and the train
crashes through them
All $!#$ %ee& l!"e 're (e"ce& o((. 'ndeed in the <= all rail*ay lines
are !enced o!! any*ay, ho*ever on continental Euroe many rail*ay lines
are easy to get onto& /igh seed lines are !enced o!! !or obvious reasons,
to eliminate the risk o! any animal or eole *andering onto the rail*ay
line&
Fo)"&'*!o" !or high seed lines are much deeer than conventional
rail*ays& <sually a layer o! concrete and tarmac is ut do*n #like a road%
and then the ballast is ut on to& This is to try and sto movements in
the ground !rom a!!ecting the alignment o! the rail*ay&
T$e +!&e %'c!"# bet*een the lines is imortant because *hen t*o
trains ass each other the seed di!!erence can be as much as ,00km"h
or -10mh& '! the t*o trains are too close together this causes at !irst a
burst o! air ressure *hen they !irst ass and then a dro in ressure
during the coaches& .lthough this isn+t enough to ush the trains o!! the
track, reeated stress on the *indo*s may cause !atigue and they may
break eventually& )o !or sa!ety reasons t*o tracks in each direction are
laced !urther aart than on normal lines&
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Ge"*le c)rve are key in *hat high seed lines are about& Tight curves
on T(> lines have a radius o! about - miles or $ km& ;urves are also
banked u a lot more than on conventional lines& This is because slo*
trains *ill not run on them and it is e0tremely rare !or a T(> to come to a
sto because o! a signal& The degree o! banking is calculated to e0actly
balance centri!ugal !orces at running seed&
Per$'% )r%r!!"#l, #re'*er #r'&!e"* are allo*ed on high seed
lines than conventional rail*ays& There are t*o key reasons !or this, !irst
o! all modern high seed trains are e0tremely o*er!ul, T(>s generate as
much as 12,000h, steam engines *ere no *here near as o*er!ul #about
1,000h% in the era *hen conventional rail*ays *ere built& The second
reason is that the !aster a train travels the less it *ill slo* do*n !or the
same rise in height& This is because as it is going !ast it takes less time to
climb the hill and so gravity has less time to act to slo* the train do*n&
Ge"er'll, %e'-!"# e"#!"eer *r, '"& 'vo!& *)""el on high seed
lines& This is because *hen a train enters a tunnel at seed it causes large
ressure changes& This can be ain!ul and harm!ul to assengers? ear
drums& . solution *as thought to ressure seal trains #as *ith the T(>%&
/o*ever *ith very high seed trains #-00 km"h%, the ressure changes
can be so large it can shatter the *indo*s, articularly *hen t*o trains
ass in oosite directions in a tunnel *ith a closing seed o! ,00 km"h in
a con!ined sace& /o*ever (erman and 'talian high seed lines include
tunnels but they have subse6uent seed restrictions& .s a result the best
average seeds along (erman #200 km"h% and 'talian #1,$ km"h% lines
are considerably lo*er than in France #2$4 km"h% and @aan #2,2 km"h%,
and even a :ritish conventional rail*ay outer!orms the 'talian high seed
line in terms o! seed *ith an average o! 180 km"h bet*een 9ondon and
Aork
2.2 WHERE HIGH SPEED LINES RUN.
't must be emhasiBed that high seed trains may run on
conventional rail*ay but are usually limited to 2-0 km"h5200 km"h& Cost
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high seed rail*ay services in Euroe send most o! their 2ourney on
conventional lines, but come together !or a !ast run on a trunk line&
/. TILTING TRAINS
We all kno* that i! you are driving in your car and you take a
corner at seed you !eel centri!ugal !orces& Well it is no di!!erent !rom
trains, i! a train takes a corner at seed then centri!ugal !orces come in&
8!ten train oerating comanies !ace a decision !or building a high seed
rail*ay transort system, i&e&, they can either invest money in the train to
make it tilt but use e0isting rail*ay lines, or they invest money in a ne*
rail*ay but don+t need to send money on e0ensive tilting mechanisms&
This is *hy T(> and bullet trains do not tilt, because they have their o*n
dedicated high seed rail*ay lines *here curves are built *ith very high
radii&
't is *orth ointing out that the centri!ugal !orce is a !unction o!
Dv
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"r? *here Dv? is the velocity and Dr? is the radius& This means that i! you
double the velocity, you 6uadrule the centri!ugal !orce& )imilarly, i! you
*ant to trile the velocity but kee the centri!ugal !orce the same, you
must increase the radius by a !actor o! nine& This is *hy even aarently
gentle curves can be much more o! a roblem *ith high seeds than one
might think, because the !orce rises *ith the s6uare o! velocity&
/.1 WHY TILTING HELPS
When sitting on a corner going at seed there are t*o !orces acting
on you, gravitational !orce and the centri!ugal !orce *hich is accelerating
you into the corner& When t*o !orces act, it causes a resultant !orce& The
resultant !orce *ill ush you into your seat and to the side& /o*ever i! the
train is tilting, then the normal contact !orce o! you on your seat *ill be
the same as the resultant !orce you are e0eriencing& This means as !ar
as the assenger is concerned he or she is 2ust being ulled into his or her
seat, and he or she is used to that, so no discom!ort is !elt&
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This is true also o! aerolanes, commercial lanes tilt a large
amount, u to -0 degrees *hen going around corners in some cases to
cater !or assenger com!ort& .s the tilting o! the aerolane is to get rid o!
the roblem o! centri!ugal !orces, or more accurately to disguise the
centri!ugal !orces as a art o! gravity as !ar as the assengers are
concerned& The only *ay you kno* i! the aerolane is tilting is to look out
o! the *indo*&
Trains that tilt can go u to 2$E to 40E !aster around curves than
conventional trains *ithout usetting the assengers, and as mentioned
be!ore this can signi!icantly increase average seeds and cut 2ourney
times&
/.2 TILTING OF TRAC0S
/igh seed lines in the <= are heavily banked u on corners, but
going in a high seed train, you don+t notice it at all& 8ccasionally *hen a
high seed train comes to a sto because o! a red signal or something on
a curve you can really notice ho* much it?s slanted& 8n a sto on a curve
ut a bottle on the !loor and *ill slide across to the other side&
/o*ever there are limitations *ith tilting tracks& First o! all, the
banking has to be designed *ith a seci!ic seed in mind& . banked u
track meant !or 12$ mh trains is going to cause discom!ort to assengers
in a local 1$ mh train, as *hen a slo*er train goes round a banked
corner it *ill make assengers !eel like they are !alling to a side& 8! course
you could build dedicated high seed lines, but then you *ould engineer
them *ithout tight curves& This limits the e0tent to *hich tracks can be
banked u& '! the track is banked too much !or really !ast trains, then i!
any train comes to a sto on the curve due to a red signal the slant *ill
cause discom!ort to assengers& .lso arranging !or the overhead
antograh to make roer contact *ith the *ire above a banked curve
*ould be di!!icult&
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;learly trains themselves need to tilt& Then you get the double
bene!it o! tilted track and tilting train, and the train can tilt to e0actly suit
the seed it is going at&
/./ TILTING OF TRAINS
;arriages have tilting mechanisms& 8bviously the bogies cannot tilt
because they ride on the track and must !ollo* the ath o! the track& )o
the coaches have to tilt on the bogies& The *ay they do this is simle, the
bogie acts a !ulcrum in the centre and it is !ree to tilt on either side& Then
istons control ho* much the coach tilts& The istons are controlled by a
small comuter, *hich uses a sirit level& The sirit level is used to check
the closeness to horiBontal, remember, i&e& at right angles to the resultant
!orce acting& 3ormally this !orce is gravity, but *hen going round a corner
the resultant is a combination o! gravity and centri!ugal !orces& This
means the sirit level indicates it is no longer horiBontal, so the comuter
ad2usts the istons until horiBontal is read& .gain this *ill not be horiBontal
to the ground, but as !ar as anyone on the train is concerned it *ill be
horiBontal, keeing the assengers hay&
'n the early days it *as tried to use inertial !orce to let the trains
tilt& i&e&, they *ould have no mechanism to make them tilt but the
carriages *ould have a lo* centre o! gravity so centri!ugal !orces on the
carriage *ould cause them to tilt& This roved unsuccess!ul&
1. MAGLE2 3 MAGNETICALLY LE2ITATED TRAINS 4
The rincile o! a Cagnet train is that it !loats on a magnetic !ield
and is roelled by a linear induction motor& They !ollo* guidance tracks
*ith magnets& These trains are o!ten re!erred to as Cagnetically 9evitated
trains *hich are abbreviated to Caglev. .lthough maglev don+t use steel
*heel on steel rail usually associated *ith trains, the dictionary de!inition
o! a train is a long line o! vehicles traveling in the same direction 5 it is a
train&
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1.1 WOR0ING PRINCIPLE
. maglev train !loats about 10mm above the guide*ays on a
magnetic !ield& 't is roelled by the guid*ay itsel! rather than an onboard
engine by changing magnetic !ields& 8nce the train is ulled into the ne0t
section the magnetism s*itches so that the train is ulled on again& The
Electro5magnets run the length o! the guide*ay&
1.2 AD2ANTAGES OF MAGLE2
Well it sounds high5tech, a !loating train4 they do o!!er certain
bene!its over conventional steel rail on steel *heel rail*ays& The rimary
advantage is maintenance& :ecause the train !loats along there is no
contact *ith the ground and there!ore no need !or any moving arts& .s a
result there are no comonents that *ould *ear out& This means in theory
trains and track *ould need no maintanence at all& The second advantage
is that because maglev trains !loat, there is no !riction& 3ote that there *ill
still be air resistance& . third advantage is less noise, because there are
no *heels running along there is no *heel noise& /o*ever noise due to air
disturbance still occurs& The !inal advantage is seed, as a result o! the
three revious listed it is more viable !or maglev trains to travel e0tremely
!ast, i&e&, $00 km"h or -00 mh& .lthough this is ossible *ith
conventional rail it is not economically viable& .nother advantage is that
the guide*ay can be made a lot thicker in laces, e&g&, a!ter stations and
going uhill, *hich *ould mean a maglev could get u to -00 km"h #18,
mh% in only $ km *here currently takes 18 km& .lso greater gradients
*ould be alicable&
1./ DISAD2ANTAGES WITH MAGLE2
There are several disadvantages *ith maglev trains& Caglev guide
aths are bound to be more costly than conventional steel rail*ays& The
other main disadvantage is incomatibility *ith e0isting in!rastructure& For
e0amle i! a high seed line bet*een t*o cities is built, then high seed
trains can serve both cities but more imortantly they can serve other
nearby cities by running on normal rail*ays that branch o!! the high seed
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line& The high seed trains could go !or a !ast run on the high seed line,
and then come o!! it !or the rest o! the 2ourney& Caglev trains *ouldn+t be
able to do that4 they *ould be limited to *here maglev lines run& This
*ould mean it *ould be very di!!icult to make construction o! maglev lines
commercially viable unless there *ere t*o very large destinations being
connected& 8! the $000 km that T(> trains serve in France, only about
1200 km is high seed line, meaning 1$E o! T(> services run on e0isting
track& The !act that a maglev train *ill not be able to continue beyond its
track may seriously hinder its use!ulness&
1.1 EFFECT ON EN2IRONMENT
'n terms o! energy consumtion maglev trains are slightly better o!!
than conventional trains& This is because there is no *heel5on5rail !riction&
That said, the vast ma2ority o! resistive !orce at high seed is air
resistance #o!ten amounting to several tons%, *hich means the energy
e!!iciency o! a maglev is only slightly better than a conventional train&
(erman engineers claim also that a maglev guide*ay takes u less
room and because greater gradients are accetable there is not so much
cuttings and embankments meaning a ne* guide*ay *ould be less
disrutive to the countryside than a ne* high seed conventional rail*ay&
5. IMPORTANT HIGH SPEED TRAINS.
5.1 THE PENDONLINI
Table $&1F 'T.9'.3 GE3H89'3')
;lass ETR 4$0 ETR $00
'ntroduced 1781 177,
;ommercial )eed 2$0 km"h #1$$ mh% -00 km"h #18, mh%
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:est .verage
)eed
1,4&$ km"h #102&4
mh%
3".
5.2 THE AD2ANCED PASSENGER TRAIN
Table $&2F T/E .H>.3;EH G.))E3(ER TR.'3
To Glanned ;ommercial )eed 1$0 mh #240km"h%
)eed Records
.GTIE 1$2 mh #244km"h% 171$
.GTIG 1,2 mh #2,0km"h% 1717
5./ THE EUROSTAR
Table $&-F E<R8)T.R
To ;ommercial )eed 18, mh, -00km"h
To seed in England 100 mh 1,0km"h
To seed in the ;hannel Tunnel 100 mh 1,0km"h
The Eurostar *as Euroe+s !irst international train, designed to take
advantage o! the ;hannel Tunnel, to rovide a high seed rail service
bet*een 9ondon and the <= to destinations in ;ontinental Euroe&
5.1 LE TRAIN 6 GRANDE 2ITESSE 3TG24
Table $&4F H'FFERE3T TAGE) 8F T(>
3ame
T(> Garis
)ud5Est
T(> .tlanti6ue .>E T(> Reseau Eurostar
T(>
Thalys
'ntroduced 1781 1787 1771 177- 1774 177,
To .verage
)eed
1-$mh <nkno*n
1-2mh
207km"h
1$8mh
#2$4&-km"h%
3"a 1-2mh
8erating
)eed
1,8mh
210 km"h
18,mh
-00km"h
18,mh
-00km"h
18,mh
-00km"h
18,mh
-00km"h
18,mh
-00km"h
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10
Hesign
)eed
1,8mh
210 km"h
18,mh
-00km"h
18,mh
-00km"h
200mh
-20km"h
200mh
-20km"h
200mh
-20km"h
)eed
Record
2-,mh
-80 km"h
-20mh
$1$km"h
3". 3". 3". 3".
Ca0 seed
on normal
rails
1-8mh
220km"h
1-8mh
220km"h
3o
running
1-8mh
220km"h
100mh
1,0km"h
unkno*n
The name JTrain K (rande >itesseJ translated into English means
high seed train, not really very imaginative, but seeing as it is French it
tends to get a*ay *ith it& There is no single T(> as such, in !act there are
many generations o! T(>, each generation consisting many trains& The
T(> ro2ect started in the 17,0s *here )3;F realiBed that i! it *as to
comete against the ever gro*ing automobile and air transort it had to
o!!er seriously better seeds
7. AD2ANTAGES OF HIGH SPEED TRAINS
Re&)ce& CO2 E8!!o"
The <). has the highest ;82 emission rates in the *hole *orld&
The rate o! car o*nershi is slightly higher in the <).& Geole must use
their cars very much more in the <). accounting !or the e0tra emissions
because, the <). has very little by the *ay o! rail*ays, both high seed
and local& 't *ould seem reasonable to conclude that the more trains you
have, the lo*er your country?s ;82 emissions&
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H)#e c'%'c!*,
/igh seed rail*ays have by !ar the highest caacity er unit land
they use& . high seed rail needs 2ust a double track rail*ay, one rail !or
trains in each direction& These have a caacity !or 1, trains er hour, each
train *ith a caacity o! 800 assengers& This means a high seed rail has
a ma0imum caacity o! 12,800 assengers er hour, *hich clearly is
enough to satis!y the highest o! demand4 only one rail*ay line is needed&
This is unlike motor*ays *hich take u a very large amount o! sace and
o!ten cannot satis!y demand !ully at eak times&
Re&)ce& *r'((!c
'magine you have t*o cities about $00km or -12miles aart, by
car, the 2ourney time *ill be about , hours& The motor*ays *ill be
2ammed !ull& '! you can rovide a ne* rail service o! -00km"h 18,mh
bet*een t*o cities the 2ourney time by rail *ill be about 2 hours& Grovided
the rail service is *ell riced, very !e* eole are likely to drive any more
bet*een the cities, causing a massive decrease in tra!!ic& 8! course *ith a
decrease in tra!!ic, ollution decreases too&
E"er#, e((!c!e"c,
The energy resources are limited & The train o!!ers er assenger
energy e!!iciency that no other !orm o! transort can achieve& The reason
is because o! steel *heels on steel rails The hard smooth sur!aces rovide
very little !riction& .lso because the *heels are held by steel ball bearings,
!riction is very lo* even at high seed& .ir resistance o! a train is not
really a roblem because it is thin and long& 8n the other hand aircra!t
must burn huge amounts o! !uel even to move at all, and in !light the
engines have to continue to burn 2ust to kee the lane in the sky& 8nce a
train is moving, even i! the engines are s*itched o!!, the train doesn+t
even decelerate noticeably, even at very high seeds& ;ars, as everyone
kno*s, are by !ar the least e!!icient !orm o! transort&
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Re&)ce& %oll)*!o"
:ecause o! their e!!iciency, the ollution that a train makes is very
lo*, and i! the electricity being used !or the train is generated by a green
source then there may *ell be no ollution at all as a result o! running the
train& Reduced tra!!ic also reduces ollution, no more cars uming out
gases in huge amounts, and o! course comared to aerolanes *hich need
to burn !uel at an astonishing rate 2ust to get thrust& 'n !act, it has been
calculated that a Eurostar train *ith a caacity o! 800 causes ollution
level through o*er stations about e6uivalent to 20 cars&
S%ee&
-00 km"h is very !ast& That is the seed at *hich these trains !ly
along& 3o time is *asted in getting eole to their destinations& There is
no *orry about *aiting in tra!!ic, or having a long stress!ul drive& .lso it
means that !lying can be avoided, *hich is articularly *elcome !or the
more ecological eole&
Co"ve"!e"ce
While airorts are o!ten out o! to*n and hard to access, rail*ay
stations are usually located in the heart o! the city& .lso *ith some
services you can 2ust buy a ticket and get straight on the train, *ith no
advanced booking re6uired& .ircra!t have dra*backs such as long check5in
times and constant moving around&
S'(e*,
What is erhas not kno*n about is that high seed trains are in
!act the sa!est !orm o! transort& /igh seed trains are erhas
surrisingly sa!er than normal trains& Cost use very advanced comuter
signaling systems meaning risk o! collision is very lo*, and aart !rom
that there is not a lot that can go *rong& France had a train going at -20
mh #$12 km"h%, *hich sho*s that dangerous, e0erimental seeds are a
long *ay o!! commercial everyday seeds&
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Co8(or*
With the ossible e0cetion o! cruise shis trains are the most
com!ortable !orm o! transort& Even at these very high seeds the train
remains about as smooth as an aircra!t, and o! course very much 6uieter&
.lso there are no limitations, the seats are not cramed like in an aircra!t,
and unlike in a car you can get u, *alk around, or buy a snack !rom the
bu!!et car&
9. DRAWBAC0S OF HIGH SPEED RAIL
Soc!'l &r'+:'c- 3e;*er"'l!*!e4
The only real e0ternality is the !act that in order to build high seed
rail lines the country side has to be sacri!iced& This articular e0ternality
alies to all !orms o! transort ho*ever #*ith the ossible e0cetion o!
*ater%& .lthough high seed rail lines do not occuy a large amount o!
room, the !act that they have to be straight and level usually involves
large amounts o! embankments and cuttings causing considerable
disrution to the countryside&
Eco"o8!c &r'+:'c-
The rimary ob2ection is al*ays cost& /igh seed rail*ays are very
e0ensive& To build the high seed link in the <= bet*een 9ondon and the
;hannel tunnel !or -00km"h Eurostars it is costing the (overnment and
rivate comanies L- billion #<) M4&8 billion%& This rail*ay is 2ust ,8 miles
long #108 km%& This is erhas an e0treme e0amle, high seed rail*ays
tyically are not so e0ensive but di!!icult geograhy #rolling hills% and
high oulation density o! the area have ushed u the cost&
Co*<e((ec*!ve"e o" *$e :'! o( %oll)*!o" co"*rol
/igh initial costs o!ten mean ublic money has to be used because
the rivate sector is usually un*illing to engage in such large ro2ects& .s
a result many *ould argue that the money used to build such rail systems
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*ould be more e!!ectively sent in other ro2ects i! the rimary ob2ectives
*ere to reduce tra!!ic congestion"ollution&
L!8!*'*!o" o( $!#$ %ee& r'!l
/igh seed rail is only alicable to inter5city services in high
density corridors #having said that connecting trains can deliver eole
door to door%& This means that, in order to *ork e!!ectively, high seed
rail must be backed u by a decent urban"light rail transit system, as
!ound in Euroe and @aan& )uch systems are rarer&
L!8!*'*!o" o( #eo#r'%$,
/igh seed rail*ay lines need to be as straight and level as
ossible& There!ore o!ten the rail*ays are carried over dis and hills in the
countryside by embankments, viaducts, cuttings and tunnels& #Tunnels are
sometimes unsuitable due to *ind turbulence roblems&% /o*ever these
greatly increase the cost o! the rail*ay and o! course, i! the landscae is
mountainous then it becomes very di!!icult to build it straight and leveled&
3aturally, rail*ays cannot be built over *ater !or long distances&
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=. CONCLUSION
.lthough there have been derailments, in the almost t*o decades
o! daily oeration, there has been no casualties& While the very high seed
trains like the T(> could be regarded as the Rolls Royce o! trains, tilting
trains could be thought o! as the chea and cheer!ul mini metro& The rice
di!!erential is !airly similar too4 it costs about 20 times more er unit
distance to build a dedicated high seed line than it does to ugrade
e0isting lines !or tilting trains& This is *hat makes tilting trains e0tremely
attractive& /o*ever there are disadvantages& 140 mh or 2-0 km"h is
about as !ast as trains go *hen not on dedicated lines& .nd then they
have to be !itted in *ith slo*er moving tra!!ic& With rail travel gro*ing all
over Euroe, the roblems o! rail*ays reaching saturation oint has !orced
ne* lines to be build& This is *hy desite the success o! the 'talian
Gendolini, a ne* high seed line *ith -00 km"h trains is being built,
because e0isting lines are at saturation oint& Cost o! the high seed train
!unctions are controlled digitally, true to being the vehicle o! the digital
age&
REFERENCES
1& Science and Technology Review, @une 1778&
2& /ood, ;hristoher G, Shinkansen- From Bullet Train to Symbol of
Modern Jaan, Routledge, 200,&
-& Coon, Francis ;, Suerconducting !evitation "lications to
Bearings and Magnetic Transortation, Wiley5>;/, 1774&
4& en&*ikiedia&org
$& ***&o5keating&com
,& )EC'3.R T8G'; FR8C FF ***&edu!ive&com"seminartoics&html
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