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96-448: The Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed line is an international high-speed rail line between Perpignan in Roussillon , France and Barcelona , Spain. The line consists of a 175.5-kilometre (109.1 mi) railway, of which 24.6 km (15.3 mi) are in France and 150.8 km (93.7 mi) are in Spain. The line is sometimes referenced as an extension of the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line . The Perpignan–Barcelona line

192-409: A TGV service from Paris via Perpignan to Figueres–Vilafant and regular freight traffic started on 21 December 2010. Eventually the 44.5-kilometre (27.7 mi) international section was officially inaugurated on 27 January 2011. However, the delay in the opening of the natural extension of the line between Figueres and Barcelona led to lower traffic than expected and therefore to lower revenues for

288-572: A break-of-gauge , implying that passengers and cargo must either change trains, or the trains must pass through gauge-changing installations at the border. Another same-gauge connection to France is planned near the Atlantic coast in the Basque country , and a third link via Huesca crossing the central Pyrenees mountains through a 40 kilometres (25 mi) tunnel is under study. France has left-hand traffic for trains and Spain right-hand one, so

384-408: 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

480-432: A ceremony attended by both French and Spanish dignitaries. Much of the excavation was performed by a pair of tunnel boring machines (TBMs). During November 2008, test running commenced; the international section was officially opened on 17 February 2009. However, the running of services were delayed until December 2010 because the station at Figueres was not finished. Services in the section started on 19 December 2010 with

576-554: A commercial agreement between the two companies in a cooperation called Elipsos. However, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, only the trains linking Barcelona with Paris and Barcelona with Lyon were running with one daily train in each direction. In February 2022 SNCF announced the break up of the company Elipsos and since then the French operator relaunched its high-speed service between Paris and Barcelona on its own under

672-491: A consiquence, France and Spain, through the Railway infrastructure managers SNCF Réseau and Adif, took over operations of the line, as well as the debt. This takeover took place on 21 December 2016, by the joint subsidiary "Línia Figueres-Perpinyà" (or "Línea Figueras Perpignan S.A."), created on 21 October 2016. The track on the new line is standard gauge using 25 kV AC railway electrification at 50 Hz, consistent with

768-440: A flyover was built around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the border ( 42°33′33″N 2°51′04″E  /  42.55929°N 2.85120°E  / 42.55929; 2.85120 ). The line from Perpignan to Figueres is a mixed-traffic high-speed railway (that is allowing passenger trains and freight trains) of 44.4 km (27.6 mi), including 24.6 km (15.3 mi) on the French side and 19.8 km (12.3 mi) on

864-457: A geographic feature has been a historic challenge to cross-border traffic. By the 1990s, increasing cross-border activity was being constrained by congestion on the existing road and air links. Furthermore, officials recognised that the existing conventional cross-border line, which involved a break of gauge , was far slower than new infrastructure would have been. Railway planners proposed two different cross-border high speed rail lines traversing

960-510: A government or company does not require the submission of an original business proposal and is looking solely to award a contract based on the best tender submitted. As a result, whereas ITTs are often decided based on the best price offered, decisions on RFPs may also involve other considerations such as technology and innovation. Both are forms of reverse auction . At the same time, variants may be requested in an ITT, which allow suppliers to offer proposals which differ in non-essential terms from

1056-578: 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

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1152-482: A joint venture of Eiffage (France) and Dragados (Spain). The group constructed the line for an estimated cost of approximately €1.1 billion, and was to operate it for 53 years. It received a public subsidy of €540 million, split between the European Union , France and Spain. The European Union also provided 25 percent of the cost of the original construction works. From the onset, the construction timeline

1248-546: 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

1344-555: 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

1440-463: A standard pre-qualification questionnaire, for example the UK government has developed standard core PQQ questions which have been revised several times and are mandated for use across government, and has also stipulated that PQQs should not be used by central government contracting bodies when procuring goods or services valued less than the threshold values set by UK procurement legislation. A tender box

1536-413: A two-stage process; the first stage comprises issuing an expression-of-interest (EOI) tender call, resulting in a shortlist of selected suitable vendors. The reasons for using restricted tenders differ in scope and purpose. Sole source tenders involve only one potential supplier being invited to submit a tender. A sole source tender may be used where there is essentially only one suitable supplier of

1632-443: A week run over the line from Barcelona, with journey times reduced by 6 hours: one train each way to Lyon, and one each way to Milan. On 28 November 2013, Renfe and SNCF announced the opening of direct long-distance services from 15 December 2013, with daily SNCF TGV Euroduplex trains between Paris – Barcelona, and AVE Renfe 100 series trains for the routes Toulouse – Barcelona, Lyon – Barcelona, Marseille – Madrid, based on

1728-569: 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

1824-418: Is a mailbox used to receive the physical tender or bid documents, or a digital equivalent. The tender box is not implemented in every country around the world. A tender validity date is a date until which a tenderer commits to keeping their prices (and other tender details) open for acceptance (or otherwise) by the client. Such a date is usually included in a form of tender, either as a specified date or as

1920-602: Is a part of the Mediterranean Corridor . During the mid 1990s, both France and Spain resolved to build a high speed crossing of the Pyrenees mountains that separate the two countries; such a line was forecast to secure a 30 per cent share of the land transport market, and be of particular importance to freight movements. On 17 February 2004, a concession was awarded to the TP Ferro consortium, which included

2016-476: 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,

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2112-463: Is applicable to proposals of different quality within the limits set. Under this the proposals are graded according to their price for value and the contract is awarded to the one with the best grade. Similar to this is the grading of the proposals according to time, making the proposals needing less time of implementation seem more valuable. One of the proposed for public tenders within the EU. The contract

2208-480: Is awarded to a bid close to the mean value of the proposals received. This may apply to procurements where numerous proposals are expected and there is a need for a market-representing value. Under this method the proposals that are deviating the most from the mass of the proposals are excluded and then the procedure continues with one of the above methods. There are also many variants and/or combinations of these main methods. Upon completion of tender evaluation it

2304-621: Is expected to start in 2029 beginning with the Montpellier-Béziers section. Public consultation took place in beginning 2015 and the preliminary high-speed route and station locations were approved by the French transport ministry in February 2016. Initial construction plans for the Montpellier-Béziers section forecast the construction to last 10 years plus another 10 years for the Béziers-Perpignan section. Financing for

2400-539: 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

2496-554: Is the first stage in the link between the Spanish high-speed network and LGV Méditerranée and the line will carry a mix of freight and high-speed trains. A 25-year Public–Private Partnership agreement was signed in June 2012, construction works completed in December 2017 and the first passenger services to Montpellier Sud de France station commenced on 7 July 2018. Work on the 150 kilometres (93 mi) LGV Montpellier–Perpignan

2592-619: 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

2688-553: 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

2784-681: 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

2880-680: The European Economic Area and beyond. The term "notice inviting tenders" (NIT) is often used in India. The European Union 's institutions often use the terms "calls for tenders" and "calls for expressions of interest". Open tenders (also known as open calls for tenders or advertised tenders) are open to all vendors or contractors who can guarantee performance. Restricted tenders (also known as restricted calls for tenders or invited tenders) are only open to selected pre-qualified vendors or contractors. The tender stage may form part of

2976-590: 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

Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line - Misplaced Pages Continue

3072-647: 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

3168-545: 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

3264-641: The Pyrenees ; the Figueras-Perpignan route towards the Mediterranean being one while the other, between Dax and Vitoria , was closer to the Atlantic . During 1992, the governments of France and Spain began to discuss options for improving cross-border connectivity via the creation of a new international railway between the two countries to accommodate high volume of traffic that had been projected. On 10 October 1995, both governments signed

3360-515: The TGV inOui brand with the timetable change in December 2022. This Barcelona-Paris remained for a while the only high-speed service in operation between the two countries, until Renfe introduced its own new services on the routes Barcelona-Lyon from 13 July 2023 and Madrid-Marseille from 28 July 2023. As of January 2013 there are eight trains a day running from Madrid, connecting at Figueres Vilafant with two TGV services to Paris. Since December 2013,

3456-729: 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

3552-532: 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

3648-474: 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

3744-573: 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 ,

3840-617: The French LGV and Spanish AVE high-speed rail networks. The line was delivered on 17 February 2009, three months after its connection to the French railway network. However, the first train connection did not take place until 19 December 2010 due to delays in the delivery of the Figueres station. The first service to Barcelona was conducted on 9 January 2013 after the completion of the Figueres-Barcelona line. During 2014,

3936-414: The French LGV and Spanish AVE high-speed rail networks. The line is used by both passenger and freight trains, the maximum grade being limited to 12 ‰. The design speed is 350 kilometres per hour (220 mph). The line's design was heavily shaped by its need to accommodate freight trains; this can be seen in its use of gentler gradients than those typically found on the average LGV line. This line

Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-554: The French TGV high-speed network. A TGV service from Paris via Perpignan started on 19 December 2010 to a temporary station at Figueres and a connecting service on the classic line on to Barcelona and Madrid . The total journey time from Paris to Barcelona has been reduced by 1h 15m to 7h 25m (current Paris-Barcelona travel time by train is 6h 41m). Of that, 5h 30m was spent on the Paris to Figueres segment. Initially there

4128-642: 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

4224-565: 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)

4320-534: The Madrid agreement, formally declaring their intention to build a double tracked standard gauge high speed line through the Pyrenees between Perpignan (France) and Figueras (Spain). During the following year, the scheme became one of 20 priority projects highlighted under the wider Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) programme. Prior to the project's launch, extensive surveying efforts were conducted to support

4416-609: The Spanish side, with UIC standard gauge. The design speed (or maximum nominal speed) of this line is 350 km/h (220 mph) but the maximal commercial speed is currently 300 km/h (190 mph). The railway crosses the French – Spanish border via the Perthus Tunnel , an 8.3 km (5.2 mi) tunnel bored under the Perthus Pass. This line constitutes line no. 837 000 of the French national rail network, under

4512-606: 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

4608-579: 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,

4704-690: The building of a 4-kilometre tunnel in Girona , the first phase of which was finished in September 2010, as well as controversy over the route between Sants and Sagrera stations in Barcelona. The section was eventually completed in January 2013 at a cost of €3.7 billion and the entire line officially opened on 8 January 2013. This connected for the first time the Spanish AVE high-speed network with

4800-443: 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

4896-553: The companies Eiffage (France) and ACS / Dragados (Spain), under which the consortium constructed the line at an estimated cost of around €1.1 billion, and was to operate it for 50 years. The most significant civil engineering work on the line was the 8.3-kilometre (5.2 mi) Perthus Tunnel under the Perthus Pass; the line crosses the French–Spanish border within this tunnel. The line uses standard gauge track and 25 kV AC railway electrification at 50 Hz, consistent with

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4992-424: The concessionaire's financial situation deteriorated the collected tolls being insufficient to repay its creditors the sum of €500 million; a liquidation order for TP Ferro was issued two years later. The line in now operated by France and Spain via the Railway infrastructure managers SNCF Réseau and Adif. Between the nations of France and Spain lies a natural barrier in the form of the Pyrenees mountain range,

5088-401: The concessionaire, which was generated via a toll system. During early 2014, the concessionaire experienced a catastrophic financial situation as the collected tolls were insufficient to repay the €500 million which had been borrowed from various banks. In July 2015, the company announced that it was insolvent ; on 15 September 2016, the court of Girona ordered the liquidation of TP Ferro. As

5184-562: 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

5280-464: 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

5376-603: 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

5472-508: 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

5568-595: 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

5664-581: The fall of 2025. The total cost of the project is 6 billion euros. High-speed rail 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,

5760-438: 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

5856-575: 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

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5952-414: 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

6048-461: 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

6144-630: The journey time for the TGV Paris–Barcelona service has been 6 hours 25 minutes. Lyon to Barcelona is expected to take less than four hours using the standard line in France between Perpignan and Nîmes . A new company jointly owned by RENFE and SNCF is to be formed to run services between Paris and Madrid. Ten new trains are to be purchased at a cost of €300 million. Tendering for the Nîmes–Montpellier bypass route started in May 2010. This

6240-542: 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

6336-408: The line's construction of the project was the twin bore Perthus Tunnel , which had a length of 8.3 kilometres (5.2 mi) under the Perthus Pass. Various other bridges, tunnels, and miscellaneous civil engineering works were also required, however their cost was dwarfed by that of the tunnel ($ 375 million) by a considerable margin. On 19 July 2005, construction of the tunnel was officially launched at

6432-429: The line's future construction. While the forecasted passenger figures on their own did not justify construction of the line, the need for effective freight movements via a modern fast line was apparent; while annual freight traffic between Spain and the rest of Europe had reached 144 million tonnes by 1998, rail freight across all of the four conventional lines then available comprised just three per cent of that total. It

6528-432: 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

6624-447: The name "Ligne de Perpignan à Figueras (LGV)", although it is not legally part of it. This 131 km (81.4 mi) line is part of the Spanish "Madrid-Barcelona-French Border" line. It is also a mixed-traffic high-speed railway, with an operating speed of up to 290 km/h (180 mph). The Spanish 131-kilometre (81.4 mi) Barcelona–Figueres section was originally planned to open in 2009, however, delays were encountered during

6720-505: 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

6816-469: 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

6912-608: 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

7008-407: The preferred bidder to construct the line. However, negotiations between the consortium and the two national governments ultimately broke down and the whole process was annulled in 2003. Furthermore, legal action had been threatened by one of the unsuccessful bidders against both governments and the consortium over alleged discrepancies in the bidding process. Shortly thereafter, the tendering process

7104-526: The project was agreed in January 2022 while a special purpose body to oversee delivery, financing and project management was formed in March 2022. The 54 kilometres (34 mi) Montpellier-Béziers section is now expected to be operational by 2034 with the Béziers - Perpignan section to follow construction by end 2039 and be completed by 2044. For the second section a new public consultation is expected to begin in

7200-489: The proposition method asked by the procurement management: This method is the simplest and oldest of all. Under this the procurement contract is awarded to the best price. Some relevant methods are these of examining the overall or in parts and in total discount in a given price list or on a given budget. One of the options available under rules applicable to government procurement in the European Union (EU). This

7296-478: The services or product. Tenders have a bid preparation period available to bidders. Research has shown that the length of this period might affect the number of bids and, as a result, the level of competition among tenderers. Supplier questionnaires or pre-qualification questionnaires ensure that potential suppliers are all asked the same information when assessing their suitability to be invited to tender or to have their tenders evaluated. Some organisations issue

7392-676: The supplies or services requested. The European Commission has suggested that requesting variants is one way in which suppliers can be asked to offer more socially responsible solutions to meeting public needs. Public sector organisations in many countries are legally obliged to release tenders for works and services. In the majority of cases, these are listed on their websites and traditional print media. Electronic procurement and tendering systems or e-procurement are also increasingly prevalent. The European Union states that 235,000 calls for tender are issued annually using its Tenders Electronic Daily system, including those issued by countries in

7488-514: The termination of a specified period from another key tender date. For example, in tendering for gym equipment in 2013, West Dunbartonshire Council required tenderers to accept that "Your tender shall remain open for acceptance for ninety (90) days from the date for return of tenders indicated above, or any subsequent date notified to you by us. Your tender may be accepted by us at any time during this period." There are several different methods for available for tender evaluation, which are related to

7584-535: 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

7680-540: 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,

7776-629: 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

7872-462: Was a service of two Paris-Figueres TGVs per day, which connected with two Renfe Alvia trains a day between Barcelona and Figueres via the conventional broad gauge line and a temporary double gauge track. From January 2013 there was a service of nine Renfe AVE trains a day between Figueres and Barcelona with eight services continuing on to Madrid. Renfe started a standard-gauge freight service on 21 December 2010. As of January 2011 four freight trains

7968-415: 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,

8064-530: 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

8160-479: Was anticipated that the rail link would promptly achieve a 30 per cent share of the land transport market across the Pyrenees; traffic in the first year of operations alone was expected to be around 3.5 million passengers and 4.2 million tonnes of freight. During 2002, following a competitive bidding process, it was announced that the Euroferro consortium, comprising Bouygues and Dragados , had been selected as

8256-403: 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

8352-474: 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). Invitation to tender Unlike a request for proposal (RFP), which is used when a company sources for business proposals , ITTs are used when

8448-543: 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

8544-407: 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

8640-408: Was particularly stringent, although considerable planning had been completed beforehand; this hastiness was politically driven, partially due to the either nation being obligated to pay an indemnity to the concessionaire for failures that resulted in the project overrunning its established opening date. At the height of construction activity, in excess of 1,500 workers are employed in the project; work

8736-406: Was performed in shifts across all hours of the day. The financing arrangements were particularly complex, incorporating a public–private partnership (PPP), the involvement of 18 banks , and a €540 million subsidy ; however, there were no minimum usage or similar such guarantees imposed on either SNCF and Renfe or the two governments. The most challenging single piece of civil engineering in

8832-417: Was relaunched with a tighter specification and a less flexible contract model along with additional stipulations pertaining to both negotiation and strict deadlines. While the second tender was more coldly received by the industry, attracting only three consortia, the negotiation process was relatively fast. On 17 February 2004, a contract for the construction of the line was awarded to the TP Ferro consortium,

8928-472: 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

9024-402: 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,

9120-401: Was the first rail connection between Spain and the rest of Europe constructed without a break-of-gauge and the first international connection to the standard-gauge Spanish AVE network. Traditional Spanish rail lines are broad gauge based on the Spanish vara 1,668 mm ( 5 ft  5 + 21 ⁄ 32  in ), so rail connections between France and Spain have traditionally involved

9216-477: 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

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