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High-speed Rail In France
France has a large network of high-speed rail lines. As of June 2021, the French high-speed rail network comprises of tracks, making it one of the largest in Europe and the world. As of early 2023, new lines are being constructed or planned. The first French high-speed railway, the LGV Sud-Est, linking the suburbs of Paris and Lyon, opened in 1981. In addition to serving destinations across France, the high-speed rail system is also connected to the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. The SNCF, France's state-owned rail company, operates both a premium service (TGV inOui) and a budget service ( Ouigo). The French national high-speed rail network follows the spoke-and-hub model, centered on Paris. Besides its main operator, the SNCF, it is also used by Eurostar, Thalys, Deutsche Bahn, Trenitalia France, RENFE, and the Swiss Federal Railways. Tracks The newest high-speed lines allow speeds of in normal operation: orig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Track Ballast
Track ballast is the material which forms the trackbed upon which railroad ties (UK: sleepers) are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to bear the compression load of the railroad ties, rails, and rolling stock; to facilitate drainage; and keep down vegetation that can compromise the integrity of the combined track structure. Ballast also physically holds the track in place as the trains roll over it. Not all types of railway tracks use ballast. A variety of materials have been used as track ballast, including crushed stone, washed gravel, bank run (unwashed) gravel, torpedo gravel (a mixture of coarse sand and small gravel), slag, chats, coal cinders, sand, and burnt clay. The term "ballast" comes from a nautical term for the stones used to stabilize a ship. Construction The appropriate thickness of a layer of track ballast depends on the size and spacing of the ties, the amount of traffic on the line, and various other factors. Track ballast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HSL-Zuid
The HSL-Zuid (, ), is a 125 kilometre-long (78 mile) High-speed rail in the Netherlands, Dutch high-speed rail line running between the Amsterdam metropolitan area and the Belgium–Netherlands border, Belgian border, with a branch to Breda, North Brabant. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway. Originally scheduled to be in service by 2007, the first public operations began on 7 September 2009, after a ceremony on 6 September. Intercity Direct operates between Amsterdam and Breda, for the time being with conventional Intercity carriages and TRAXX locomotives. On 13 December 2009 Thalys began services from Amsterdam to Paris and Brussels on the HSL-Zuid. On 4 April 2018 the first scheduled Eurostar connected Amsterdam to London via the HSL-Zuid. Talks about a high-speed line between Amsterdam and the Belgian border started under Prime Minister Joop den Uyl (1973–1977); work began during Wim Kok's first term (1998–2002). The Rij ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, the tunnel is below the sea bed and below sea level. At , it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world and is the List of longest railway tunnels, third-longest railway tunnel in the world. While designed to accommodate trains travelling at up to , for safety, trains are restricted to a top speed of through the tunnel. The tunnel is owned and operated by Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel. The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, LeShuttle services for road vehicles and Rail freight transport, freight trains. It connects end-to-end with high-speed railway lines: the LG ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Speed 1
High Speed 1 (HS1), officially the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel. It is part of the line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; it also carries domestic passenger traffic to and from stations in Kent and east London, and continental European loading gauge freight traffic. From the Channel Tunnel, the line crosses the River Medway, and tunnels under the River Thames, terminating at St Pancras railway station, London St Pancras International station on the north side of central London. It cost £6.84 billion to build and opened on 14 November 2007. Trains run at speeds of up to on HS1. There are intermediate stations at in London, Ebbsfleet International railway station, Ebbsfleet International in northern Kent and Ashford International railway station, Ashford International in southern Kent. International passenger services are provided by Eurostar Intern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contournement Nîmes – Montpellier
The Contournement Nîmes – Montpellier (English: "Nîmes – Montpellier Bypass"), also known as the LGV Nîmes–Montpellier (French: LGV for ''ligne à grande vitesse''), is a French high-speed railway line, bypassing the cities of Nîmes and Montpellier in Southern France. It has the distinction of being the first ''ligne à grande vitesse'' to be intentionally built for mixed passenger and freight traffic."Nîmes-Montpellier Bypass High-Speed Line." ''railway-technology.com'', Retrieved: 19 May 2018. The programme was developed with the aim of providing the capacity for several new passenger services, including a 30% increase in the frequency of regional trains, as well as additional freight traffic. Additional benefits include a reduction in travel time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tours
Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole functional area (France), metropolitan area was 516,973. Tours sits on the lower reaches of the Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Formerly named Caesarodunum by its founder, Roman Augustus, Emperor Augustus, it possesses one of the largest amphitheaters of the Roman Empire, the Tours Amphitheatre. Known for the Battle of Tours in 732 AD, it is a National Sanctuary with connections to the Merovingian dynasty, Merovingians and the Carolingian dynasty, Carolingians, with the Capetian dynasty, Capetians making the kingdom's currency the Livre tournois. Martin of Tours, Saint Martin and Gregory of Tours were from Tours. Tours was once part of Touraine, a former provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TGV Duplex
The TGV Duplex is a French high-speed train of the TGV family, manufactured by Alstom, and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. They were the first TGV trainsets to use bi-level passenger carriages with a seating capacity of 508 passengers, increasing capacity on busy high-speed lines. While the TGV Duplex started as a small component of the TGV fleet, it has become one of the system's workhorses. A total of 160 Duplex trainsets were built: the original order of 89 first constructed in 1995, an additional 19 Réseau Duplex trainsets created as an extension of the TGV POS project in 2006, and 52 second-generation Dasye trainsets were first delivered in 2007 with revised traction motors and safety systems. The Duplex design was further refined into the third generation Euroduplex. Purpose The LGV Sud-Est from Paris to Lyon is the busiest high-speed line in France. After its opening in 1981 it rapidly reached capacity. Several options were available to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axle Load
The axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight bearing on the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle. Axle load is an important design consideration in the engineering of roadways and railways, as both are designed to tolerate a maximum weight-per-axle (axle load); exceeding the maximum rated axle load will cause damage to the roadway or railway tracks. Railway use On railways, a given section of tracks is designed to support a maximum axle load. The maximum axle load is determined by train speeds, weight of rails, density of sleepers and fixtures, amount and standard of ballast, and strength of bridges and earthworks. Higher operating speeds can be achieved by reducing axle loads and increased load-carrying capacity. Operating above the specified load can cause catastrophic failure of track components. The diameter of the wheels also affects the maximum axle load of a Talgo RD wagon. United Kingdom The standard rail weight for British railways is now . Befo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piston Effect
Piston effect refers to the forced-air flow inside a tunnel or shaft caused by moving vehicles. It is one of numerous phenomena that engineers and designers must consider when developing a range of structures. Cause In open air, when a vehicle travels along, air pushed aside can move in any direction except into the ground. Inside a tunnel, air is confined by the tunnel walls to move along the tunnel. Behind the moving vehicle, as air has been pushed away, suction is created, and air is pulled to flow into the tunnel. In addition, because of fluid viscosity, the surface of the vehicle drags the air to flow with vehicle, a force experienced as skin drag by the vehicle. This movement of air by the vehicle is analogous to the operation of a mechanical piston as inside a reciprocating compressor gas pump, hence the name "piston effect". The effect is also similar to the pressure fluctuations inside drainage pipes as waste water pushes air in front of it. The piston effect is v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swingnose Crossing
A swingnose crossing or moveable point frog is a device used at a railroad switch to eliminate the gap at the common crossing (a.k.a. Railroad switch#Components, frog) which can cause damage and noise. Fixed crossing On a fixed railway crossing, the wheels need only drift by a small angle, say 1 in 20, before the vehicle may start to go in the wrong direction at the V of a V-crossing. This problem can limit the maximum speed of vehicles using the crossing. In addition, the open gap at a fixed V-crossing forms a weak point on the railway line where the heavily loaded wheel must bump across the resulting gap of about , supported only by the portion of the wheel tread which is on the wing rail. This pounds the rail so much that the steel can deform and/or wear away. This damage may easily spread to other components including the wheels, and the noise can be a nuisance. Scheduling repair of damage can also be a problem in high traffic locations. Swingnose crossings virtually e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railroad Switch
A railroad switch (American English, AE), turnout, or (set of) points (Commonwealth English, CE) is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one Rail tracks, track to another, such as at a Junction (rail), railway junction or where a Branch line, spur or Siding (rail), siding branches off. Design The parts of a turnout are known by different names in different jurisdictions. The main terms in U.S. and UK usage are shown in the selectable diagrams. In this article, the U.S. term is listed first and UK second, in parentheses. The most common type of switch consists of a pair of linked tapering rails, known as ''points'' (''switch rails'' or ''point blades''), lying between the diverging outer rails (the ''stock rails''). These points can be moved laterally into one of two positions to direct a train coming from the point blades toward the straight path or the diverging path. A train moving from the narrow end toward the point blades (i.e. it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
