Many people associate trains with a rather uncomfortable and long journey. But it turns out that in order for the journey to be pleasant, you just need to choose the right railways along which the fastest trains rush. Here we are talking about regular trains that operate with various systems, rail, magnetic or air cushion.

Fast, but still not leaders, among trains are present in different countries of the world. We invite you to familiarize yourself with them.

The fastest trains in the world

The Taiwanese THSR 700T train travels at a speed of 335 kilometers per hour and carries almost a thousand passengers. These trains are equipped with cruise control, as well as a shock-absorbing device to protect against accidents at low speeds.

The South Korean high-speed train Hyundai Rotem has been running on the tracks since 2009. Its speed is 352 kilometers per hour. Such trains operate even in Ukraine. But, by a strange coincidence, trains constantly break down near Poltava.

The French TGV Reseau accelerates to 380 kilometers per hour. The cabin seats exactly 377 passengers. And this fastest train consumes 25 thousand volts of alternating current.

Japan's first high-speed train, Shinkasen, appeared in 1964. Its speed is quite impressive - 443 kilometers per hour. The train can be set in motion by 25 thousand volts of alternating current.

The stylish German train TR-09, which operates on the principle of a magnetic levitation system, has a speed of 450 kilometers per hour. By the way, the history of magnetic levitation technology goes back to the 40s of the last century, but commercial implementation was completed only in 2004.

The fastest train in China

Previously, the fastest train in the world ran in China. It reached speeds of up to 380 kilometers per hour. And the composition is distinguished not only by speed, but also by the highest level of safety, comfort and environmental friendliness. It is planned to be sent along a railway line under construction, which goes from Beijing to Shanghai. The length of the road is 1318 kilometers.

And this passenger train, which is called “Hese”, which claimed the title of the fastest train in the world, made its first flight from the Chinese city of Wuhan to Guangzhou. The distance between them is only a little over a thousand kilometers. The train left Wuhan and reached its final destination in less than three hours. At the same time, the average speed of the train was 341 kilometers per hour. And during test runs on the same route, the cars moved at a speed of about 394 kilometers per hour.

The fastest train in Russia

Well, the fastest train in Russia is the Sapsan. This is a high-speed electric train from Siemens, which was purchased by Russian Railways for running on local roads. By the way, “Peregrine Falcon” is named after the peregrine falcon; it is the fastest bird in the world from the order of falcons. When attacked, its speed is 300 kilometers per hour.

Japanese train Shinkansen 500, a new generation train.

The maximum design speed of the Sapsan is 350 kilometers per hour. But on Russian railways the train can move at a speed of only 250 kilometers per hour. For most of the journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg, the train travels at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. But in one section, between Malaya Vishera and Okulovka, Mstinsky Bridge, it increases to 250 kilometers per hour.

It is worth noting that Siemens trains are different from European ones. In particular, air intakes are placed on the roof, so the trains can operate at ambient temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius. But the salons are 30 centimeters wider than standard European ones. And this is due, first of all, to the width of the Russian gauge and, of course, the size of the CIS rolling stock, which differs significantly from the European one.

The fastest train in the world

The record speed of movement on a railway track is 574 kilometers per hour. And it belongs to the fastest train in the world, TGV POS. During testing in 2007, this French electric train reached a speed of exactly 574.8 kilometers per hour. And this figure became a world record for rail trains. The record-breaking train runs to Germany and Switzerland from France, but at a lower speed.

It is also worth noting the fastest maglev train in the world. This is the Japanese MLX01. Its record speed was recorded in 2003. Then he accelerated to 581 kilometers per hour.

There is another example with impressive speed. Another record was recorded in Japan. The high-speed train, called Hayabusa, which began operating in 2011, has been called the fastest train in the world, but also the most stylish. Inside the train, in the business class carriages, you feel like you are on board a modern airliner. And it moves at speeds of up to 500 kilometers per hour.

This super modern, fastest train in the world, according to railway workers, was created for two daily flights from Tokyo to Aomori. The road should extend through the amazingly picturesque and beautiful countryside that is located in the north of Honshu.

The fastest trains of the future

It is worth noting that from 1960 to this day, the Japanese Shinkansen train manufacturing network has been designing, producing and selling trains that can rightfully be called perfect high-tech innovations, popular both in Japan and far beyond its borders.

Sapsan train from inside

By the way, there is already a demand for Hayabusa business class trains. The main consumer is the USA, a country that is interested in very fast, and also safe and environmentally friendly trains. Well, those who want to ride on the long-nosed green-silver and ultra-fast, the fastest train in the world will have to pay about 320 dollars.

It is worth noting that the idea of ​​​​setting speed records in Japan will not be left alone, since the country plans to launch a magnetic railway by 2027, which will connect the country's capital and the city of Nagoya. But by 2045, the Japanese want to build a road from Tokyo to Osaka, in the west of the island. And, according to plans, a one-way trip should take only one hour and 7 minutes. This figure is twice as fast as it can be done now.
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Trains are in a hurry, but not at all to the dustbin of history - on the contrary, every year they become more convenient, quieter and faster. Viewers of the Discovery Channel will be able to learn about how modern public transport is maintained in the “Mega Pit Stops” project, which airs on Saturdays at 11:00 (one of the episodes of the project is dedicated to the Russian “Sapsan” - you can watch it on May 18 ), and “Popular Mechanics” will tell about the history of the highest speed trains on the planet.

Editorial PM

Express and high speed

The concept of “high-speed train” does not have a generally accepted definition: it is usually said about railway transport, whose speed is on average higher than that of traditional trains: for example, in Russia, trains that reach speeds of 140 km/h and above are recognized as high-speed, and in India In Canada, this threshold is 160 km/h. But with the definition of “high-speed train” everything is much simpler: as a rule, this is the name given to all railway vehicles that can exceed the 200 km/h mark.

By the way, this threshold was taken at the beginning of the twentieth century by an experimental electric car from Siemens & Halske in October 1903, and just three weeks later the electric car from AEG already demonstrated a speed of 210.2 km/h. The first high-speed line (or HSR for short) appeared only in 1964 - it was the Japanese Tokaido Shinkansen line with a length of 515.4 km. The route quickly gained popularity and the costs of building the line were recouped in just seven years. The success of Japan contributed to the development of high-speed rail in many countries, and it continues to this day, and modern high-speed trains are direct confirmation of this.

Japan: Shinkansen trains

Although the name "Shinkansen" is translated from Japanese as "new highway", these trains are more often colloquially called "bullet trains": largely due to their impressive speed - many models have a design speed exceeding 300 km/h - and partly due to appearance of the zero series, which became a symbol of the Shinkansen.

The Shinkansen Series 0 electric trains were the first vehicles to enter service on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line in 1964. The line was electrified with single-phase alternating current 25 kV with a frequency of 60 Hz, and the wheel sets of all cars were powered by 185 kW traction motors, which provided a maximum speed of 210 km/h (in 1986 it was increased to 220 km/h). This line was built with a 1435 mm gauge, wider than the rest of the network (1067 mm). Thus, it cannot be used for freight transport or for trains other than shinkansen. The very first representatives of the series included 12, less often 16, cars; after a while they were joined by four- and six-car versions.

In 1982, the next series of electric trains on the Shinkansen network, numbered 200, entered service (curiously, the 100 series was launched only three years later - the fact is that shinkansen running east of the capital were given numbers of odd hundreds, and to the west - even numbers ): within its framework, modernized trains were later released with speeds from 240 to 275 km/h. In general, over all these years, about 20 different series of these trains have been developed, each of which is distinguished by its original design, number of cars, as well as design and technical features. For example, in the 300 series trains, DC electric motors were first replaced by three-phase AC traction motors; the 400 series trains have a narrower body, this is due to the fact that the high-speed line on which they ran was converted from a regular railway line, in the 500 series the maximum service speed of 300 km/h was achieved for the first time, the N700 series was the first to achieve acceleration of 0.722 m/s² among passenger shinkansen, and the E1 and E4 series trains each have two floors.

Shinkansen do not stop developing: in May of this year, the country introduced a new high-speed train Alfa-X, which can accelerate to 360 km/h (this is a record for passenger shinkansen). Its most striking feature is its 22-meter nose, designed to reduce air resistance, which especially increases when such a train enters tunnel sections at high speed. In addition, among the technical features of the series are air brakes and special magnetic plates in the braking system.

Japan: Maglev L0

In addition to high-speed passenger trains, Japan has been experimenting with the development of trains based on the principle of magnetic levitation (maglev for short) since the seventies of the last century. The essence of this technology is that trains move and are controlled by the forces of an electromagnetic field, without touching the surface of the rail during movement - this eliminates friction, thereby increasing the speed of movement.

Since 1972, about 10 different series of maglevs have been created in Japan, and one of the samples of the L0 series, presented to the public in 2012, during tests in 2015 accelerated to 603 km/h, setting an absolute speed record for railway transport (and land passenger transport). transport in general). In 2020, the country is going to release an improved L0 series, which will receive power from the guide path through electromagnetic induction.

It should be noted that so far Japanese maglevs are participating exclusively in experimental launches, but five years ago the country began to build the Chuo Shinkansen maglev line, which will run from Tokyo to Nagoya - the opening of the line is planned for the mid-twenties, and by 2045 they plan to complete it to Osaka.

China: Shanghai Maglev

Today, China ranks first in the world in terms of the length of high-speed railways: by the end of last year, their length reached 29 thousand km - this is approximately two-thirds of the total length of all high-speed railways in the world put into commercial operation - and in 2025 the local the government plans to increase this figure to 38 thousand km. One of the key completed projects in the field of high-speed rail transport is the Shanghai Maglev: the world's fastest magnetic levitation train in commercial operation (speeds up to 431 km/h) and the maglev line of the same name, 30 km long, connecting the Shanghai Longyang metro station Lu and Pudong International Airport. To cover this distance, the train takes only 7 minutes 20 seconds (depending on the train model, the time may increase by 50 seconds).

This ambitious and cutting-edge project, which cost China more than $1 billion, began commercial operation back in 2002, but even today it is still not profitable (annual losses amount to about $93 million). From the very beginning, the Shanghai Maglev was planned not as a viable market solution for the needs of travelers, but as a test project, on the basis of which it was planned to further develop China's railway infrastructure (it appeared before the massive creation of the HSR network in the country), but this idea was later abandoned for several reasons. “Firstly, the construction of such a line itself is extremely expensive. Secondly, from a technical point of view, it is very difficult to build it in real terrain conditions - this requires great technical research and a high engineering level in the country as a whole. Thirdly, maglev is incredibly difficult and expensive to maintain in operation, especially in conditions where the line is long: if the tracks sag for some reason, in the case of conventional and even high-speed railways they can be relatively easily straightened, but in the case of with maglev, when the line is supported by a million supports, it becomes very difficult,” explains Pavel Zyuzin, senior researcher at the Center for Research on Transport Problems of Megacities and the Institute of Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the Higher School of Economics. — If, for example, Japan can afford this - there are about 100 million inhabitants concentrated along a narrow strip of settlement between Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, forming a corridor with extremely high demand - then this option is not suitable for China. At the same time, one of the metro lines there recently started operating using maglev technology - in this niche in China, magnetic levitation is completely justified and promising.” In general, despite many limiting factors, the expert considers maglev technologies to be the next stage in the development of high-speed rail, while “conventional” high-speed rail transport, in his opinion, has by and large reached the limits of its possible development.

France: TGV series trains

In response to the success of Japan's Shinkansen in the second half of the 20th century, France began building its high-speed trains, the TGV (French for Train à Grande Vitesse). At first, the developers were going to equip the designed trains with gas turbine engines, then with gas engines (this is exactly what the first prototype TGV 001, which appeared in 1972, had - by the way, it managed to set a world speed record among trains without electric traction at 318 km/h). However, due to increased fuel consumption, in the end this idea was also abandoned, and it was decided to build electric trains powered by a contact network. The all-electric Zébulon prototype was completed in 1974, and shortly thereafter the production of the TGV series models and the construction of the LGV lines dedicated to them began, which stands for Ligne à Grande Vitesse, and translates as “high-speed line”.

The first generation TGVs of the Sud-Est series began operating on the first LGV line in 1980 - their initial design speed was 270 km/h, although some of these trains later raised this figure to 300 km/h. The TGV Sud-Est was followed by other train series: TGV La Poste, TGV Atlantique, TGV Réseau, TGV Duplex and Euroduplex, as well as TGV TMST, TGV Thalys PBKA and TGV POS intended for international routes. The last of these series is famous for the world speed record for rail trains of 574.8 km/h, which the electric train TGV POS No. 4402 managed to set in 2007 - however, for this it was somewhat modernized: more powerful traction motors were installed in motor cars, thereby increasing increased the output power from 9.3 MW to 19.6 MW, equipped with wheelsets of larger diameter and closed the gaps between the cars for better streamlining.

The design process for the next generation of TGV, called Avelia Horizon, began in 2016. New features include greater capacity to carry up to 740 passengers, improved on-board services and communications, and a 20% reduction in energy consumption through the introduction of regenerative braking, which national rail carrier SNCF says makes the trains "the greenest TGVs yet" in history" (the latter is also supported by the fact that future trains, after decommissioning, can be 97% recycled). Last year, SNCF announced an order for hundreds of such trains, with deliveries due to begin in 2023.

Spain: Talgo 350

“Spain is the first country in Europe to build not a separate route, but an entire network of high-speed lines, which, given the presence of two central air hubs - Barcelona and Madrid - made travel around the country incredibly fast and, among other things, had a positive impact on the development tourism,” says Pavel Zyuzin. Today Spain ranks second in the world in terms of the length of the high-speed railway (2,850 km) - it is logical that high-tech trains run along them.

Talgo

The AVE series 102 (or Talgo 350) trains, jointly produced by Talgo and Bombardier, running between Madrid and Barcelona are perhaps the most famous Spanish trains abroad. The Talgo 350 gained wide fame along with the nickname “Duck” largely due to its original and rather funny design: the nose of the train is elongated and actually somewhat resembles a duck’s - this was done to reduce aerodynamic drag.

In 1994, development of a prototype began. Initially, its creators set themselves the goal of achieving a design speed of 350 km/h (it’s not for nothing that this figure appears in the title), but in the end this figure was 330 km/h, which is due to the limitations of eight 1000 kW engines. But this speed is enough to cover the 621 km distance between Madrid and Barcelona in about 2 hours 30 minutes, if the train goes non-stop. In Spain, the AVE 102 series trains began running in 2007, and in 2011, Saudi Arabia signed a contract with Talgo to supply these trains to serve the then-project Haramain high-speed rail line between Mecca and Medina (the line itself opened in October last year). Taking into account the climatic and geographical characteristics of the region, as well as the wishes of customers, Talgo increased the number of seats due to the potentially high demand among pilgrims, increased the performance of the air conditioning system and took additional measures to protect the trains from sand and dust.

Russia: Sapsan

Among the most famous high-speed trains in the world is the international type, known in Russia as the Sapsan, which runs between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Among its distinctive features is the width of the train, which is 30 cm greater than the standard European one (this is due to the fact that Russia has a wider railway gauge), and in 2014, a double modification of the train of 20 cars was officially recognized as the longest high-speed train in the world. In addition, Sapsan was created using technologies adapted to the Russian climate: even if the temperature drops below -40°C, it can safely continue moving, whereas in warmer countries even light snow can paralyze railway traffic.

From the very beginning, Sapsan was conceived as a replacement for the high-speed trains ER200, which connected St. Petersburg and Moscow and which had become significantly outdated by the 2000s. In 2006, JSC Russian Railways entered into a contract with Siemens for the supply of eight high-speed trains based on the Velaro train, and already in 2009 the trains entered service. The version for Russia was named after the fastest bird in the world - the peregrine falcon, which can reach speeds of more than 322 km/h in a rapid diving flight. Technically, Sapsan also has the potential to overcome this milestone if there is appropriate separate infrastructure - for now its design speed is 250 km/h.

Passenger trains are divided into long-distance and suburban (up to 200 km, JSC FPC does not service them) depending on the distance and travel conditions.

2. Travel speed

There are high-speed, express and passenger trains:

high-speed passenger trains must have a route speed of at least 100 km/h at permissible speeds in the range
141-200 km/h;

fast passenger trains must have a route speed of at least 50 km/h;

passenger trains have a route speed of less than 50 km/h.

3. Regularity of movement

Passenger trains are divided into year-round, seasonal and single-use trains.

4. Frequency of movement

Passenger trains are divided into daily, every other day (on odd or even dates), and following by day of the week or day of the month.

5. Level of service provided

Passenger trains with high-quality service and a wide range of services are assigned the branded category. Trains served by multiple unit rolling stock are divided into luxury trains and trains without additional services.

Numbering established for passenger trains

The trains of the carrier JSC FPC are numbered as follows:

	Numbering
Ambulances all year round
Seasonal and one-time ambulances
Passenger year-round
Seasonal, one-time and children's passenger trains
Express
High speed
Ambulances served by multiple unit rolling stock (except express and high-speed)
Tourist (commercial)

Types of passenger cars

All train cars of JSC "FPK" are equipped with a heating system (works in winter, is mothballed for summer). Depending on the class of service, the carriages can be equipped with dry closets, air conditioning (work in the summer, preserved for the winter), and they can provide additional paid services included in the fare.

The following types of passenger cars run on JSC FPC passenger trains:

On locomotive traction:

Luxury carriages

The carriages have several varieties: with six compartments per carriage, with five and with four. The carriages, which have four compartments, are equipped with a lounge bar.

The compartment of a luxury class carriage is 1.5 times larger than the standard one in a carriage with six compartments and 2 times larger in a carriage with four. The compartment has 2 sleeping places: a sofa that transforms into a single bed 120 cm wide, and an upper shelf 90 cm wide. The compartment has an armchair and a folding table.

Each compartment has an individual bathroom with a washbasin, a vacuum toilet, which functions even during stops, and a shower (in a carriage with four compartments there is a shower). The floor in the bathroom is heated.

The compartment of the luxury class carriage is equipped with an individual air conditioning system, a TV, a DVD player and a radio.

SV cars

The carriage contains 8 or 9 2-berth compartments with places to lie down, two toilets with washbasins.

The compartment contains two lower or lower and upper berths, a table, a mirror on the compartment door and walls (except for transformer cars), clothes hangers, and places to place hand luggage.

Compartment carriages

The compartment passenger car has 9 four-seater compartments, 2 toilets with washbasins.

Each compartment has two upper and lower shelves, a table, a mirror on the compartment door, clothes hangers, and space for hand luggage.

More than 150 trains operate compartment cars with specialized compartments for passengers with disabilities.

MIKST cars

These are cars that have the characteristics of two types of cars (Lux and SV or SV and compartment).

Second-class carriages

The reserved seat passenger car has 9 open compartments, 2 toilets with washbasins.

The carriage is designed for 54 sleeping places, 4 places in each compartment: two lower places, two upper places and 18 side places: upper and lower. In each compartment, as well as in the side places, there is a table, space for hand luggage, and hooks for clothes.

General carriages

A carriage with seating. As a rule, reserved seat cars are used - 81 seats, sometimes compartment cars - 54 seats.

Cars with seating

These are carriages equipped with comfortable seating.

The cars are divided into cars with a standard layout of seats (50-70), with an improved (up to 50) cabin type and cars based on a compartment car. The carriages have 2 toilets with washbasins.

Also on the trains there are double-decker compartment cars, SV cars and carriages with seats.

International carriages

In international traffic (except for the CIS and Baltic countries, China, Mongolia, North Korea), “Lux”, SV and compartment cars of RIC size run. Standard (as in domestic traffic) “Lux”, SV and compartment cars run to the CIS and Baltic countries, China, Mongolia, and North Korea.

In addition, “Strizh” trains with carriages (compartment cars, carriages with seats, SV, “Lux”) produced by the TALGO company operate in domestic and international traffic.

Motorized rolling stock

Multi-unit trains "Lastochka" and other electric and diesel trains with seats operate in interregional traffic.

The number of seats depends on the design of the car.

The fundamental difference between multi-unit rolling stock and locomotive-hauled trains is that all or some of the cars are equipped with engines intended for traction and cabins for transporting passengers; in a train with locomotive traction, the cars are not self-propelled.

Concept of even and odd trains

In general, trains traveling from south to north and from west to east have even numbers, and trains traveling from north to south and from east to west have odd numbers. If it is impossible to accurately determine the direction of movement of the train, this rule works partially for some section of the track. Sometimes along the way the train changes its number from even to odd or vice versa. Exceptions to the rule of even/odd numbering of trains - St. Petersburg. Most trains departing from St. Petersburg have odd numbers. Although recently St. Petersburg has also been transferred to a common system (trains 72, 74 to Yekaterinburg and Tyumen, 40 to Astana, etc.)

What does the letter in the train number mean?

In general, the letter in the train number is simply the fourth character, making the train number unique. If the railway used only three-digit numbers, they could only designate 999 trains, and there are many more. Therefore, a fourth character is added - a letter. At the same time, they try to give letter designations in such a way that trains with the same numerical designations do not meet. For example, long-distance train No. 001a St. Petersburg - Moscow (Leningradsky Station) and train No. 001b Moscow (Belorussky Station) - Minsk do not meet each other anywhere. Therefore, it is possible to announce only the numerical train number to passengers to avoid confusion.

There are also some other patterns with letters in train numbers. Firstly, sometimes it happens that one train includes several different numbers. For example, 001a and 001b (St. Petersburg - Moscow, "Red Arrow"). In this case, different letters indicate different organizations that form the cars of a given part of the train. If a train has branded and unbranded cars, then they are also assigned different letters. If a train runs on some days as a branded train, and on others as a non-branded train, then it also receives different letters, although its schedule is the same. Another letter can denote different service teams. And sometimes the letter indicates the direction of the train (for example, 104m Moscow - Adler and 104c Adler - Moscow). And, finally, there is a pattern between the path of the train formation and the letter, but it is not one hundred percent.

The speed of trains is divided into design, maximum, design, running, technical, sectional, route. The speed of cargo delivery is also highlighted.

Structural called the highest speed that the locomotive design provides. Maximum permissible It is customary to call the speed of train movement, which is allowed to develop on a section (direction) by the state of technical means (tracks, artificial structures, carriage chassis, brakes, etc.). Calculated is the minimum permissible speed at which a locomotive can travel along a design lift of unlimited length with a train of the maximum weight established for a given locomotive and lift. Each series of locomotive has its own design speed. Chassis speed is the average speed of a train without taking into account the time spent on stopping, acceleration and deceleration during stops, but taking into account constant restrictions when traveling through intermediate stations and other places where slowing down is required, km/h:

Where – section length, km; – the sum of the running times for the section without taking into account the time for acceleration and deceleration, h.

Obviously, the running speed cannot exceed the design and maximum (permissible) speed.

Technical speed is the average speed of the train without stopping, taking into account accelerations and decelerations. It is determined by dividing the distance between station stations by the time the train is in motion, including the time for acceleration and deceleration during stops, passing stations and other places with speed limits (km/h):

.

Precinct speed – the average speed of trains within the section, taking into account the time spent on stopping, accelerating and decelerating (km/h):

,

Where T uch - total time for the train to travel along the section, hours; – total time of train stops at intermediate stations of the section, hours.

To evaluate how successfully the technical speed is used in the graphics, the so-called speed coefficient is derived:

Route speed shows the average speed of the train along its entire route, km/h:

,

Where – distance covered by the train along its entire route, km;