France's TGV train smashed the world rail speed record Tuesday, providing an important image boost for French industry in an increasingly competitive world market. An experimental version of the fast train, equipped with two supercharged locomotives and extra-large wheels, hit 574.8 kilometres per hour (357.2 miles per hour) on a specially prepared stretch of track east of Paris. Wow. Amazing engineering. But I wonder what its top forward speed is.
The record smashed the 515.3 kph set by a TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse or high-speed train) in 1990, but narrowly missed the overall world train speed record of 581 kph (360.8 mph) reached in 2003 by a Japanese magnetic levitation, or Maglev, train.
Manufacturer Alstom arranged the exploit in order to test its latest engineering designs in extreme conditions, and also to display the TGV's technological prowess to potential international clients.
President Jacques Chirac sent his congratulations on "this new proof of the excellence of the French rail industry." "Economically efficient and respectful of the environment, the TGV is a major asset in efforts to ensure sustainable development in transport," Chirac said.
European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said that "thanks to French engineers, Europe is the champion of the world."
| Tallest dwarf in the circus. |
France's electrically-powered fast trains have been operating since 1981, daily reaching speeds of 320 kph over some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) of track. The latest line -- to open in July -- reduces travel time from Paris to the eastern city of Strasbourg from four hours to two hours and 20 minutes. It was on a section of the Paris-Strasbourg line, prepared with extra ballast and boosted overhead electric cables, that Tuesday's speed record was broken. The special train -- dubbed V150 -- was at one point travelling at more than 150 metres per second. The train reached similar speeds in trials in recent months, but this was the first test to be officially monitored.
"What is important for us today is to prove that the TGV technology which was invented in France 30 years ago is a technology for the future," said Guillaume Pepy, director-general of the state rail company SNCF, which is TGV's main customer. Outside France only South Korea has so far bought TGV trains.
Japan's Shinkansen "bullet train" and the Inter-City Express (ICE) of the German company Siemens are the other major players in a global fast train market that has been boosted recently by environmental concerns about the impact of air transport. Bombardier of Canada and Talgo of Spain are also manufacturers.
The Shinkansen and the ICE currently average about 300kph (186 mph) but a new version of the Japanese train, the Fastech 360Z, is expected to operate at 360kph (223.5 mph) when it enters service. Alstom is preparing a new generation of TGVs -- also capable of 360 kph -- to come on line from 2012.