China tests high-speed snow train

[northwichcat]

Believed to be the only train in the world capable of such speeds in frozen conditions, it will run on a new line that links Dalian, a port city on China's North East coast, to Harbin, which is blanketed by snow for much of the winter.

The new trains will cut the journey time on the 570-mile line from nine hours to just three-and-a-half.
The Chinese authorities said it was particularly challenging to construct a line that would operate not only at -40C in winter, but at temperatures of up to 40C in the summer.

"We researched high-speed railway line construction in relatively cold areas of Germany and Japan and learned from water and electricity supply projects in frigid areas," said Zhang Xize, the chief engineer of the railway, to the China Daily.

He said the ice could disrupt the train's power supply and signals system, but vowed that every possible safety measure had been taken.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9596165/China-tests-high-speed-snow-train.html

Maybe Eurostar need these in the event of getting extra fluffy snow again.

 

[tsr]

Wow, and to think we're impressed when East Coast manage to run a HST at 125mph when it's sleeting slightly...

 

[TGV]

If this train can run at 300km/h through powdery snow in -18C conditions then plunge into a 30 mile long tunnel at +25C and 80% humidity without a single flashover.... THEN I'll be impressed.

 

[chuckles1066]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9596165/China-tests-high-speed-snow-train.html

Maybe Eurostar need these in the event of getting extra fluffy snow again.

FGW certainly do seeing as the moment we get more than a thimbleful of rain (and we live in a country that experiences more precipitation than most other northern hemisphere territories so you'd think they'd have learned to cope by now) then the whole service here disintegrates into Keystone Cops-type farce.

24th September being a classic example of how you don't run a railway.....don't use those little boards with yellow led's to say the next train is on time and then, twenty minutes after it was due to arrive (and is still being displayed as being on time), just remove it as though it's disappeared into a black hole.

:roll:

 

[miikey]

Sounds amazing. I wonder what temperature they stress the rails to!
dealing with -40 to +40 Celsius temperatures must put an awe full lot of stress on the rails and rail support system!

 

[Bungle73]

but vowed that every possible safety measure had been taken.

If he says so.....

How long until one crashes?

and we live in a country that experiences more precipitation than most other northern hemisphere territories

Are you sure about that?

24th September being a classic example of how you don't run a railway.....don't use those little boards with yellow led's to say the next train is on time and then, twenty minutes after it was due to arrive (and is still being displayed as being on time), just remove it as though it's disappeared into a black hole.

:roll:

Here's a little snippet from the SE website which explains how the system works. Obviously it's a different TOC but I'm quite sure it's exactly the same system.

The train running information is obtained 'live' from the track circuit and is transferred to the Customer Information System (CIS) displays by a series of electronic 'triggers' on the tracks that are similar to those used by the signalling system.

When a train is delayed or cancelled, the CIS automatically detects this and updates the displays accordingly. If a train stops in between a set of triggers the CIS system will not be updated with the new delay until the train moves again and activates the next trigger, so there may be a period showing a delay time in minutes which then changes to a different delay time, or gives other information if there is a problem .

This explanation explains a great many strange occurrences with the displays imo.