High-speed rail

From Freepedia

Image:Shinkansen 500 Kyoto 2005-03-19.jpg
Image:Tgv sud est.jpg
Image:Acela at Boston.jpg
Image:Shanghai Transrapid 002.jpg
This page is about high-speed rail in general. For Britain's InterCity 125 or HST, see High Speed Train.

High-speed rail is public transport by rail at a speeds over 200 km/h (125 mi/h).

Typically, high–speed trains travel at top service speeds of between 250 km/h (155 mph) and 300 km/h (186 mph). The world speed record for a conventional wheeled train was set in 1990 by a French TGV (train à grande vitesse; literally "high speed train") that reached a speed of 515 km/h (320 mi/h), and an experimental Japanese magnetic levitation (maglev) train has reached 581 km/h (361 mph).

Contents

Definition

The International Union of Railways' high–speed task force provides definitions of high–speed rail travel [1]. There is no single definition of the term, but rather a combination of elements—new or upgraded track, rolling stock, operating practices—that lead to high-speed rail operations. The speeds at which a train must travel to qualify as 'high–speed' vary from country to country, ranging from 160 km/h (100 mi/h) to over 300 km/h (186 mi/h).

History

Railways were the first form of mass transportation, and until the development of the motorcar in the early 20th century had an effective monopoly on land transport. In the decades after World War II, improvements in automobiles, highways, and aircraft made those means practical for a greater portion of the population than previously. In Europe and Japan, emphasis was given to rebuilding the railways after the war. In the United States, emphasis was given to building a huge national highway system and airports. Urban mass transport systems in the US were largely neglected. The US railways have been more uncompetitive partly because the government has tended to favour road and air transportation more than in Asian and European countries, and partly because the population density in the US is lower. Travel by rail becomes more competitive in areas of higher population density or when petrol is expensive because conventional trains are more fuel efficient than cars (though less fuel efficient than buses). Very few trains consume diesel or some other fossil fuels but the power stations that provide the Electric trains with power do consume fuel, usually Natural Gas. Others are powered by Coal or Hydroelectricity and in Japan and France a large proportion is powered by Nuclear fission. Even if the power stations were powered by Oil or Coal, Trains would still remain more fuel efficient per passenger per kilometer travelled than the typical automobile. Upgrading rail networks require enormous fixed investments and thus require high population densities to be competitive against airplanes and automobiles.

The world's first "high–speed train" was Japan's Tokaido Shinkansen, officially launched in 1964. The "Series 0" Shinkansen, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, achieved speeds of 200 km/h (124 mi/h) on the Tokyo–Nagoya–Kyoto–Osaka route.

High–speed rail was conceived as an attempt to win back railway passengers who had been lost to other means of travel; in most cases it has been quite successful to this end.

High-speed trains vs. automobiles or airplanes

There are constraints on the growth of the highway and air travel systems, widely cited as traffic congestion, or capacity limits. Airports have limited capacity to serve passengers during peak travel times, as do highways. High–speed rail, which has potentially very high capacity on its fixed corridors, offers the promise of relieving congestion on the other systems. Prior to World War II conventional passenger rail was the principal means of intercity transport. Passenger rail services have lost their primary role in transport since, due to the small proportion of journeys made by rail.

High–speed rail has the advantage over automobiles in that it can move passengers at speeds far faster than those possible by car, while also avoiding congestion. For journeys that do not connect city centre to city centre, the door to door travel time and the total cost of high–speed rail can be comparable to that of driving, a fact often mentioned by critics of high–speed trains. However, supporters argue that journeys by train are less strenuous and more productive than car journeys.

While high–speed trains generally do not travel as fast as jet aircraft, they have advantages over air travel for relatively short distances. When traveling less than about 650 km (400 mi), the process of checking in and going through security screening at airports, as well as the journey to the airport itself makes the total journey time comparable to HSR. Trains can be boarded more quickly in a central location, eliminating the speed advantage of air travel. Rail lines also permit far greater capacity and frequency of service than what is possible with aircraft.

Target areas for high-speed train

The early target areas, identified by France, Japan, and the U.S., were connections between pairs of large cities. In France this was Paris–Lyon, in Japan Tokyo–Osaka, and in the U.S. the proposals are in high-density areas. Its only U.S. high–speed rail service at present is in the Northeast Corridor between Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.; it uses tilting trains to achieve high speeds (though lower than those of their European and Asian counterparts) on existing tracks, since building new, straighter lines was not practical given the level of funding. The California High Speed Rail Authority is currently studying a San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento to Los Angeles and San Diego line.

Five years after construction began on the line, the first Japanese high–speed rail line opened on the eve of the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, connecting the capital with Osaka. The first French high–speed rail line (LGV) was opened in 1981 by SNCF, the French rail agency, planning starting in 1966 and construction in 1976. The opening ceremonies were significant events, being reported internationally, but not associated with a major showpiece such as a World's Fair or Olympic Games.

Market segmentation has principally focused on the business travel market. The French focus on business travelers is reflected in the nature of their rail cars (including the all-important bar–car). Pleasure travel is a secondary market, though many of the French extensions connect with vacation beaches on the Atlantic and Mediterranean, as well as major amusement parks. Friday evenings are the peak time for TGVs (Metzler, 1992). The system has lowered prices on long distance travel to compete more effectively with air services, and as a result some cities within an hour of Paris by TGV have become commuter communities, thus increasing the market while restructuring land use. A side effect of the first high–speed rail lines in France was the opening up of previously isolated regions to fast economic development. Some newer high–speed lines have been planned primarily for this purpose, such as the Madrid–Sevilla line and the proposed Amsterdam–Groningen line.

Around the world

In Europe

France

Image:AVE Train Set.jpg
Image:ICE3-Einfahrt-Dortmund.jpg

France has perhaps the most developed high-speed network in Europe. The TGV network started in 1981 with the opening of the line between Lyon and Paris. The TGV network gradually spread out to other cities, and into other countries such as Switzerland. Trains that cross national boundaries may need to have special characteristics, such as the ability to handle different power supplies and signalling systems. This means that not all TGVs are the same, and there are interoperability considerations.

Later the TGV network was also extended with LGVs towards Bordeaux, Marseille, and Lille and faster trains were introduced. Rather than have separate lines from Paris, towns in Britanny are reached via a relatively short detour—it being argued that the trains run fast enough that the extra distance causes little real delay on the long distance travel between Paris and Bordeaux, and this routing allows additional service to Brittany.

Germany

Construction on first German high-speed lines began shortly after that of the French LGVs. Legal battles caused significant delays, so that the InterCity Express (ICE) trains were deployed ten years after the TGV network was established. The ICE network is more tightly integrated with pre-existing lines and trains as a result of the different settlement structure in Germany, which has almost twice the population density of France. ICE trains reached destinations in Austria and Switzerland soon after they entered service, taking advantage of the same voltage used in these countries. Starting in 2000, multisystem third-generation ICE trains entered the Netherlands and Belgium. Admission of ICE trains onto French LGVs was applied for in 2001, but trial runs were not yet completed by 2005.

Italy

The earliest high-speed train deployed in Europe was the italian "Direttissima" that connected Rome with Florence (254 km,158 mi) in 1978. The maximum speed of this line was 250 km/h (155 mi/h). The journey time between the two cities is just over 90 minutes and the trains average about 200 km/h (125 mi/h). The service is carried out by Eurostar Italia trains (not related to the Eurostar trains operating to the United Kingdom). Italy makes extensive use of tilting train technology, "Pendolino", based on research work undertaken in the 1970s by Fiat Ferroviaria.

The Italian Treno Alta Velocità is building a new high speed network between Turin and Naples with a total lenght of 650km. The first route of this network will be opened in December 2005 and it will connect Naples with Rome (214km) in 1 hour.

Netherlands & Belgium

The Dutch HSL-Zuid line are being built to connect the Netherlands with Belgium and France. It will carry both the TGV-derived Thalys and domestic high-speed trains. High-speed Thalys trains already operate between Belgium, France and The Netherlands.

Spain

The Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) high–speed rail system in Spain is currently being constructed. High–speed trains have been running on the Madrid–Sevilla route since 1992. Should the aims of the ambitious AVE construction program be met, by 2010 Spain will have 7000 km (4350 mi) of high–speed trains linking all provincial cities to Madrid in under 4 hours and Barcelona within 6 hours.

By 2007, the fastest commercial trains in operation will be moving passengers between Barcelona and Madrid at a top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph), traveling the 600 km (373 mi) between the two cities in only 2.5 hours. Three corporations have or will build trains for the Spanish high–speed rail network: Spanish Talgo, French Alstom and German Siemens AG.

Switzerland

Switzerland has had a tilting train since 28 May 2000, when along with the Fahrplanwechsel (change of train schedules) the ICN (InterCity Neigezug, or InterCity Tilting Train) came into being, first running from Geneva through Biel/Bienne, Grenchen South, Zürich, Winterthur through to St. Gallen. The ICN is now used on several routes. Speeds on the ICN can reach 200 km/h (125 mi/h). As Swiss rail tracks are full of curves, and as the ICN is a tilting train, it is the fastest Swiss train on Swiss tracks.

Turkey

Turkey has recently started building high-speed rail lines. The first line, between Istanbul (Turkey's largest city) and Ankara (capital of Turkey), is under construction and will open in 2007. The commercial high speed trains are expected to reach at a top speed of 250km/h, reducing the traveling time from 6-7 hours to 3 hours 10 minutes. Several other lines between major cities are also being planned.

The United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, Eurostar trains, which run through the Channel Tunnel between the UK and both France and Belgium, are substantially different versions of the TGV trains, with support for multiple voltages, both pantograph and third–rail power collection, the ability to adapt to multiple platform heights, and to cope with no fewer than seven different signalling modes. Like the TGVs, Eurostar trains are articulated with bogies between the carriages, and typical operating units have 18 carriages. A fully loaded train of 794 passengers is roughly equivalent to seven Boeing 737s (the aircraft typically used by low-cost airlines). These trains operate at the highest scheduled speeds of any in the UK, using specially-built track between the Channel Tunnel and London. The Channel Tunnel Rail Link currently supports high speed trains between Dover to Fawkham Junction, and the extension to London St Pancras is due to open in 2007.

The remainder of Britain's railway network is determinedly slower - nominal top speeds on some lines of 225kmh/140mph have yet to be run, and most inter-city traffic is restricted to a maximum speed of 200kmh/125mph using track largely built in the middle years of the nineteenth century. Much of this traffic is still handled by diesel-powered High Speed Trains which are around three decades old.

The Americas

Canada

Image:Turbo Train, Montreal, 1973.jpg Canada placed some early hopes in high–speed trains with the United Aircraft Turbo train, in the 1960s. Run by CN and later VIA Rail, the Talgo–inspired articulated tilt–train achieved speeds as high as 200 km/h (125 mph) in regular service, but for most of its service life (marred with lengthy interruptions to address conception problems), it ran at a more conventional 160 km/h (99 mph). A similar but shorter train was also experimented with in the United States.

Beginning in the 1970s, a consortium of several companies started to study the Bombardier LRC, which was a more conventional approach to high–speed rail, in having separate cars rather than being an articulated train. Pulled by a conventional–technology diesel–electric locomotives designed for 200 km/h (125 mi/h) normal operating speed, it entered full–scale service in 1981 for VIA Rail, linking cities in the Québec–Windsor corridor, but at speeds never exceeding the 170 km/h (105 mph) limit mandated by line signalling.

The troublesome Bombardier LRC locomotives were eventually all retired by 2000, and replaced by more conventional diesel–electric locomotives manufactured by General Motors and General Electric. The LRC is the oldest tilt–train that is still operational to this day.

Recently, Bombardier and VIA have proposed high-speed services along the Québec–Windsor corridor using Bombardier's experimental JetTrain tilting trains, which are similar to Bombardier's Acela Express, but powered by a small jet engine rather than overhead electric wires. As yet, no government support for this plan has been forthcoming, and Bombardier appears to have stopped promoting the JetTrain. Bombardier has also recently promoted high-speed rail in the province of Alberta between Edmonton and Calgary.

Although in the U.S. Amtrak has invested enormous amounts of money in electrifying the New Haven–Boston portion of the Northeast Corridor and outfitting itself with sleek Acela Express trains, it is VIA Rail that operates the fastest scheduled passenger train in North America: train 66, which runs the 520 km (323 miles) between Toronto and Dorval in 3 hours 44 minutes, an average speed of 140 km/h (87 mph).

United States

Image:High-Speed Rail Corridor Designations.png

High-speed rail in the U.S is more a case of hope rather than reality. While in some ways, high–speed efforts around the world can be traced to the streamliners that criss–crossed the U.S. in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s which, in turn, can be traced further back to the competing companies operating different routes between London and Scotland, and to railways in Germany and France. However, several factors contributed to the stagnation of rail transport in the U.S. just as Europe and Japan were pushing forward. There has been a resurgence of interest in recent decades, with many plans being examined for high–speed rail across the country, but current service remains relatively limited.

The major passenger carrier in the U.S., Amtrak, has been operating Acela Express trains between Boston and Washington, D.C. since 2001. These trains tilt because of curves along the track, and the top speed is 150 mph (240 km/h). This maximum speed might not be considered fast enough for this train to be designated a high–speed train, though the average speeds suggest that it should be. The average speed from Washington, D.C. to Boston is about 82 mph (132 km/h): 5 hours 30 minutes for the 450 mi (724 km) trip.

High–speed rail in the U.S. today remains largely in an early, conceptual stage. The U.S. efforts have been multi–pronged. Various states have promoted study and design of high–speed rail lines, and six corridors have been designated by U.S. Department of Transportation for study:

The Clinton Administration proposed a High Speed Rail Development Act in 1993 to study the issues involved and provide seed money. Money was set aside in Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA 1991) for maglev development, and proposals for deployment have been made in Orlando, Florida and in Texas, but there is still no operating maglev in revenue-earning passenger service in the United States. Amtrak's North East Corridor has been electrified and has seen elimination of grade crossings.

In terms of its top–down planning, the development of high–speed rail in the U.S. borrows conceptually from the interstate highway system. Typically modes emerge without either significant or central planning at the outset. Examples include air travel, highways, and rail. Later, central planning is tacked on, as when the government established specific trans–continental routes, or began funding airports or the interstate highways. In all likelihood this probably confirms high–speed rail's role as a successor to conventional rail rather than holding status as a new mode on its own.

Operationally, the systems are largely adapted from conventional rail systems, with similar labor organization and ownership in Japan and France and similar architectures in many other respects.


Mexico

After a rigorous technical and economic evaluation involving nine companies of international experience with high–speed trains, the French company Systra will be the consulting company to advise the Secretariat of Communication and Transportion of Mexico on the process of elaboration of the Basis of Licitation for the Mexico City–Guadalajara high–speed train service. The licitation is to be released in autumn 2005.


Asia

China

China also has a Transrapid maglev capable of 267 mph (430 km/h), which has connected Shanghai to Pu Dong International Airport since March 2004.

Japan

Image:Shinkansen-100-fukuyama.jpg

In 1964, after the Tokaido Shinkansen was deployed, a second line—the Sanyo Shinkansen—was inaugurated. The recognition of the inter–relationship between land development and the high–speed rail network led, in 1970, to the enaction in Japan of a law for the construction of a nationwide Shinkansen railway network. By 1973, the Transport Minister approved construction plans for five additional lines and basic plans for twelve others. Despite the approval, financial considerations intervened; the cost of the five lines (five trillion yen, or fifty billion U.S. dollars at 100 yen to the dollar, a somewhat hopeful exchange rate), combined with the oil shock and recession of the 1970s and early 1980s resulted in their delay until 1989. Ironically, high oil prices, which should increase the relative demand for non–oil based transportation such as high–speed rail, delayed their construction.

The new Japanese lines are also not "Full Shinkansen" with all of the characteristics of high–speed rail. Rather they are mixed, and thus composed of less expensive technology, combining narrow-gauge and standard-gauge lines on the same structures. New structures allow for eventual upgrade, but existing narrow gauge structures are kept in places, allowing the bullet train to use them, but not at the higher speeds. As with its inauguration, the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano Japan were a target for the opening of a rail line extension: Hokuriku Shinkansen (Tokyo to Nagano) was opened under this scheme just in time.

Within Japan, some of the most significant changes in the mode's growth phase has been the break–up and privatization of the rail system, begun in 1987. The hope is that restructuring leads to more efficient and profitable methods in the passenger rail sector. Incremental improvements to the high–speed rail technology are continuously being undertaken, and the network continues to be expanded. As an example of improvements, the travel time from Tokyo to Shin Osaka (the first route opened), has decreased from 4 hours in 1964 to 2 hours 30 minutes.

A Japanese consortium led by the Central Japan Railway Company are currently researching new high–speed rail systems based on magnetic levitation. Test trains on the Yamanashi Test Line have achieved speeds of over 580 km/h (360 mph) (crewed), easily making them the fastest trains in the world. These new maglev trains are intended to be deployed as a new Tokyo–Osaka Shinkansen route, called the Chuo Shinkansen.

Korea

Image:KTX-train.jpg

There is now a high–speed train line in Korea; KTX, and China has plans for high-speed trains based on TGV technology, starting with a route between Beijing and Shanghai. Taiwan is constructing its high speed railway to connect Taipei and Kaohsiung using Shinkansen technology. It is scheduled to begin revenue service in October 2005.

Australasia

Australia has no high–speed trains, but Queensland Rail's tilting train between Brisbane and Cairns is believed to be the fastest narrow-gauge railway in the world.

The development of Australia's railways has always been hampered by the country's low population density; it has a population comparable to a small European country such as the Netherlands occupying an area only slightly smaller than the mainland United States. With the consequent deregulation and intense competition in the domestic airline industry, the cheapest method of travel between the major population centres is by air. While car fuel is not taxed as lightly as in the United States, it is still much less expensive than in European nations, which greatly reduces the appeal of train travel and the hope of significant expansions in the near future.

There have, however, been discussions of a high-speed railway between Sydney and Canberra, which could ultimately expand into a corridor extended from Sydney to Brisbane and from Canberra to Melbourne and Adelaide. [5]


Technology

Image:TGV double decker DSC00132.jpg

Much of the technology behind high–speed rail is an improved application of existing technology. By building a new rail infrastructure with 20th century engineering, including elimination of constrictions such as roadway at–grade crossings, frequent stops, a succession of curves and reverse curves, and not sharing the right–of–way with freight or slower passenger trains, higher speeds (250–300 km/h; 155–185 mph) are maintained. The record speed of 515 km/h (320 mph) is held by a shortened TGV train. The French TGV routes typically combine some sections of older track, on which they run at standard speeds, with segments on new track to provide an overall high–speed, one-seat journey to many destinations.

In France, the cost of construction is minimised by adopting steeper grades rather than building tunnels and viaducts. Because the lines are dedicated to passengers, grades of 3.5%, rather than the previous maximum of 1–1.5% for mixed traffic, are used. Possibly more expensive land is acquired in order to build straighter lines which minimize line construction as well as operating and maintenance costs. In other countries high–speed rail was built without those economies so that the railway can also support other traffic, such as freight. Experience has shown however, that trains of significantly different speeds cause massive decreases of line capacity. As a result, mixed-traffic lines are usually reserved for high-speed passenger trains during the daytime, while freight trains go at night. In some cases, nighttime high-speed trains are even diverted to lower speed lines in favor of freight traffic.

Existing high-speed rail systems

TGV family

ICE family

  • ICE (InterCity Express), (Germany – Netherlands – Belgium – Switzerland – Austria)
  • Renfe AVE, (Spain)

Shinkansen family

ETR 500 family

Talgo family

  • Talgo 350 (Spain)
  • Talgo 200 (Spain) (able to travel at 200 km/h (124 mph) on broad and standard-gauge track)

Tilting trains

Magnetic levitation

Other

  • InterCity 125 / British Rail Class 43 (HST), was introduced to Britain in 1976 by state corporation British Rail: often called the High Speed Train or HST, it was the fastest train in the country when it was introduced, operating regularly at scheduled speeds of 125 mph (200 km/h). It still holds the world speed record for a diesel-powered train (it achieved 143mph (232km/h) on test in 1973, which it bettered by achieving 148mph (238 km/h) on another test in 1987; its highest speed in passenger service was 144mph (231 km/h) achieved in 1985). It is still in regular inter-city service after three decades.

See also

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.freepedia.org/High-speed_rail.html"


Views
Personal tools
In other languages
Similar Links