13-10-2010, 04:32 PM
High Speed Trains.doc (Size: 77.5 KB / Downloads: 145)
HIGH SPEED TRAINS
INTRODUCTION
When English inventor Richard Trevithick introduced the steam locomotive on 21 February 1804 in Wales, it achieved a speed of 8 km/h (5 mph). In 1815, Englishman George Stephenson built the world's first workable steam locomotive. In 1825, he introduced the first passenger train, which steamed along at 25 km/h (16 mph). Today, trains can fly down the tracks at 500 km/h (311 mph). And fly they do, not touching the tracks.
There is no defined speed at which you can call a train a high speed train but trains running at and above150 km/h are called High Speed Trains.
.
THE DECLINE OF RAIL AS A FORM OF PASSENGER TRANSPORT
Since the automobile has become more widespread with the existence of motorways, cars may reach speeds of up to 75 mph (120 km/h) or thereabouts depending on local laws. Standard mainline railway trains running at 100 mph (160 km/h) have found it difficult to compete with the car, as once journey time to and from the station and waiting for the trains had been calculated, rail travel did no longer offer a significant journey time advantage over the car. In order to attract people to railways ticket prices had to be at the lowest possible, meaning minimal profits. No one would want to build a brand new railway line; the interest payments would crush any company. All this has meant that in the early-mid 20th century new railways were unheard of and some small lines were often closed down because they made a loss.
It seems quite exciting for rail that now today railways are making a come-back. Thousands of miles/km of new railways has been built in the last decade, and new lines are under construction all over the world. Since 1981, over 1000 km (600 miles) of new track has been laid for high speed trains in France.