Traveling by rail almost immediately after the invention of the steam locomotive became the fastest way to overcome distances, and this situation has persisted for more than a century. Only in the XX century, which became an era of development of the automotive industry and aviation, did this championship become contested. But engineering does not stand still, and modern expresses, in the construction of which many aerospace technologies are used, today may well compete in swiftness with other modes of transport.
Train race
The technical rivalry of countries is expressed in different ways, including the desire to create the fastest train in the world. The leadership in this race for the last decades has been shared by Japan, France and Germany, but the rapid development of the industrial and scientific base in the countries of the Asian region suggests that China and South Korea will soon challenge traditional manufacturers. In addition to economic feasibility, the answer to the question of which train is the fastest determines the foreign trade and even political prestige of the state, just as in the middle of the 20th century world leaders were worried about space priority. The similarity is reinforced by the technological richness of the latest railway projects.
Technical problems and solutions
The speed of any land vehicle is limited by high levels of friction, air resistance and safety factors. All three of these circumstances are fundamentally insurmountable hindrances, but this does not mean that the degree of their influence cannot be reduced. The experience gained by aircraft manufacturers in creating aerodynamic forms, monorail and magnetic levitation technologies are the main paths that the creators of modern railways have taken. High-speed trains are created for their operation on a regular railway track or other specially laid overpasses. A scientific breakthrough in the physics of magnetism has created the conditions for the application of the latest technologies that allow you to literally fly over rails.
New japanese track
Before the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, the fastest train in the world was created to deliver guests to sports facilities. Its name “Shinkansen” is translated from Japanese as “new track”, the size of which was made according to the mainland standard. The speed was impressive, at that time it was fantastic. In some sections, the train developed 270 km / h, allowing you to get to Osaka in three hours. The project turned out to be quite expensive, but paid off in three years. The main difficulty was the creation of a high-precision railway track, but there were other technical problems that received original solutions.
Japanese and French competition
The speed record in the early seventies was broken by the French. The TGV train moves at a speed of over 330 km / h, which is currently considered the norm for this type of transport. But it turned out that the Japanese project “Shinkansen” has the most important of the technical characteristics of any technical system, namely, the modification potential. The possibility of improving it allowed to keep the primacy. The absolute world record is 581 km / h, this figure determines a different, unofficial name for Shinkansen, “bullet”. Today, almost half a century after the start of traffic on the Osaka-Tokyo line, it is the fastest train in the world.
How did the French succeed?
Despite the considerable age (it was commissioned in 1971), the French Gran Vitesse TGV firmly holds the second place. But, like athletes, trains perform in different nominations. In 2007, this miracle of technology accelerated to a record speed of almost 575 km / h. This value is inferior to the achievement of the Japanese counterpart, but the fact is that magnetic suspensions were not used in the design of the TGV POS model. Thus, this French express train is the fastest train in the world moving along ordinary rails. There is another feature of this unique vehicle: its length is almost 400 meters. This is the largest train in the world in terms of capacity among high-speed trains.
Chinese "German"
Passengers arriving at Shanghai Airport can reach the city in minutes. Right at the terminal is the final stop of the Maglev train. Having left the “accordion” ramp and proceeding along the huge terminal building, the arrivals enter the carriage, which in its interior is no different from a transcontinental jet liner: the same airplane seats, and even pretty stewardesses. The distance to the nearest metro station is more than 30 kilometers, this train overcomes it in about seven minutes. On the scoreboard installed above the entrance doors, you can track the developed speed, it exceeds 500 km / h in the daytime after acceleration. At night, the express train moves slightly slower (430 km / h), due to safety reasons. As the name implies, designers overcame the friction force by magnetic levitation. It should be noted that, despite its Chinese “registration”, the Shanghai Maglev Train has German roots. It was created in Germany by specialists from Transrapid, which also developed other high-speed trains in the world. The SMT model, which became the basis of Shanghai Maglev, has been finalized in accordance with the wishes of the customer. The fare in this miracle of technology is quite affordable - 40 yuan, which corresponds to about five US dollars.
But what about us?
Russian successes in high-speed rail traffic are still modest. The 250 km / h that Sapsan is developing recently seemed like a fantastic result, but amid the achievements of leading manufacturers, it is no longer impressive. In addition, despite the Russian name, it has a foreign origin, made in Germany by the world famous Siemens company. This express, running between St. Petersburg and Moscow, was not included in the top ten. It is not known whether in the near future Russian designers will try to create the fastest train in the world. The development costs of the rolling stock itself are high, but the associated infrastructure will be much more expensive. However, Russia still remains a great railway power, both in terms of the total length of tracks, and in the volume of cargo transported, and in passenger traffic. So time will tell.