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British Rail Class 458
The British Rail Class 458 ''Juniper'' ( 4-JOP later 5-JUP) is a class of electric multiple-unit passenger trains of the Alstom Coradia Juniper family, built at Washwood Heath between 1998 and 2002 for South West Trains. The order for the original fleet of 30 four-car trains was placed in 1997, and delivery of the first unit followed in October 1998. The fleet entered passenger service between 2000 and 2003 and is maintained at Bournemouth depot. Between 2013 and 2016, the class was merged with the mechanically similar Class 460 fleet and extensively rebuilt to form a fleet of 36 five-car units—designated Class 458/5—to provide an increase in capacity on services into . The trains are now used by South Western Railway. In March 2021, South Western Railway announced that 28 Class 458 units would be refurbished for use on long-distance services on the Portsmouth Direct line, as a result of the company deciding to abandon its original plan to use upgraded Class 442 units ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alstom
Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional and urban trains along with trams. The company and its name (originally spelled Alsthom) was formed by a merger between the electric engineering division of Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (Als) and Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston (thom) in 1928. Significant acquisitions later included the Constructions Électriques de France (1932), shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique (1976), and parts of ACEC (late 1980s). A merger with parts of the British General Electric Company formed GEC Alsthom in 1989. Throughout the 1990s, the company expanded its holdings in the rail sector, acquiring German rolling stock manufacturer Linke-Hofmann-Busch and Italian rail signaling specialist Sasib Railways. In 1998, GEC Alsthom was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insulated-gate Bipolar Transistor
An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily forming an electronic switch. It was developed to combine high efficiency with fast switching. It consists of four alternating layers (NPNP) that are controlled by a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) gate structure. Although the structure of the IGBT is topologically similar to a thyristor with a " MOS" gate ( MOS-gate thyristor), the thyristor action is completely suppressed, and only the transistor action is permitted in the entire device operation range. It is used in switching power supplies in high-power applications: variable-frequency drives (VFDs) for motor control in electric cars, trains, variable-speed refrigerators, and air conditioners, as well as lamp ballasts, arc-welding machines, photovoltaic and hybrid inverters, uninterruptible power supply systems (UPS), and induction stoves. Since it is designed to turn on and off rapidly, the IGBT can synthesize complex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Transport In Great Britain
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest railway system in the world. The first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825, which was followed by an era of rapid expansion. Most of the track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2024 had a network of of standard-gauge lines, of which were Railway electrification in Great Britain, electrified. In addition, some cities have separate metro, light rail and tram systems, among them the historic London Underground and the Glasgow Subway. There are also many List of British heritage and private railways, private railways, some of them British narrow gauge railways, narrow-gauge, which are primarily short lines for tourists. The main rail network is connected with that of continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel and High Speed 1, opened in 1994 and 2007 respectively. In 2024, there were 1.612 billion journeys on the National Rail network, making the British network the List of countries by rail usage, fifth most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slam-door Trains
A slam-door train or slammer is a set of railway coaches, a diesel multiple unit (DMU) or electric multiple unit (EMU) that were designed before the introduction of automatic doors on Passenger car (rail), railway carriages in the United Kingdom and other countries, which feature manually operated doors. The name is due to of the characteristic 'slam' noise made by the doors when closed quickly. Some slam-door train designs featured doors that could only be opened from the outside, so passengers had to lean out of the window to reach the outside door handle. Slam-door trains often had many more doors than newer trains; some designs featured a door for every individual seating bay; some units had individual Compartment coach, compartment doors. The term "slam-door train" is more commonly applied to British Railways Mark 1, Mark 1 and British Railways Mark 2, Mark 2 DMUs and EMUs, though may refer to locomotive-hauled trains featuring the same door design. History Slam-door ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Western Franchise
South Western was a Rail franchising in Great Britain, railway franchise for the provision of passenger services from London Waterloo railway station, London Waterloo to destinations in Surrey, Hampshire, Somerset, Dorset, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Devon on the South West Main Line, South West, Portsmouth Direct Line, Portsmouth Direct and West of England Main Line, West of England main lines. In 2007, the franchise was combined with the smaller franchise for the Island Line (train operating company), Island Line on the Isle of Wight. History South West Trains In December 1995, the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising awarded the franchise to South West Trains, a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach. Operations started on 4 February 1996. In April 2001, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) awarded Stagecoach a new franchise after it beat bids from FirstGroup/Abellio (transport company), NedRailways and Sea Containers. The 2001 franchises awarded were (as White paper, pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 442
The British Rail Class 442 ( 5-WES) ''Wessex Electrics'' were electric multiple unit passenger trains introduced in 1988 by Network SouthEast on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth to coincide with the electrification of the line from Bournemouth. Twenty-four five-car units were built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Derby Litchurch Lane Works. Following the privatisation of British Rail, the fleet was sold to Angel Trains and operated by South West Trains up until February 2007, when they were replaced by Class 444 and Class 450s. After a period in storage, they were leased to Southern for use on Gatwick Express services from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton. The units were withdrawn from Gatwick Express services in 2016 and from Southern peak-hour London Bridge to Brighton and Eastbourne services in March 2017. From 2019, eighteen were leased by South Western Railway and were refurbished for use on London Waterloo to Portsmouth H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Multiple-unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages. An EMU is usually formed of two or more semi-permanently coupled carriages. However, electrically powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as EMUs. The vast majority of EMUs are passenger trains but versions also exist for carrying mail. EMUs are popular on intercity, commuter, and suburban rail networks around the world due to their fast acceleration and pollution-free operation, and are used on most rapid-transit systems. Being quieter than diesel multiple units (DMUs) and locomotive-hauled trains, EMUs can operate later at night and more frequently without disturbing nearby residents. In addition, tunnel design for EMU trains is simpler as no provision is needed for exhausting fumes, although retrofittin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tightlock Coupling
Type H Tightlock couplers are a variety of Janney coupler, typically used on North American mainline passenger rail cars. They have mechanical features that reduce slack in normal operation and prevent telescoping in derailments, yet remain compatible with other Janney types used by North American freight railroads. Like all Janney couplers, the Tightlock is "semi-automatic". The couplers automatically lock when cars are pushed together, but workers must go between cars to hook up the air lines for the pneumatic brakes and connect cables for head-end power and other communications. To separate cars, a worker must use a lever to move the locking pin that keeps the coupler closed. In Europe, some operators experimented with making fully automatic tightlock couplers by adding integral pneumatic and electric connectors, but these connections proved unreliable, and most have switched to the more common fully automatic Scharfenberg coupler. Janney Type H Tightlock coupler stand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Protection & Warning System
The Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) is a train protection system used throughout the British passenger main-line railway network, and in Victoria, Australia. According to the UK Rail Safety and Standards Board, the purpose of TPWS is to stop a train by automatically initiating a brake demand, where TPWS track equipment is fitted, if the train has: passed a signal at danger without authority; approached a signal at danger too fast; approached a reduction in permissible speed too fast; approached buffer stops too fast. TPWS is not designed to prevent signals passed at danger (SPADs) but to mitigate the consequences of a SPAD, by preventing a train that has had a SPAD from reaching a conflict point after the signal. A standard installation consists of an on-track transmitter adjacent to a signal, activated when the signal is at danger. A train that passes the signal will have its emergency brake activated. If the train is travelling at speed, this may be too late to stop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Automatic Warning System
Automatic Warning System (AWS) is a railway safety system invented and predominantly used in the United Kingdom. It provides a train driver with an audible indication of whether the next Railway_signal, signal they are approaching is clear or at caution. Depending on the upcoming signal state, the AWS will either produce a 'horn' sound (as a warning indication), or a 'bell' sound (as a clear indication). If the train driver fails to acknowledge a warning indication, an emergency brake application is initiated by the AWS; if the driver correctly acknowledges the warning indication, by pressing an acknowledgement button, then a visual 'sunflower' is displayed to the driver, as a reminder of the warning. Principles of operation AWS is a system based on trains detecting magnetic fields. These magnetic fields are created by permanent magnets and electromagnets installed on the track. The polarity and sequence of magnetic fields detected by a train determine the type of indication ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regenerative Brake
Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerative brakes work by driving an electric motor in reverse to recapture energy that would otherwise be lost as heat during braking, effectively turning the traction motor into a generator. Feeding power backwards through the system like this allows the energy harvested from deceleration to resupply an energy storage solution such as a battery or a capacitor. Once stored, this power can then be later used to aid forward propulsion. Because of the electrified vehicle architecture required for such a braking system, automotive regenerative brakes are most commonly found on hybrid and electric vehicles. This method contrasts with conventional braking systems, where excess kinetic energy is converted to unwanted and wasted heat due to friction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
