CE 515 Railroad Engineering High Speed Rail Overview Source: Armstrong Ch 17, AREMA Ch. 10, REES Module 5 “Transportation exists to conquer space and time.

CE 515 Railroad Engineering

High Speed Rail OverviewSource: Armstrong Ch 17,

AREMA Ch. 10, REES Module 5

“Transportation exists to conquer space and time -”

High Speed Rail (HSR)

• A rail line and service designed for high speed operations – 125+ mph

http://wonderfulworldoftrains.com/images/Shinkansen_S100_.jpg

A Little Background into HSR

• 1964 - Japan world’s first opened HSR “bullet” train– Tokyo to Osaka

• 1978 – Italy credited with 1st European line– Rome to Florence

• Today systems through Spain, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, and many other countries

• Na: High Speed Trains Around the World

HSR Characteristics

• High Speed Rail exhibits two key differences

1) Steeper Grades

• High horsepower-to-ton ratios – 20 HP/ton

– Necessary for acceleration and maintaining high speeds

– Corresponding high kinetic energy levels allow for short, steeper grades

2) Broader Curves

• Lateral forces increase greatly through horizontal curves by a factor of the square of the velocity

– Use larger radius curves to counteract these forces

– Incorporate high levels of superelevation

– Use long spirals to control build-up of lateral acceleration

HSR Technology

• Tilting Trains– Measure used to counteract

lateral forces of train through horizontal curves

– Allows a more comfortable ride

• Steel wheel– Most high speed rail systems

– High speeds, but limited

– Least cost

• Slab Track

• Magnetic Levitation (MagLev)

http://www.lococarriage.org.uk/X2000tilt.jpg

http://www.itrportal.com/absolutenm/articlefiles/4599-train-tilting-swedish-200.jpg

Magnetic Levitation (MagLev)

• Can get average travel speeds of 300+ mph

• Development and research in several countries– Germany, Japan, China, and others

• Notable system in Shanghai, China– Alex: Shanghai MagLev Video Presentation

– Evan: Shanghai MagLev Transportation Development Co.

• Andy: How MagLev Works

• MagLev Train Technology

• Model MagLev

FRA Regulations

Shinkansen

http://www.core.org.cn/NR/rdonlyres/Science--Technology--and-Society/STS-S28Fall-2005/325C31CD-47DD-42C8-922A-DA35596A7B2A/0/chp_shinkansen.jpg

http://www.globalaccessweb.com/outbound/files/image/JAPAN%20RAIL/Shinkansen_route_map.jpg

• Railway network on which ‘bullet trains’ run

• By 1990 - carried 270,000 passengers per day

• Original average travel speeds around 100 mph

• Now some lines average 162 mph

• Fastest - Nozomi-503 from Osaka to Fukuoka at 187 mph

And the Rest of Asia?• China

– World’s largest high-speed rail network

• 78,000 km of track vs. U.S. Highway system 75,000 km long

– Jeff: Transport Politic – China’s Transcontinental Rail Plan

• Upgrade to 110,000 km in 2012; 120,000 km by 2020

• India

– 18 million daily passengers with 68,000 km of track

– Transport Politic – India’s Upgrade

• Russia

– 2nd largest rail network behind U.S.

– Serves 1.3 billion passengers, 1.3 billion metric tons of cargo

– HSR, like in U.S., is nearly non-existent

– High-Speed Trains to Run in Russia

French Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV)

• Established in 1981

• Connects 200 destinations in France and the rest of Europe

• Beginning to implement double-decker trains

• Set record speed of 357 mph in test runs

• Dennis: Inside footage of TGV breaking record

• French TGV vs. Shinkansen for Fastest Train

• SNCF signaling concerns with operations

http://bestscreen.free.fr/Transports/Trains800/TGV%20Duplex.jpghttp://www.bonjourlafrance.com/france-trains/images/france-tgv8.jpg

Germany Intercity Express (ICE)

http://www.railteam.co.uk/images/pic/large/network.jpghttp://ti.org/ICE.jpg

• German ICE High Speed Trains

• Services 65,000 people per day

• Travel speeds up to 175 mph

• Considered Europe’s most advanced and comfortable rail networks

Spain Alta Velocidad Espanola (AVE)

• Opened in 1992• Originally small route from Madrid-Cordova-

Seville• Reached a reliable level

– Guarantee arrival within 5 minutes or money back

• Travels at speeds up to 186 mph

http://www.watford-group.org/pics/2009-spain-ave-net.png

http://www.bombardier.com/files/en/supporting_docs/image_and_media/products/BT-3231-AVE_S_102.JPG

United Kingdom HSR

• Only 68 miles of high-speed lines in operation (London to the Chunnel)

• Unveiled a $55 billion high-speed rail plan for second line

• London to Glasglow in 2hrs 16mins (down from 4hrs 10mins)

• Construction of 1,500 miles of rail and 138 bridges

• Cliff: Government unveils plan to ground short flights

HSR in the United States• Amtrak Acela Express – Northeast

Corridor

– Only designated HSR line in the U.S.

– Washington – New York – Boston

– Top speed of 135 mph

– Due to quality of track and regulations, runs on average of 85 mph

• Several high-speed rail corridors have been studied

• US DOT Federal Railroad Administration– Vision for High Speed Rail in

America

http://www.bomaconvention.org/BOMA2009/custom/NEC%20Map.png

http://www.wellho.net/pix/nec5.jpg

“A Vision for High Speed Rail in America”

• The White House Blog

• Danielle: U.S. FRA HSR Corridor Plan

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/16/a-vision-for-high-speed-rail/

U.S. HSR Discussion and Criticism

• National Plans for HSR in the United States

– A Vision for High Speed Rail – President Barack Obama

– Future of High Speed Rail in the U.S. – FOX News

– High Speed Rail in the U.S. – CBS Sunday Morning

– Bringing MagLev to the U.S. – Discovery News

Discussion and Criticism, cont’d

• Local Issues for HSR in the U.S.

– Nicole: Proposed route from Chicago, IL to Dubuque, IA

– Angela: Vegas Issues for MagLev

– Vegas Revisited – MagLev vs. DesertXpress: $12 billion vs. $4 billion

– Megan: California High Speed Rail Authority; Fact Sheet

– Midwest High Speed Rail Association

• Infrastructurist.com – Blog about U.S. Infrastructure News

• 3 Reasons Why Obama’s Vision Won’t Go Anywhere

• High-Speed Rail won’t arrive fast – if ever

Don’t Forget about Africa• Africa’s first high-speed train

– South African Gautrain– $3.25 billion project to have a top speed of 100 mph– Connect the Johannesburg and Pretoria international airport– Hopefully to be completed and tested by the World Cup

• Morocco on Track for HSR– 20 million dirham ($2.47 billion) project– Hope to service some 8 million passengers by 2016– To build 1,500 km of new track by 2035

http://www.thearynews.com/english/newsdetail.asp?nid=43347

hr min

France Paris Lyon 300 2 0

Germany Berlin Fulda 300 3 15

Spain Madrid Barcelona 390 2 45

United Kingdom London Glasgow 350 2 16

China Beijing Zhengzhou 390 2 0

Japan Tokyo Osaka 350 2 8

Russia Moscow St. Petersburg 420 8 0

United States Philadelphia Boston 300 5 0

*Note: Distances and times are approximate and at this time shall be considered preliminary.

Table 1. Travel Time Comparison between HSR Lines of Different Regions

TimeToRegion From

Distancemi

References

• http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1892463,00.html

• http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1957575,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-bottom

• http://www.europeanrailguide.com/trains/ice.html• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8221540.stm• http://www.highspeedrailuk.com/• http://www.infrastructurist.com/