What is the highest speed a train can reach?
1: Shanghai Maglev - 460 kph/286 mph (China)
The world's fastest public train is also unique -- it's the only link in the world currently carrying passengers using magnetic levitation (Maglev) rather than conventional steel wheels on steel rails.
Their bullet trains can go anywhere from 200 to 275 MPH with passengers on them. Standard passenger cars in the United States travel anywhere from 100 to 120 MPH, but trains aren't always able to travel at those speeds due to a few different factors. Here are some of the factors that influence how fast a train can go.
China debuts 400-mph 'super bullet' maglev train
In the Chinese city of Chengdu, they debuted a new envelope-pushing maglev train on a 540-ft (165-m) test track. The train was created to move at speeds up to 385 mph (620 km/h), but the researchers claimed they are pushing the maximum speed to 497 mph (800 km/h).
The current world speed record for a commercial train on steel wheels is held by the French TGV at 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph), achieved on 3 April 2007 on the new LGV Est. The trainset, the track and the cantenary were modified to test new designs.
The majority of the trains which run on the Hokkaido line are Hayabusa Shinkansen trains. They operate between Tokyo and Hakodate with a top speed of 320 km/h (200 mph).
Trains have the right-of-way because they cannot quickly stop for a motorist at crossings or for trespassers on the tracks. The average freight train, traveling at 55 MPH, takes anywhere from 1 to 1½ miles to stop. Traveling at the same speed, the average automobile can stop in only 200 feet.
The train is the fastest by far on the planet, and it literally flies while suspended and propelled by magnetic forces. Built in China by a trio of German companies and the Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co., it reaches 430 km/h (268 mi/h)—130 km/h faster than Japan's famous bullet train.
When Englishman Richard Trevithick launched the first practical steam locomotive in 1804, it averaged less than 10 mph. Today, several high-speed rail lines are regularly travelling 30 times as fast.
Faster inter-city trains: 1920–1941
Rail transportation was not high-speed by modern standards but inter-city travel often averaged speeds between 40 and 65 miles per hour (64 and 105 km/h).
Despite fears of what traveling at superfast speeds would do to the human body, trains in the 1850s traveled at 50 mph or more and, somewhat surprisingly at the time, did not cause breathing problems or uncontrollable shaking for their passengers.
Why US don't have fast trains?
The U.S. has strong property rights which makes securing land exceedingly expensive. Back when it was cheap to secure land, the U.S. had no problem building train tracks across the country. In China, land is still largely controlled by the State which makes it much easier to secure.
The bullet train, or “Shinkansen”, is a type of passenger train which operates on Japan's high-speed railway network. Capable of reaching a maximum speed of 320kms per hour, the bullet train offers riders an exceptionally unique and efficient travel experience.
On China's top-of-the-line "bullet train," the journey takes 4.5 hours. If I wanted to travel a comparable distance in the US by train — at 712 miles, New York to Chicago is the closest — it would take 22 hours, with a transfer in Washington, DC.
The distance between New York and Los Angeles is approximately 2446 miles, or 3936 kilometers. The average train journey between these two cities takes 78 hours and 28 minutes, although the absolute fastest you could get there is 67 hours and 20 minutes.
It remains the fastest commercial train in the world with peak speeds of 431 km/h (268 mph) and makes the 30.5 km (19.0 mi) trip in less than 7.5 minutes.
On the train itself are superconducting electromagnets, called bogies. When stopped, the train rests on rubber wheels. To begin motion, the train moves forward slowly on these wheels, allowing the magnets beneath the train to interact with those of the guideway.
Because of their size, weight and speed, trains do not stop quickly, even under emergency conditions. From the time the brake is applied to the time that the train stops, it may cover more than a mile of track. This means that even well-trained workers may have no way to avoid an accident.
- Siemens Velaro E/AVs 103: 400 kmph. Image Source: ...
- TGV POS: 357 mph. Image Source: ...
- CRH380A Hexie: 302 mph. Image Source: ...
- Shanghai Maglev: 267 mph. Image Source: ...
- Hemu -430 X: 262 mph. Image Source: ...
- Fuxing Hao CR400AF/BF: 249 mph. ...
- The Frecciarossa: 245 mph. ...
- Shinkansen H5 and E5: 224 mph.
The Glacier Express is the world's slowest train, taking more than eight hours to travel between Zermatt and St. Moritz in Switzerland at an average of 18mph. Along the way, it passes over nearly 300 bridges, travels through 91 tunnels and takes in endless stunning Alpine views.
2. The old steam engines were usually run well below 40MPH due to problems with maintaining the tracks-- but could go much faster. I seem to recall a 45 mile run before 1900 in which a locomotive pulled a train at better than 65MPH... (Stanley Steamer cars were known to exceed 75MPH).
How fast would a bullet go in space?
At 9000km altitude, escape velocity is about 7.1km/s. A rifle's muzzle velocity is around 1km/s, so a bullet fired from a stationary position would either be caught in an orbit or eventually fall to Earth, depending on the direction of fire.
If you go to the front of a train that is moving at 1,000 mph and shoot the gun forward, the bullet will move away from you and the train at 1,000 mph, just as it would if the train were stopped. But, relative to the ground, the bullet will travel at 2,000 mph, the speed of the bullet plus the speed of the train.
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At A Glance (1942)
| National Rail Network (1945) | 226,696 Miles |
|---|---|
| Average Freight Train Speed | 15.9 mph |
| Soldiers Carried In 13 Month Period | 11 million |
Do electric trains have gears? Modern locomotives use electric traction instead of gears as electric traction is much more flexible than gears. Diesel fuels generators from the combustion engine and transform the energy using an alternator, which runs the traction motors.
It was on 30 November 1934 that Flying Scotsman achieved the first properly authenticated 100mph for a steam engine. This was while she was running between Leeds and London. The Flying Scotsman was saved for the nation this year and is now - like City of Truro - in the ownership of the National Railway Museum.
The train is expected to reach speeds of 180 mph, allowing for two times faster travel than by car. The project will reduce 400,000 tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to removing 3 million vehicles. Overall, 50 million one-way trips occur annually between LA and Las Vegas. Developers aim to begin operation in 2026.
By the 1960s, things really started to ramp up for rail and the promise for high-speed travel across nations. Record-breaking speeds were being reached across Europe and a few prestige services were reaching averages of 100mph (160km/h) on some stretches.
In 1964, the first track was the Tokaido Line, a 320-mile-long link between Tokyo and Osaka that reduced the trip from six-and-a-half hours (on conventional trains) to three hours and 10 minutes, traveling at a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour.
In the 1930s, the top and the average speeds between two cities using steam, electric or diesel power were 180 km/h and 135 km/h respectively.
By 1910 trains reached the speeds of 90 km/h leaving post coaches to fill the secondary spot but soon to be replaced by motorized buses. Today the ICE and the TGV can operate at 320 km/h roughly 100 times the speed of post coach turn of the 19th century.
How fast were trains in 1870?
The speed of trains varied according to the conditions of tracks and bridges, dropping to nine miles per hour over hastily built sections and increasing to thirty-five miles per hour over smoother tracks. Most travelers of the early 1870*5 mentioned eighteen to twenty-two miles per hour as the average.
Watch how smoothly this maglev train will cruise at speeds above 300 mph between Tokyo and Osaka.
When Englishman Richard Trevithick launched the first practical steam locomotive in 1804, it averaged less than 10 mph. Today, several high-speed rail lines are regularly travelling 30 times as fast.
Maximum train speeds will be about 220 miles per hour (350 km/h) in the dedicated HSR segments, and about 110 miles per hour (180 km/h) in the blended segments.
(1) A streamlined body: To achieve speeds of 200 kilometers per hour (130 miles per hour) and more, the trains needed to be as aerodynamic (to cause as little wind resistance) as possible. That is why the front cars of the Shinkansen trains are tapered like the nose of an airplane.