New speed train to travel faster than planes

New speed train to travel faster than planes

Chinese ready to set new speed record for conventional-wheeled, high-speed trains

BY JEFFREY BAUSCH

This past week, China’s state press outlets introduced the world to the CRH500, a new high-speed train which the country hopes will break through the 500 km/h barrier (310.7 mph) and set a new record for conventional-wheeled, high-speed trains.

The design of the CRH500 is said to be inspired by “a Chinese sword.” (via: carnewschina.com)

Worth noting is the fact that if it’s successful, the CRH500 will actually be travelling faster than the 304 mph max cruising speed of the Bombardier Dash 8, the regional plane of choice for most major airlines.

Built for speed

Cockpit view of the CRH500. (Via: carnewschina.com)

The CRH500 is designed and manufactured by CSR Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co., Ltd. (CSR Sifang Co Ltd.), China’s largest rail vehicle maker. They’re based in Qingdao, in the eastern province of Shandong.

Passenger interior of the CRH500. (Via: carnewschina.com)

The current record for conventional-wheeled, high-speed trains is 302.8 mph, set by China’s CRH380 in January 2011 on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway. It has a maximum tractive power of 9,600 kilowatts. For comparison’s sake, the CRH500 max tractive power comes in at (a whopping) 22,800 kilowatts.

The CRH500 will run on China’s high-speed railway network and carry with it a vast collection of testing and data processing equipment. In fact, there’s even a special car for engineers located behind the locomotive.

The engineers’ room, located behind the locomotive. (Via: carnewschina.com)

To withstand the high speeds at which it’ll be traveling, the body of the CRH500 was built using plastic materials reinforced with carbon fiber.

Shen Zhiyun, who is both a locomotive expert as well as an academician with the Chinese academies of sciences and engineering, is quoted in the news releases saying that he foresees the CRH500 providing design engineers with helpful insight for current high-speed railway operations.

Record(s)

While the record speed will certainly be impressive, it won’t be the fastest train to have ever travelled (not yet at least.) There are many different records for high-speed trains, which is why it’s important to note that this is the record for “conventional-wheeled, high-speed trains.”

For the curious bunch out there, the all-time high-speed record for a conventional-wheeled train was set by the French TGV, which achieved a top speed of 357.18 mph. The reason why it’s not being included in the same category as the CRH500 is because it was a one-off test train. As a result, it falls under the category of “special built trains for test only.”

Time of arrival

There’s still a lot of secrecy surrounding China’s high-speed train development in general (which is what makes the release of this information so noteworthy.) No one knows when they will attempt to break the record and it’s actually pretty common practice for the press to hold off on saying anything about attempts being made until a record is actually broken.

So, until we hear the official announcement that the barrier’s been overcome and the record broken, we simply need to stay tuned. ■

References for this article via:

1. carnewschina.com/2011/12/27/introducing-the-mighty-crh-500-chinas-new-500kmh-record-train/

2. news.xinhuanet.com/english/sci/2011-12/26/c_131327102.htm