ABOARD TRAIN V150, France - A French train with a 25,000-horsepower engine and special wheels broke the world speed record Tuesday for conventional rail trains, reaching 357.2 mph as it zipped through the countryside to the applause of spectators.
Roaring like a jet plane, with sparks flying overhead and kicking up a long trail of dust, the black-and-chrome V150 with three double-decker cars surpassed the record of 320.2 mph set in 1990 by another French train.
It fell short, however, of beating the ultimate record set by Japan’s magnetically levitated train, which hit 361 mph in 2003.
The French TGV, or “train a grande vitesse,” as the country’s bullet train is called, had two engines on either side of the three double-decker cars for the record run, some 125 miles east of the capital on a new track linking Paris with Strasbourg.
That speed is incorrect. The train reached 574.8 km/h which is 344.88 mph, not 357.2. Since 1 km = 0.6 miles; then 574.8 x 0.6 = 344.88. Some of the online news reports about this record-setting trial incorrectly claim that the train reached a speed of 357.2 mph; but someone’s math skills need a tune-up.
I’m not sure where you got that information; but it is incorrect. Yes, there were 2 locomotives (one at the head and one at the tail of the train) with 3 cars. However, they were NOT double-decker cars; only single-deck.
All you need do is take a close look at the photos and video of the train to see that there is only one row of windows in the passenger cars indicating a single level.
Timothy: He may have gotten his info in regards to the consist (double decker cars) from the Alstom folks (somehow I think that Alstom may have a little insight on this subject). You may want to take a close look at the video yourself on the below site…
Edit: I just ran the speed conversion through World Wide Metric (entering 574.8 km/h, and it came up with 357.164 mph. I can’t believe that they have been wrong all this time. Thanks for pointing that out!!
However, you want to calculate it, the real speed record is held by the magnetic levitation train of Japan, whose technology means it does not touch the rail. It reached a speed of 581 kilometers per hour in 2003. However, the Japanese technology is more costly, typically runs shorter distances and is less compatible with existing rail networks.
The French train—code named V150— is a research prototype and the government spared no expense in building the train or the track it operated over, because the expenditure was meant to demonstrate the superiority of French engineering. The government touted the event as a test of “French excellence.” However, the V150 does not fulfill any commercial purpose.
Alstom, the train’s manufacturer currently has 70 percent of the market for trains that reach 270 kilometers per hour or more. It expected the publicity generated from this recent high-speed run would boosts sales of its 270 km units in China and India and possibly South America.
The conversion table I used shows 1 km = 0.6 miles so that is what I based my calculations on. I’ll grant you that the table I used may have rounded off.
Secondly… regarding double- v. single-deck…
From the news reports I read from AFP (a news agency from France), and saw on CBC-Newsworld, there was no mention of a double-decker train; and, from the TV images I saw on CBC-Newsworld, the train appeared to have only one row of windows. Until very recently, there have never been any double-deck TGVs so it is only logical to believe that this train is like its predecessors – single-decked.
It was only after reading a news reports from CNN.com, and seeing a BBC report on Youtube (only today), that I heard any mention of the train being double-decked. However, I still haven’t seen any photos/video images clear enough to show 2 rows of windows.
If someone can post a clear photo of the train showing the 2 rows of windows, I would love to see it.
Any way you put it, this TGV is the fastest train on conventional rails in the world. (While the experimental Japanese mag-lev train may be faster, it does not run on conventional rails, but along a guideway.)
How does this train get around corners? How does it get into most cities if it can only go perfectly straight?
How does this train handle grades? Wouldn’t it literally fly off the tracks at the top of a hill?
How do you keep EVERYTHING else off the right-of-way? You won’t see/hear this train coming to the railroad crossing until it is too late. And then there is foot traffic trying to get to the other side of the tracks… [X-)]
Assuming that you are talking about the version used in regular service at 198 mph.
It has no problem taking corners at 198 mph, though the curves are very broad.
No, although you would feel lighter. Similarly when you go through a bottom vertical curve you feel heavier.
No grade crossings on the high-speed tracks, although when these trains slow down and use regular tracks to enter some cities they might meet a crossing. All European ROW are fenced on both sides, with more substantial fencing along the high-speed ROW. Tresspassing on a railroad ROW will get a healthy fine, not a slap on the wrist. If you get hit, your relatives will get your remains and a cleanup bill, not a hefty settlement award, and maybe not your remains if it is a TGV.
357.2 mph French TGV shatters the world rail speed record in 30m dash
SUSAN BELL AND INGRID ROUSSEAU
ROARING like a jet plane, spitting sparks and trailing dust, a supercharged version of France’s high-speed TGV train smashed the world speed record on conventional rails yesterday, as it reached a top speed of 357.2 miles per hour.
The V150, an experimental, streamlined version of the Train à Grande Vitesse, or TGV, equipped with extra-large wheels and two souped-up locomotives to drive three double-decker carriages, set the new record, hurtling along a specially modified 73km stretch of track between Paris and the eastern city of Strasbourg. The electrical tension in the overhead cable was boosted from 25,000 volts to 31,000 for the record attempt and extra ballast was added to the line.
Watch the video posted above (www.record2007.com). It shows the train, at more than 550 km/h, going around curves and up and down grades. The trick, as with airplanes at this speed, is to make the curves and grades gentle, with excellent smooth transitions from the tangent to the curve.
And as to grade crossings - French train tracks, as almost everywhere in Europe, are fully fenced off and have few grade crossings, and lines where the TGVs run have NO grade crossings - NONE. Everything is grade separated, as the video clearly shows - roads, footpaths, farmer access lanes, etc… North America is “special” in this regard, having so many grade crossings and relatively little fencing off of lines.
I must say, that video is fabulous. And what I particularly notes is that the French still use rock ballast on their high speed lines - something many experts have suggested would not work.