Eurostar train sets record for fastest rail journey between Paris and London
Inaugural service completing journey in two hours and three minutes
Record marks Nov. 14 opening of Eurostar terminal at London’s St. Pancrasi
LONDON, England – A Eurostar train has set a record for the fastest rail journey between Paris and London with an inaugural service completing the journey in just over two hours.
One wonders if AMTRAK officals were invited to the inaugral run…
It wasn’t the tunnel portion. it was the eleven miles of tunnels built through London and a 60 mile new stretch in France. At one point it hit 202mph. the article is on Drudgereport.com.
The problem is when the train hit England, it had to cut back on the speed and mix with lessor traffic.
Now that the new dedicated “High Speed One” track is complete and a new station just for this train built, that thing can get up and run.
2 hours and 15 minutes London to Paris… it takes just that long to GET on board a plane in Heathrow or OUT of one after landing and clearing Customs. This is where Train wins against Airlines and burdensome airport security.
ndbprr…Didn’t it say it set a speed record between London and Paris…If so, that includes the Chunnel. And I was wondering just what speed it traveled thru the Chunnel in making the new record.
Maybe that part of the trip did not increase in speed…but how fast do they run thru there if that is the case…?
The normal maximm speed allowed in the Chunnel is 100mph and as far as I am aware this limit was observed on the special run. The maximum permitted speed on the new line is 186mph but they exceeded that slightly as a maximum of 202mph was attained. The run was actually completed in 2 hours 3 min but the scheduled timing will be 2 hours 15 min.
…When one ponders about going between those cities in such little time, that sure does say someone did a great job of engineering all across that total route.
I just have a difficult time understanding where all the “compressed” air escapes {ahead of the engine}, as it rams thru those smallish tubes. Sure must make a breeze someplace…
I’d imagine it loads the front suspension of the train down a bit more as they are slanted downward {in design}, at their front. Might be a good thing to help keep it on the track…
I dont know anything about areodymanics, Ive driven square trucks that were just horrible against the wind and lacked the horsepower to maintain any kind of money saving cruising.
I think either the tunnel or the train were given consideration as to airflow… I was wondering about that dish or bulge in front of the cab of that train. I bet that is how they got the air to spill down past the train in the tube.
Anything in a closed space… even a 20 mph subway coming into the station generates noticeable airflow.
I keep thinking of a Bond movie that featured a helicopter tied to one of these tunnel trains.
…I would wager the tube and train designers of Chunnel operation had models {possibly computer models}, to make the designs fit the operating conditions at such speeds in a confined space.
The very nose of the train probably has had a very distinctive design installed to direct the somewhat compressed air around it’s front to proper side flows or in some manner of flow to do no harm.
I do wonder though if they have used some of the potential downforce to “plant” power car wheels firmly on the rails as it skims along at it’s 100 or plus mph.