109-530: The LGV Interconnexion Est is a French high-speed rail line that connects the LGV Nord , LGV Est , LGV Sud-Est and LGV Atlantique through the suburbs of Paris . Opened in 1994, it consists of three branches, which begin at Coubert : The south and west branches are now shared with the LGV Sud-Est line. Maximum line-speed throughout is 300 km/h (186 mph). Starting from the south ( LGV Sud-Est ),
218-589: A 1921 crash at Porter, Indiana , in which a derail failed to stop one passenger train that had already passed through two red lights from crashing into another at a level junction , killing 37, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) ordered almost a hundred railroads to install automatic train stops by the end of 1925. The railroads opposed the ICC vigorously, noting that stopping longer freights that way might lead to derailments . As
327-408: A carbody design that would reduce wind resistance at high speeds. A long series of tests was carried. In 1905, St. Louis Car Company built a railcar for the traction magnate Henry E. Huntington , capable of speeds approaching 160 km/h (100 mph). Once it ran 32 km (20 mi) between Los Angeles and Long Beach in 15 minutes, an average speed of 130 km/h (80 mph). However, it
436-508: A dedicated high-speed rail line between Washington, D.C., and Boston. He estimated it would cost $ 151 billion and take more than 25 years to design and build the line. The proposed rail line would allow for top speeds of 220 mph (350 km/h). Amtrak officials released a concept report for next-generation high-speed rail within the Northeast Corridor (NEC) on October 1, 2010. Amtrak projected planning and construction of
545-443: A dedicated high-speed rail line which limits its average speed; it reaches a maximum speed of 150 mph (240 km/h) on small sections of its route through Rhode Island and Massachusetts . The travel time between Washington and New York is 2 hours and 53 minutes (compared to 2 hours and 30 minutes for PRR 's nonstop Metroliner in 1969), or an average speed of 79 mph (127 km/h). In September 2019, Amtrak launched
654-605: A high-speed rail line. However, there are plans to upgrade those stretches of track to Class 6 trackage, in which passenger trains can reach speeds up to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), similar to portions of other passenger rail routes in the United States such as Lincoln Service between Chicago and St. Louis and portions of the Brightline West between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, Florida. As of 2024, funding has yet to be available. The Pacific Northwest Corridor or
763-578: A high-speed railway network in Russian gauge . There are no narrow gauge high-speed railways. Countries whose legacy network is entirely or mostly of a different gauge than 1435mm – including Japan and Spain – have however often opted to build their high speed lines to standard gauge instead of the legacy railway gauge. High-speed rail is the fastest and most efficient ground-based method of commercial transportation. However, due to requirements for large track curves, gentle gradients and grade separated track
872-481: A more attractive option for passengers. A study conducted by the International Union of Railways indicated that high-speed trains produced one fifth as much CO 2 as automobiles and jet aircraft. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 dedicated $ 8 billion to intercity rail, with priority for high-speed projects. In 2012, then- Amtrak president Joseph Boardman proposed a plan to build
981-605: A new field of interest. They were officially added to the definition of "railroad" in 1988, and were studied repeatedly. Five high-speed corridors were officially endorsed in October 1992 following passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 . TEA-21 and other legislation continued to be passed with mentions of high-speed rail, but lacking funding or real direction. Nevertheless, no new high-speed service
1090-546: A new top speed for a regular service, with a top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). This train was a streamlined multi-powered unit, albeit diesel, and used Jakobs bogies . Following the success of the Hamburg line, the steam-powered Henschel-Wegmann Train was developed and introduced in June 1936 for service from Berlin to Dresden , with a regular top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). Incidentally no train service since
1199-462: A nonstop New York to Washington which completes the trip in 2 hours and 35 minutes for an average speed of 87 mph (140 km/h). Schedule between New York and Boston is 3 hours 34 minutes, an average speed of only 63 mph (101 km/h). With a 15-minute layover in New York, the entire end-to-end trip averages 68 mph (109 km/h). The largest project for American high-speed rail
SECTION 10
#17327662653341308-478: A red, he still had space to stop the train had he applied his full brakes at the red. As a result, the ICC decided the time had come to force the issue of train control. For the first time it set national rail speed limits . In 1947 it ordered that automatic block signaling be used where freight traveled at more than 49 mph (79 km/h) and on passenger lines where trains went faster than 59 mph (95 km/h). This rule remains in force today. While
1417-421: A result, the requirement was revised to allow waivers for certain lines, and rarely enforced as the debate continued without any real resolution over the next two decades; in the meantime passenger fatalities began declining as the automobile emerged as a transportation option. During the 1930s railroads began to develop lightweight, diesel-powered streamlined trains which provided even faster running times than
1526-555: A some other interurban rail cars reached about 145 km/h (90 mph) in commercial traffic. The Red Devils weighed only 22 tons though they could seat 44 passengers. Extensive wind tunnel research – the first in the railway industry – was done before J. G. Brill in 1931 built the Bullet cars for Philadelphia and Western Railroad (P&W). They were capable of running at 148 km/h (92 mph). Some of them were almost 60 years in service. P&W's Norristown High Speed Line
1635-445: A top speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) and are usually not considered high-speed rail. Brightline, while marketing itself as high-speed rail, more closely meets the definition of higher-speed rail. Despite having a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) along 20 miles (32 km) of newly built track, most of the route is limited to a top speed of 110 mph (180 km/h) due to the presence of grade crossings. As of 2024 ,
1744-569: A world record for narrow gauge trains at 145 km/h (90 mph), giving the Odakyu engineers confidence they could safely and reliably build even faster trains at standard gauge. Conventional Japanese railways up until that point had largely been built in the 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) Cape gauge , however widening the tracks to standard gauge ( 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in )) would make very high-speed rail much simpler due to improved stability of
1853-728: Is a 349 mi (562 km) rail corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh , composed of two different rail lines, the Amtrak Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line and the Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh Line . Between Philadelphia and Harrisburg the Amtrak line is electrified and grade separation was completed in 2014. Between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh the Norfolk Southern owned line
1962-590: Is a proposed high-speed railway to connect New York City to Boston in one hour, 40 minutes. The proposed railway would run across Long Island and tunnel under the Long Island Sound . The project, consisting of two phases, is estimated to cost a total of $ 105 billion as of 2023, which would be among the most expensive public works projects in United States history, and take 20 years to complete. The first phase, costing $ 23.5 billion, would: New York has been actively discussing high-speed rail service since
2071-476: Is a set of unique features, not merely a train travelling above a particular speed. Many conventionally hauled trains are able to reach 200 km/h (124 mph) in commercial service but are not considered to be high-speed trains. These include the French SNCF Intercités and German DB IC . The criterion of 200 km/h (124 mph) is selected for several reasons; above this speed,
2180-763: Is expected to open in 2028 in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics . Following the awarding of a $ 3 billion federal grant in December 2023, construction is currently underway. Although the Surf Line between Los Angeles to San Diego, which hosts the Pacific Surfliner and commuter rail routes such as Metrolink and Coaster, has portions in Orange County and San Diego County that contains Class 5 trackage, which passenger trains can reach speeds up to 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), it would not be considered
2289-706: Is no current rail service in the United States which meets all of the domestic criteria for high-speed rail. Amtrak 's Acela is classified as "higher-speed rail" in the Congressional Research Service report by virtue of being on shared tracks, whereas page 5 of that report also requires dedicated tracks to be classified as "very high-speed rail". In China, high-speed rail is officially defined as "newly-built passenger-dedicated rail lines designed for electrical multiple unit (EMU) train sets traveling at not less than 250 km/h (155 mph) (including lines with reserved capacity for upgrade to
SECTION 20
#17327662653342398-539: Is still in use, almost 110 years after P&W in 1907 opened their double-track Upper Darby–Strafford line without a single grade crossing with roads or other railways. The entire line was governed by an absolute block signal system. On 15 May 1933, the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft company introduced the diesel-powered " Fliegender Hamburger " in regular service between Hamburg and Berlin (286 km or 178 mi), thereby achieving
2507-772: Is the California High-Speed Rail network, which was authorized by voters with Proposition 1A in 2008. In August 2013, the Tutor Perini Corporation signed a $ 1-billion contract to begin construction of the first phase in 2014. Construction began in early 2015. High-speed rail development was a goal of the Obama administration which came into office in January 2009. Higher jet fuel prices, congested airports and highways, and increasing airport security rules have combined to make high-speed rail
2616-492: Is the lead agency charged with planning and implementing the system. The state was awarded $ 2.55 billion in funding from the federal government in 2010. Since the passage of Proposition 1A, cost estimates for the project have risen due to increased planning and disputes over routes. Ridership projections have faced scrutiny by a number of groups including the Reason Foundation. In May 2013, with cost estimates double
2725-788: Is used for freight transportation. In 1999, the Keystone Corridor was formally recognized as a "designated high-speed corridor" by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) . The line, over which Amtrak's Pennsylvanian and Keystone Service routes operate, was upgraded in 2006 with two segments of 110 mph (180 km/h) track. These trains are higher-speed rail services between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, with express service taking 95–100 minutes over 103.6 mi (166.7 km). California Proposition 1A, passed in November 2008, authorized
2834-468: The Acela , a new tilting train manufactured by Alstom and Bombardier , was ordered. The new service ran on the Northeast Corridor , linking Boston , New York City , Philadelphia , Baltimore , and Washington, D.C. The service was inaugurated in December 2000, and was an immediate success, operated at a profit and as of 2012 , it produced about 25% of Amtrak's total service revenue. The Acela lacks
2943-619: The Chicago-New York Electric Air Line Railroad project to reduce the running time between the two big cities to ten hours by using electric 160 km/h (99 mph) locomotives. After seven years of effort, however, less than 50 km (31 mi) of arrow-straight track was finished. A part of the line is still used as one of the last interurbans in the US. In the US, some of the interurbans (i.e. trams or streetcars which run from city to city) of
3052-553: The 0 Series Shinkansen , built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries – in English often called "Bullet Trains", after the original Japanese name Dangan Ressha ( 弾丸列車 ) – outclassed the earlier fast trains in commercial service. They traversed the 515 km (320 mi) distance in 3 hours 10 minutes, reaching a top speed of 210 km/h (130 mph) and sustaining an average speed of 162.8 km/h (101.2 mph) with stops at Nagoya and Kyoto. Speed
3161-681: The Aérotrain , a French hovercraft monorail train prototype, reached 200 km/h (120 mph) within days of operation. After the successful introduction of the Japanese Shinkansen in 1964, at 210 km/h (130 mph), the German demonstrations up to 200 km/h (120 mph) in 1965, and the proof-of-concept jet-powered Aérotrain , SNCF ran its fastest trains at 160 km/h (99 mph). In 1966, French Infrastructure Minister Edgard Pisani consulted engineers and gave
3270-647: The California High-Speed Rail Authority is working on the California High-Speed Rail project and construction is under way on sections traversing the Central Valley . The Central Valley section, between Merced and Bakersfield , is planned to begin passenger service by 2030. Brightline West is a privately operated route that is currently under construction between the Las Vegas Valley and Rancho Cucamonga in
3379-531: The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $ 16.4 billion for 25 projects of significance along the Northeast Corridor , rebuilding tunnels and bridges, upgrading tracks, power systems, signals, stations, and other infrastructure. In 2024, following continuous efforts by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law , the Federal Railroad Administration made $ 2 billion available for projects along the Northeast Corridor . The North Atlantic Rail
LGV Interconnexion Est - Misplaced Pages Continue
3488-537: The Greater Los Angeles area, with service set to begin by 2028. Both projects received funding following the awarding of a federal grant of about $ 3 billion for each. Authorities in the United States maintain various definitions of high-speed rail. The United States Department of Transportation , an entity in the executive branch , defines it as rail service with top speeds ranging from 110 to 150 miles per hour (180 to 240 km/h) or higher, while
3597-590: The Marienfelde – Zossen line during 1902 and 1903 (see Experimental three-phase railcar ). On 23 October 1903, the S&;H-equipped railcar achieved a speed of 206.7 km/h (128.4 mph) and on 27 October the AEG-equipped railcar achieved 210.2 km/h (130.6 mph). These trains demonstrated the feasibility of electric high-speed rail; however, regularly scheduled electric high-speed rail travel
3706-647: The Morning Hiawatha service, hauled at 160 km/h (99 mph) by steam locomotives. In 1939, the largest railroad of the world, the Pennsylvania Railroad introduced a duplex steam engine Class S1 , which was designed to be capable of hauling 1200 tons passenger trains at 161 km/h (100 mph). The S1 engine was assigned to power the popular all-coach overnight premier train the Trail Blazer between New York and Chicago since
3815-583: The New York Central 's " Super Hudsons " as used on the 20th Century Limited ; the Milwaukee Road 's purpose-built Atlantics and Hudsons used in Hiawatha service; the Pennsylvania Railroad 's duplex-drive 4-4-4-4 type T1 locomotives , and two Union Pacific engines, a 4-6-2 and a 4-8-2, used on the "Forty Niner" and other trains. The debate over signaling and train control between
3924-593: The North Central Texas Council of Governments uses the definition of speeds over 150 mph (240 km/h), and the Texas Department of Transportation and Oklahoma Department of Transportation use speeds of 165 mph (266 km/h) or more. These agencies have a separate category for higher-speed rail which can be a wide range of speeds between 80 mph (130 km/h) and 150 mph (240 km/h). The development of
4033-545: The Prussian state railway joined with ten electrical and engineering firms and electrified 72 km (45 mi) of military owned railway between Marienfelde and Zossen . The line used three-phase current at 10 kilovolts and 45 Hz . The Van der Zypen & Charlier company of Deutz, Cologne built two railcars, one fitted with electrical equipment from Siemens-Halske , the second with equipment from Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), that were tested on
4142-668: The RER B and air transport). Shortly thereafter, the line joins the LGV Nord at Vémars junction. High-speed railway High-speed rail ( HSR ) is a type of rail transport network utilizing trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks . While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines built to handle speeds above 250 km/h (155 mph) or upgraded lines in excess of 200 km/h (125 mph) are widely considered to be high-speed. The first high-speed rail system,
4251-729: The Tōkaidō Shinkansen , began operations in Honshu , Japan, in 1964. Due to the streamlined spitzer -shaped nose cone of the trains , the system also became known by its English nickname bullet train . Japan's example was followed by several European countries, initially in Italy with the Direttissima line, followed shortly thereafter by France , Germany , and Spain . Today, much of Europe has an extensive network with numerous international connections. More recent construction since
4360-532: The United Kingdom , the United States , and Uzbekistan . Only in continental Europe and Asia does high-speed rail cross international borders. High-speed trains mostly operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated rights of way with large radii . However, certain regions with wider legacy railways , including Russia and Uzbekistan, have sought to develop
4469-577: The United States Code , which is the official codification of Federal statutes, defines it as rail service "reasonably expected to reach sustained speeds of more than 125 miles per hour". A legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress , the Congressional Research Service , used different terms to clarify the confusion by defining rail services with top speeds less than 150 mph (240 km/h) to be higher-speed rail . There
LGV Interconnexion Est - Misplaced Pages Continue
4578-474: The World Bank , whilst supporting the project, considered the design of the equipment as unproven for that speed, and set the maximum speed to 210 km/h (130 mph). After initial feasibility tests, the plan was fast-tracked and construction of the first section of the line started on 20 April 1959. In 1963, on the new track, test runs hit a top speed of 256 km/h (159 mph). Five years after
4687-558: The 1990s, but thus far little progress has been made. Amtrak Acela service between Washington, D.C. , and Boston is available to New York City , but other cities remain isolated from high-speed rail service. Further, destinations outside the New York metropolitan area have been plagued by delayed service for decades. Nonetheless, New York has been quietly endorsing and even implementing rail improvements for years. Closer and faster railroad transportation links between New York City and
4796-573: The 21st century has led to China taking a leading role in high-speed rail. As of 2023 , China's HSR network accounted for over two-thirds of the world's total. In addition to these, many other countries have developed high-speed rail infrastructure to connect major cities, including: Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , Greece , Indonesia , Morocco , the Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Portugal , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Serbia , South Korea , Sweden , Switzerland , Taiwan , Turkey ,
4905-628: The 250 km/h standard), on which initial service operate at not less than 200 km/h (124 mph)." In Europe the definition of a minimum speed for newly built high-speed railways is 250 km/h (155 mph); for upgraded high-speed railways it is 200 km/h (124 mph). In places where high-speed rail programs are in earlier developmental stages or where substantial speed increases are achieved by upgrading current infrastructure and/or introducing more advanced trains, lower minimum speed definitions of high-speed rail are used. Directive 2008/57/EC defines high-speed rail in terms of speeds of
5014-483: The 450,000 lb f (2,000 kN) European regulations mandate. This results in American passenger cars being heavier. In the 19th century, most long-distance travel in the United States was by horse-drawn wagon, or water vessels. At the end of the century, rail started to supplant these modes of travel, and during the pre-WWII period rail had become the preeminent mode of long-distance travel. Rail transportation
5123-792: The American rail network during the 19th century created structural impediments to the adoption of high-speed rail in the latter half of the 20th that were not present in Europe and Asia. Freight on American railroads had to travel vastly longer distances, so railroads developed longer cars that could be joined into longer trains. In contrast to Europe, these freights traveled past very few older buildings that were at risk of structural damage from vibrations created by heavy passing trains. Even today, American freight cars and their contents may be as heavy as 286,000 lb (130,000 kg), while their European counterparts are limited to 190,000 lb (86,000 kg). With such long and heavy freights often sharing
5232-555: The California High-Speed Rail Authority had only about $ 12.7 billion - approximately one-eighth of the funding required. Governor Gavin Newsom has still expressed support for the project despite the funding shortfall, reduced scope, and swelling costs, which by 2023 were estimated in $ 128 billion. XpressWest, a private undertaking begun in 2005 to build a high-speed service to Las Vegas , Nevada ,
5341-642: The French National Railway started to receive their new powerful CC 7100 electric locomotives, and began to study and evaluate running at higher speeds. In 1954, the CC 7121 hauling a full train achieved a record 243 km/h (151 mph) during a test on standard track. The next year, two specially tuned electric locomotives, the CC 7107 and the prototype BB 9004, broke previous speed records, reaching respectively 320 km/h (200 mph) and 331 km/h (206 mph), again on standard track. For
5450-565: The French National Railways twelve months to raise speeds to 200 km/h (120 mph). The classic line Paris– Toulouse was chosen, and fitted, to support 200 km/h (120 mph) rather than 140 km/h (87 mph). Some improvements were set, notably the signals system, development of on board "in-cab" signalling system, and curve revision. The next year, in May 1967, a regular service at 200 km/h (120 mph)
5559-590: The Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor is one of eleven federally designated high-speed rail corridors in the United States . It was designated a high-speed rail by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). Improvements proposed in Washington State's long range plan would have had passenger trains operating at a maximum speed of 110 miles per hour (180 km/h) on line. The Cascadia high-speed rail
SECTION 50
#17327662653345668-589: The U.S. had not suffered the infrastructure damage it had inflicted on Europe and Japan, it had also developed its road network, leading to the creation of the Interstate Highway System after the war, giving prosperous citizens an efficient way to use the cars they were buying. Europe and Japan, by contrast, had largely not begun to build highway networks and had seen heavy damage to their rail systems. With their citizens impoverished as they rebuilt their economies, and unable to afford automobiles to
5777-606: The US, 160 km/h (99 mph) in Germany and 125 mph (201 km/h) in Britain. Above those speeds positive train control or the European Train Control System becomes necessary or legally mandatory. National domestic standards may vary from the international ones. Railways were the first form of rapid land transportation and had an effective monopoly on long-distance passenger traffic until
5886-524: The beginning of the construction work, in October 1964, just in time for the Olympic Games , the first modern high-speed rail, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen , was opened between the two cities; a 510 km (320 mi) line between Tokyo and Ōsaka. As a result of its speeds, the Shinkansen earned international publicity and praise, and it was dubbed the "bullet train." The first Shinkansen trains,
5995-443: The cancelation of this express train in 1939 has traveled between the two cities in a faster time as of 2018 . In August 2019, the travel time between Dresden-Neustadt and Berlin-Südkreuz was 102 minutes. See Berlin–Dresden railway . Further development allowed the usage of these "Fliegenden Züge" (flying trains) on a rail network across Germany. The "Diesel-Schnelltriebwagen-Netz" (diesel high-speed-vehicle network) had been in
6104-553: The common engines and passenger cars of the day, as the "Zephyr" was constructed using stainless steel and the M-10000 chiefly of the aircraft alloy Duralumin . On May 26, 1934, the Zephyr made a record-breaking "Dawn to Dusk" run from Denver to Chicago. The train covered the distance in 13 hours, reaching a top speed of 112.5 mph (181.1 km/h) and running at an average speed of 77.6 mph (124.9 km/h). The railroad
6213-562: The construction of high-speed rail is more costly than conventional rail and therefore does not always present an economical advantage over conventional speed rail. Multiple definitions for high-speed rail are in use worldwide. The European Union Directive 96/48/EC, Annex 1 (see also Trans-European high-speed rail network ) defines high-speed rail in terms of: The International Union of Railways (UIC) identifies three categories of high-speed rail: A third definition of high-speed and very high-speed rail requires simultaneous fulfilment of
6322-464: The curve radius should be quadrupled; the same was true for the acceleration and braking distances. In 1891 engineer Károly Zipernowsky proposed a high-speed line from Vienna to Budapest for electric railcars at 250 km/h (160 mph). In 1893 Wellington Adams proposed an air-line from Chicago to St. Louis of 252 miles (406 km), at a speed of only 160 km/h (99 mph). Alexander C. Miller had greater ambitions. In 1906, he launched
6431-603: The deputy director Marcel Tessier at the DETE ( SNCF Electric traction study department). JNR engineers returned to Japan with a number of ideas and technologies they would use on their future trains, including alternating current for rail traction, and international standard gauge. In 1957, the engineers at the private Odakyu Electric Railway in Greater Tokyo Area launched the Odakyu 3000 series SE EMU. This EMU set
6540-508: The development of the motor car and airliners in the early-mid 20th century. Speed had always been an important factor for railroads and they constantly tried to achieve higher speeds and decrease journey times. Rail transportation in the late 19th century was not much slower than non-high-speed trains today, and many railroads regularly operated relatively fast express trains which averaged speeds of around 100 km/h (62 mph). High-speed rail development began in Germany in 1899 when
6649-595: The early 20th century were very high-speed for their time (also Europe had and still does have some interurbans). Several high-speed rail technologies have their origin in the interurban field. In 1903 – 30 years before the conventional railways started to streamline their trains – the officials of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition organised the Electric Railway Test Commission to conduct a series of tests to develop
SECTION 60
#17327662653346758-510: The existing shoreline route, a route through Hartford, Connecticut , and a route out along Long Island which would traverse a new bridge or tunnel across Long Island Sound to Connecticut. On July 12, 2017, the Federal Railroad Administration revealed the record of decision for the project. The proposed upgrades have not been funded. In 2013, Japanese officials pitched the country's maglev train technology,
6867-715: The extent Americans could, those countries invested in rail as the primary means of intercity travel. Following the creation of Japan's first high-speed Shinkansen , U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson asked the U.S. Congress to devise a way to increase speeds on American railroads. The request was part of his Great Society infrastructure building initiatives. Congress delivered the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 which passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support. It helped to create regular Metroliner service between New York City and Washington, D.C. , inaugurated in 1969. Trains on
6976-438: The first time, 300 km/h (185 mph) was surpassed, allowing the idea of higher-speed services to be developed and further engineering studies commenced. Especially, during the 1955 records, a dangerous hunting oscillation , the swaying of the bogies which leads to dynamic instability and potential derailment was discovered. This problem was solved by yaw dampers which enabled safe running at high speeds today. Research
7085-456: The first train had had it stopped in the town outside Chicago because he thought something was dragging; within two minutes it was struck from behind by another traveling at 86 mph (138 km/h), killing 45. The engineer of the second train survived the crash, and claimed he had not seen the signal in time to stop his train. Investigation showed that even if he had missed the yellow light going on, warning him to slow down in anticipation of
7194-575: The following two conditions: The UIC prefers to use "definitions" (plural) because they consider that there is no single standard definition of high-speed rail, nor even standard usage of the terms ("high speed", or "very high speed"). They make use of the European EC Directive 96/48, stating that high speed is a combination of all the elements which constitute the system: infrastructure, rolling stock and operating conditions. The International Union of Railways states that high-speed rail
7303-414: The impacts of geometric defects are intensified, track adhesion is decreased, aerodynamic resistance is greatly increased, pressure fluctuations within tunnels cause passenger discomfort, and it becomes difficult for drivers to identify trackside signalling. Standard signaling equipment is often limited to speeds below 200 km/h (124 mph), with the traditional limits of 127 km/h (79 mph) in
7412-461: The initial ones despite greater speeds). After decades of research and successful testing on a 43 km (27 mi) test track, in 2014 JR Central began constructing a Maglev Shinkansen line, which is known as the Chūō Shinkansen . These Maglev trains still have the traditional underlying tracks and the cars have wheels. This serves a practical purpose at stations and a safety purpose out on
7521-474: The late 1940s and it consistently reached 161 km/h (100 mph) in its service life. These were the last "high-speed" trains to use steam power. In 1936, the Twin Cities Zephyr entered service, from Chicago to Minneapolis, with an average speed of 101 km/h (63 mph). Many of these streamliners posted travel times comparable to or even better than their modern Amtrak successors, which are limited to 127 km/h (79 mph) top speed on most of
7630-446: The line begins at Coubert junction and heads northeast. Near Tournan , there is a link to the Paris- Coulommiers line. Further north, Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy TGV station (transfer to the RER A ) serves the new town of Marne-la-Vallée and Disneyland Paris theme parks. Near Claye-Souilly , two links under construction will join the line to the LGV Est . The route next serves Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV station (transfer to
7739-669: The line reached speeds of 125 mph (201 km/h) and averaged 90 mph (140 km/h) along the route, faster than even Acela trains operated between the cities of New York and Washington in 2012. The Metroliner was able to travel from New York to Washington in just 2.5 hours because it did not make any intermediate stops. U.S. federal and state governments continued to revisit the idea of fast trains. The Passenger Railroad Rebuilding Act of 1980 led to funding of high-speed corridor studies in 1984. Private-sector consortia intending to build high-speed lines were created in Florida, Ohio, Texas, California, and Nevada. Maglev trains became
7848-432: The lines in the event of a power failure. However, in normal operation, the wheels are raised up into the car as the train reaches certain speeds where the magnetic levitation effect takes over. It will link Tokyo and Osaka by 2037, with the section from Tokyo to Nagoya expected to be operational by 2027. Maximum speed is anticipated at 505 km/h (314 mph). The first generation train can be ridden by tourists visiting
7957-548: The maximum speed supported by the NEC. In 2012, the Federal Railroad Administration began developing a master plan for bringing high-speed rail to the Northeast Corridor titled NEC FUTURE, and released the final environmental impact statement in December 2016. The proposed alignment would closely follow the existing NEC south of New York City; multiple potential alignments north of New York City were studied, including
8066-562: The most common international definition of high-speed rail (speeds above 155 mph (250 km/h) on newly built lines and speeds above 124 mph (200 km/h) on upgraded lines), Amtrak 's Acela is the United States' only true high-speed rail service, reaching 150 mph (240 km/h) over 49.9 miles (80.3 km) of track along the Northeast Corridor . Acela trains will reach top speeds of 160 mph (255 km/h) when new trainsets enter service in 2024. Other services, like Amtrak's Northeast Regional and Brightline , have
8175-484: The nationwide effort to build a high-speed rail network. Florida legislature approved SunRail in a special session in late 2009, which along with work already completed on the originally proposed line between Tampa and Orlando , was instrumental in the state winning a significant amount of the total amount allotted to high-speed rail. Only California received more high-speed rail funding than Florida. In February 2011, Florida's newly elected governor Rick Scott cancelled
8284-505: The network. The German high-speed service was followed in Italy in 1938 with an electric-multiple-unit ETR 200 , designed for 200 km/h (120 mph), between Bologna and Naples. It too reached 160 km/h (99 mph) in commercial service, and achieved a world mean speed record of 203 km/h (126 mph) between Florence and Milan in 1938. In Great Britain in the same year, the streamlined steam locomotive Mallard achieved
8393-709: The next-generation high-speed Northeast Corridor line to cost approximately $ 117 billion (2010 dollars) and reduce the travel time from New York to Washington, including a stop in Philadelphia, to 96 minutes, and the travel time from Boston to New York to 84 minutes by 2040. In 2012, Amtrak released the details of the proposal. The first of two phases envisions the NEC to be upgraded allowing Acela speed improvements. By 2022, Acela trainsets were to be replaced with new trainsets, named Avelia Liberty , but this has since been pushed out to 2024. The new trainsets will be limited to
8502-469: The official world speed record for steam locomotives at 202.58 km/h (125.88 mph). The external combustion engines and boilers on steam locomotives were large, heavy and time and labor-intensive to maintain, and the days of steam for high speed were numbered. In 1945, a Spanish engineer, Alejandro Goicoechea , developed a streamlined, articulated train that was able to run on existing tracks at higher speeds than contemporary passenger trains. This
8611-626: The order of 200 km/h (124 mph) for existing, upgraded lines, and 250 km/h (155 mph) for lines specially built for high-speed travel. This is the case in the United States. For transportation planning purposes focussing on the development of high-speed rail, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) distinguishes four types of intercity passenger rail corridors: State-level departments of transportation and council of governments may also use different definitions for high-speed rail. For examples,
8720-527: The original figures approved by the voters in 2008, opponents filed lawsuits intended to invalidate the $ 10 billion bond measures which were part of the financing of the rail line. By December 2018, the Authority had 119 miles (192 km) of right-of-way from Madera to near Bakersfield under contract and in construction. However, the estimated cost of a now scaled-down system had increased from $ 33.6 billion to $ 77.3 billion and, including federal funding,
8829-580: The other 22,000 miles (35,000 km) where the rule applied, railroads instead ran their trains under the limit. This made intercity passenger rail an even less competitive option, accelerating its decline as automobile use was increasing and airlines were beginning to compete on longer routes. By the late 1950s many passenger routes that had existed at the time of the Naperville crash had been discontinued. The results of World War II shifted further high-speed rail technological development overseas. While
8938-556: The planning since 1934 but it never reached its envisaged size. All high-speed service stopped in August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of World War II . On 26 May 1934, one year after Fliegender Hamburger introduction, the Burlington Railroad set an average speed record on long distance with their new streamlined train, the Zephyr , at 124 km/h (77 mph) with peaks at 185 km/h (115 mph). The Zephyr
9047-566: The previous express trains. Two early streamliners were the Union Pacific M-10000 (nicknamed Little Zip and The City of Salina ) in revenue service between 1934 and 1942 and the Burlington Railroad's Zephyr . The design of the Zephyr incorporated a diesel-electric power system; the M-10000 used a spark-ignition engine running on "petroleum distillate", a fuel similar to kerosene. These trains were much lighter than
9156-534: The railroads and the ICC had never really been settled, just deferred as passenger deaths declined, in part due to more travelers using their automobiles for shorter commutes and an expanding and improving highway network. It ended in 1946, when one express passenger train crashed into another one that had stopped , both operated by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy , in Naperville, Illinois . The conductor of
9265-423: The railroads generally complied with this rule, affecting 18,000 miles (29,000 km) of track, they were not as tolerant of the ICC's additional requirement for ATS or cab signalling on passenger trains that exceeded 79 mph (127 km/h). Some railroads complied with the equipment requirement in part, and installed it on about 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track. This was what the ICC had hoped for. But on
9374-897: The rest of the state are frequently cited as a partial solution to Upstate's stagnant economic growth. Beginning in 2010, a study conducted by the New York State Department of Transportation identified 10 alternatives for improving the Empire Corridor . In early 2014, a Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement was released for public review and comments. The draft eliminated 5 of the alternatives, including those with top speeds of 160 and 220 mph (260 and 350 km/h). The remaining 5 build alternatives under consideration have top speeds of 79 mph (127 km/h) (the base alternative), 90 mph (140 km/h) (options A and B), 110 mph (180 km/h), and 125 mph (201 km/h). The Keystone Corridor
9483-422: The same tracks as passenger trains, it was necessary to require that passenger cars be able to withstand the higher impact forces of a collision. Axial strength standards, first required for the mail cars where clerks worked sorting mail en route and later applied to passenger cars, require that an American passenger car be able to withstand 800,000 pounds-force (3,600 kN) applied to either end, as opposed to
9592-477: The state to issue $ 9.95 billion in bonds to fund the first phase of a planned multi-phase high-speed rail network. Conventional steel-wheel on rail technology is the adopted mode with trains traveling at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour (350 km/h). Los Angeles to San Francisco via the Central Valley was expected to be the first phase of the network, though the initial operating segments have since become unclear. The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA)
9701-535: The test track. China is developing two separate high-speed maglev systems. In Europe, high-speed rail began during the International Transport Fair in Munich in June 1965, when Dr Öpfering, the director of Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Federal Railways), performed 347 demonstrations at 200 km/h (120 mph) between Munich and Augsburg by DB Class 103 hauled trains. The same year
9810-540: The wider rail gauge, and thus standard gauge was adopted for high-speed service. With the sole exceptions of Russia, Finland, and Uzbekistan all high-speed rail lines in the world are still standard gauge, even in countries where the preferred gauge for legacy lines is different. The new service, named Shinkansen (meaning new main line ) would provide a new alignment, 25% wider standard gauge utilising continuously welded rails between Tokyo and Osaka with new rolling stock, designed for 250 km/h (160 mph). However,
9919-451: The world's fastest, for the Northeast Corridor to regional U.S. politicians. The trains could travel from New York to Washington in an hour. Northeast Maglev , using SCMaglev technology developed by Central Japan Railway Company , is currently working with the FRA and MDOT to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. The project has received a $ 27.8 million grant from the FRA. In 2023,
10028-474: The world's first countries to get high-speed trains (the Metroliner service in 1969), it failed to spread. Definitions of what constitutes high-speed rail vary, including a range of speeds over 110 mph (180 km/h) and dedicated rail lines. Inter-city rail with top speeds between 90 and 125 mph (140 and 200 km/h) is sometimes referred to in the United States as higher-speed rail . Under
10137-629: The world's population, without a single train passenger fatality. (Suicides, passengers falling off the platforms, and industrial accidents have resulted in fatalities.) Since their introduction, Japan's Shinkansen systems have been undergoing constant improvement, not only increasing line speeds. Over a dozen train models have been produced, addressing diverse issues such as tunnel boom noise, vibration, aerodynamic drag , lines with lower patronage ("Mini shinkansen"), earthquake and typhoon safety, braking distance , problems due to snow, and energy consumption (newer trains are twice as energy-efficient as
10246-593: Was a proposed dedicated high-speed rail line that would have connected Salem / Portland , Vancouver WA / Olympia / Tacoma / Seattle / Everett , and Bellingham, Washington . As of 2012, neither the Washington State Department of Transportation nor Oregon plan to implement speeds higher than 79 mph (127 km/h) due to safety and other freight service concerns voiced by the track owner, Union Pacific Railroad . The plan to provide high-speed and higher-speed rail services on this corridor
10355-470: Was achieved by providing the locomotive and cars with a unique axle system that used one axle set per car end, connected by a Y-bar coupler. Amongst other advantages, the centre of mass was only half as high as usual. This system became famous under the name of Talgo ( Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol ), and for half a century was the main Spanish provider of high-speed trains. In the early 1950s,
10464-532: Was acquired by Brightline in 2018 and its name changed to Brightline West . In April 2020, The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank approved $ 3.25 billion in tax-exempt private activity bonds for the project and acquired a 50-year lease from Caltrans for use of the Interstate 15 corridor . The line, from Rancho Cucamonga station to a station near the Las Vegas Strip ,
10573-476: Was added to the U.S. passenger rail system following the Metroliners. In 1993, the U.S. attempted to improve service between Boston and New York by electrifying the Northeast Corridor north of New Haven, Connecticut and buying new train sets to replace the 30-year-old Metroliners and run on the newly electrified route. Some existing trains (Swedish X 2000 and German ICE 1 ) were tested, but finally,
10682-530: Was also made about "current harnessing" at high-speed by the pantographs, which was solved 20 years later by the Zébulon TGV 's prototype. With some 45 million people living in the densely populated Tokyo– Osaka corridor, congestion on road and rail became a serious problem after World War II , and the Japanese government began thinking about ways to transport people in and between cities. Because Japan
10791-569: Was estimated to be completed by early 2019. Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has expressed his desire to see a Cascadia innovation corridor, linking together the main economic centers of the Pacific Northwest. Development of a high-speed rail system in Florida was mandated by a constitutional referendum in 2000 but taken off the books by another referendum in 2004. Florida resurrected its high-speed rail authority to capitalize on
10900-403: Was extended a further 161 km (100 mi), and further construction has resulted in the network expanding to 2,951 km (1,834 mi) of high speed lines as of 2024, with a further 211 km (131 mi) of extensions currently under construction and due to open in 2031. The cumulative patronage on the entire system since 1964 is over 10 billion, the equivalent of approximately 140% of
11009-626: Was inaugurated by the TEE Le Capitole between Paris and Toulouse , with specially adapted SNCF Class BB 9200 locomotives hauling classic UIC cars, and a full red livery. It averaged 119 km/h (74 mph) over the 713 km (443 mi). High-speed rail in the United States Plans for high-speed rail in the United States date back to the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 . Various state and federal proposals have followed. Despite being one of
11118-480: Was made of stainless steel and, like the Fliegender Hamburger, was diesel powered, articulated with Jacobs bogies , and could reach 160 km/h (99 mph) as commercial speed. The new service was inaugurated 11 November 1934, traveling between Kansas City and Lincoln , but at a lower speed than the record, on average speed 74 km/h (46 mph). In 1935, the Milwaukee Road introduced
11227-504: Was not high-speed by modern standards but inter-city travel often averaged speeds between 40 and 65 miles per hour (64 and 105 km/h). Most of the major railroads had faster than normal trains called "express" or "limited" on their mainline routes (e.g. the Empire State Express and the 20th Century Limited ) between major towns and cities. The development of faster trains faced indirect regulatory hurdles. After
11336-407: Was not only a part of the Shinkansen revolution: the Shinkansen offered high-speed rail travel to the masses. The first Bullet trains had 12 cars and later versions had up to 16, and double-deck trains further increased the capacity. After three years, more than 100 million passengers had used the trains, and the milestone of the first one billion passengers was reached in 1976. In 1972, the line
11445-525: Was resource limited and did not want to import petroleum for security reasons, energy-efficient high-speed rail was an attractive potential solution. Japanese National Railways (JNR) engineers began to study the development of a high-speed regular mass transit service. In 1955, they were present at the Lille 's Electrotechnology Congress in France, and during a 6-month visit, the head engineer of JNR accompanied
11554-402: Was still more than 30 years away. After the breakthrough of electric railroads, it was clearly the infrastructure – especially the cost of it – which hampered the introduction of high-speed rail. Several disasters happened – derailments, head-on collisions on single-track lines, collisions with road traffic at grade crossings, etc. The physical laws were well-known, i.e. if the speed was doubled,
11663-468: Was thus halted. Upgraded services would include the Amtrak Cascades , which operates along the corridor. In early 2018, Washington State pledged money to studying ultra-high-speed rail between Vancouver BC, Seattle, and Portland with 250 mph (400 km/h) speed operation. After a preliminary study, the state pledged $ 300,000 in funding and was shortly backed by British Columbia. The study
11772-477: Was too heavy for much of the tracks, so Cincinnati Car Company , J. G. Brill and others pioneered lightweight constructions, use of aluminium alloys, and low-level bogies which could operate smoothly at extremely high speeds on rough interurban tracks. Westinghouse and General Electric designed motors compact enough to be mounted on the bogies. From 1930 on, the Red Devils from Cincinnati Car Company and
11881-549: Was unable to capitalize on this since the Depression had cut into the demand for intercity rail travel. Many steam locomotives were streamlined during this time to attract passengers, and the first steam streamlined locomotive was the New York Central's Commodore Vanderbilt . Some of these steam locomotives became very fast: some were said to exceed 120 mph (190 km/h) on a regular basis. Examples include
#333666