French set new rail speed record

[dug777]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6521295.stm

Cool

 

[Steve]

I would love to ride one of those things.

 

[K1052]

I'm still waiting for the US to get off it's ass and construct dedicated high speed rail lines where they are warranted. The NY-DC-Boston corridor is of course the perfect place to start. All we have is the half-assed Acela service that can't run anywhere near top speeds for large parts of its run.

Amtrak could make a killing against the airlines in this area. It would probably end or at least significantly reduce the need for federal subsides.

 

[leftyman]

Ze Frenchie arie' verie bravie,no?

 

[paulxcook]

I would like it if the US had public transport options like this. It's probably harder since the country is so spread out. And then there's the possible hit to the automotive and fuel industries to think about.

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: K1052
I'm still waiting for the US to get off it's ass and construct dedicated high speed rail lines where they are warranted. The NY-DC-Boston corridor is of course the perfect place to start. All we have is the half-assed Acela service that can't run anywhere near top speeds for large parts of its run.

Amtrak could make a killing against the airlines in this area. It would probably end or at least significantly reduce the need for federal subsides.

I sometimes wonder if it would be better for Amtrak to be privatized.

 

[deerslayer]

Crazy.

 

[alphatarget1]

The East is probably the only place in the US where high speed rail would actually work well. Well, maybe Dallas>Houston or SF>LA. Distances between cities are just too great.

I wonder how much power the TGV consumes compared to the German Transrapid. I have been saying that Transrapid makes no sense whatsoever because high speed can already be obtained from traditional rail technologies, without the need to invest in expensive Magnetic-Levitated lines that can only be used by... Magnetic-Levitated trains.

Trains are something that the French really do right

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: alphatarget1
The East is probably the only place in the US where high speed rail would actually work well. Well, maybe Dallas>Houston or SF>LA. Distances between cities are just too great.

I wonder how much power the TGV consumes compared to the German Transrapid. I have been saying that Transrapid makes no sense whatsoever because high speed can already be obtained from traditional rail technologies, without the need to invest in expensive Magnetic-Levitated lines that can only be used by... Magnetic-Levitated trains.

Trains are something that the French really do right

California is moving ahead with a project to link Sacramento to San Diego with high speed rail service.

They could probably justify a run out to Las Vegas too. A one way trip LA to LV would only take an hour or a little more. It can take longer to get through security at LAX. Who in their right mind would get on plane?

 

[Heifetz]

LA to Las Vegas would be great, because you can get around Vegas strip w/o having a car. And it'll be so much nicer to ride the train when you have a hang over.

 

[Ipno]

25000 hp @ 31,000 volts, yes but how many watts does it consume?

 

[Shortcut]

the train set a new speed record because the engineers designed it to run away from the station

 

[compman25]

If it's French I bet it's quicker leaving someplace than going there

 

[PricklyPete]

Charlotte - Atlanta would be a nice...especially if it stops in Greenville.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: leftyman
Ze Frenchie arie' verie bravie,no?

Ja!

 

[loic2003]

Originally posted by: alphatarget1
Trains are something that the French really do right

This is true. They arrive *to the minute* that it shows you on the ticket.

As a side note, but not wanting this to turn political, I heared that to fund a maglev train that operated in a vacuum tunnel that stretched from the east to west coast of the US and could traverse it in less than 30 mins would have cost roughly the same as the iraq war has cost thus far. Makes you think.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: loic2003

Originally posted by: alphatarget1
Trains are something that the French really do right

This is true. They arrive *to the minute* that it shows you on the ticket.

As a side note, but not wanting this to turn political, I heared that to fund a maglev train that operated in a vacuum tunnel that stretched from the east to west coast of the US and could traverse it in less than 30 mins would have cost roughly the same as the iraq war has cost thus far. Makes you think.

Such an estimate would be purely speculative. It would be almost impossible to predict the actual construction costs of such a project without a major study.

 

[alphatarget1]

Originally posted by: loic2003

Originally posted by: alphatarget1
Trains are something that the French really do right

This is true. They arrive *to the minute* that it shows you on the ticket.

As a side note, but not wanting this to turn political, I heared that to fund a maglev train that operated in a vacuum tunnel that stretched from the east to west coast of the US and could traverse it in less than 30 mins would have cost roughly the same as the iraq war has cost thus far. Makes you think.

3000 miles in 30 minutes is 6000 mph.

 

[Sinsear]

The new standard for a quick retreat....

 

[Mark R]

Originally posted by: Ipno
25000 hp @ 31,000 volts, yes but how many watts does it consume?

25,000 hp is about 20 MW. By comparison, a typical Eurostar train (186 mph) with 18 passenger carriages uses about 13 MW at full power.

LOL at how they had to overvolt it to get that speed.

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: Mark R

Originally posted by: Ipno
25000 hp @ 31,000 volts, yes but how many watts does it consume?

25,000 hp is about 20 MW. By comparison, a typical Eurostar train (186 mph) with 18 passenger carriages uses about 13 MW at full power.

LOL at how they had to overvolt it to get that speed.

World's greatest overclock?

 

[Fenixgoon]

there's a reason why they call it "un train a grand vitesse"

 

[loic2003]

Originally posted by: alphatarget1

Originally posted by: loic2003

Originally posted by: alphatarget1
Trains are something that the French really do right

This is true. They arrive *to the minute* that it shows you on the ticket.

As a side note, but not wanting this to turn political, I heared that to fund a maglev train that operated in a vacuum tunnel that stretched from the east to west coast of the US and could traverse it in less than 30 mins would have cost roughly the same as the iraq war has cost thus far. Makes you think.

3000 miles in 30 minutes is 6000 mph.

Yeah, check out railgun projectile speeds, then imagine subtracting air resistance from the equation. Of course, accelleration would have to be limited...
It's all pie in the sky and likely would cost a crap-load more than the initial speculation; it was simply a method of showing what the funds could have been spent on.
They probably calculated how much it would cost to build a mile of the track, then multiplied it by 1000.

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: loic2003

Originally posted by: alphatarget1

Originally posted by: loic2003

Originally posted by: alphatarget1
Trains are something that the French really do right

This is true. They arrive *to the minute* that it shows you on the ticket.

As a side note, but not wanting this to turn political, I heared that to fund a maglev train that operated in a vacuum tunnel that stretched from the east to west coast of the US and could traverse it in less than 30 mins would have cost roughly the same as the iraq war has cost thus far. Makes you think.

3000 miles in 30 minutes is 6000 mph.

Yeah, check out railgun projectile speeds, then imagine subtracting air resistance from the equation. Of course, accelleration would have to be limited...
It's all pie in the sky and likely would cost a crap-load more than the initial speculation; it was simply a method of showing what the funds could have been spent on.
They probably calculated how much it would cost to build a mile of the track, then multiplied it by 1000.

Which is extremely flawed, since getting such a tube over or through the Rockies alone would be impractical at best, and more likely impossible. It's a neat idea, but on the surface it doesn't seem at all feasible.

 

[2Xtreme21]

I'm gonna be in France for 2 months over the summer, so I can't wait to ride the TGV's.