High speed train, Eurostar
|
|
| High speed train, Eurostar |
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed
of rail traffic. Specific definitions include 200kms/h and more rapid, depending on whether the track is
upgraded or new, by the European Union, and above 145 kms/h by the United States. However, there is
no single standard, and lower speeds can be required by local constraints.
Driver's seat in the ETR 500
●United Kingdom
Alternatives to air travel: The high-speed rail.
St. Pancras International Train Station, the London's terminal of Eurostar.
The number of passengers of Eurostar increased 18% in 2008, with comparison to 2007.
Eurostar at London St Pancras station connects London with Paris and Brussels.
The writer used a Eurostar in May 2000. The train was running with w high speed in the country of France;
however, the train was running very slowly on the old railroad track after it passed the Channel Tunnel.
The terminal station in London was Waterloo station in London City. It was interesting to see a construction
site of a new track line from the train winder of Eurostar, which started its services in 1994.In 2007,
Eurostar services in London transferred from Waterloo to St Pancras International.
Business Premier Class ( London-Paris £335-420, one way), with a meal service at a passenger seat.
Standard Class ( London-Paris £220-292, one way).
A wide seat and unlimited wireless internet access are available in Eurostar trains.
Source: NHK BS TV December, 2008.
(L) A high speed Eurostar train at the entrance of the Channel Tunnel-French side (R) French -England undersea tunnel route
Source: Reuters 12 February 2010
The first high-speed domestic trains from London.
(L) Hitach received an order for the high-speed train 'Class 395' from UK.
(R) The head of Hitachi Rail Maintenance, Chiaki Ueda said it was necessary to prove that it really works at
the different circumstances.
In December 2009, Britain trumpeted the launch of its first full high-speed domestic rail service, while
unveiling plans for a network of the train across the country in the year to come.Prime Minister Gordon
Brown was on hand at Saint Pancreas station in London for the first services by the Japanese-built Javelin
trains, slashing journey times between the capital and the county of Kent to the southeast. 'This is a great day
for Saint Pancreasand for rail services in this area and for the UK. This is also a momentous day in the long
and glorious history of Britishrailways.' He said.
(L) A new prototype hybrid electric-diesel train by Hitachi. (R) A test of Class 395 at the speed of 225Kms/h.
Hitachi Class 395 trains will reach speeds of up to 220 kilometers per hour, using sections of the London-to-
Folkestone high-speed rail link built for Eurostar trains through the Channel Tunnel. The new 508-passengers
trains, introduced by the Southeasten rail company, will cut the journey time from costal Dover to London by
47 minutes to 69 minutes, while Ashford to London comes down from well over an hour to 37 minutes. By
the time of the 2012 London Olympics, they will be able to transport spectators from Saint Pancras to the
main game site in Stratford, east London, in just seven minutes.
Hitachi has repeated a test run at the Ashford's train depot.
Britain, which has lagged behind its European neighbors in introducing high-speed rail travel, plansto invest
20 billion pounds( 32 million dollars, 22 million euros ) in railway infrastructure in the nextfew years.
The government has set up a company to investigate the feasibility of a north-south high-speed rail line,
which could link London with other chief cities like Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.
Source: AFP London, December 14, 2009.
Source: NHK BS broadcast December 2008.
● A New Era for a high-speed train
A passenger would cheese the high-speed train for transport between urban area, if appropriate for its population
density and lying a few hundred or at most a thousand kilometers. An aircraft service can stay in the second choice.
The Japanese was the pioneers. In 1964, the Tokyo Olympic Games were the starting of the high-speed train with
the launch of the standard-gauge new track in the Tokkaido, linking Tokyo and Osaka at a speed of 210 kms/h.
Three years later, the Capitole, linking Paris and Toulouse, reached a comparable speed following technical
changes to the line.
JR's Hayabusa
The Shinkansen high-speed train is proud in the world. It runs at 310 kms at maximum speed, and it is very safe
transportation means, which provides accident-free train systems. There was no accident resulting in injury or
death of a train passenger during the fifty-year operation, since its service opening in 1964. The first business
expansion abroad was to Taiwan. The technology of the train vehicle is used in Taiwan Shinkansen high-speed
train, which serves the route between Taipei and Kaohsiung, with the maximum speed of 300 kms/H.
China' high-speed train is built based on 'Hayate' of the JR-East, Japan. In 2011, a 1318 Km-long Shabghai and
Beijing railway track was completed. Two trains are running between two large cities. The passengers of the
first-class vehicle are rather small in a compartment, and the service was reported inferior, compared with that
of Europa and Japan. The train station is quite far from the center of the cities. It is considered as a loss‐making
railroad line.
On behalf of France, the key high-speed train is TGV. Its maximum speed in business operation is 320 kms,
the same to the Hayabusa's 320 kms in JR-East of Japan. France works hard on the speed-up of train, and
demonstrated an experimental high-speed train in 2007, which showed the highest speed of 574 Kms/H.
The high-speed train has certainly changed the image of rail transport and brought Europe's major
centres closer together. Judging by its success, the TGV is the most suitable mode of transport for
linking densely populated areas over distances of up to 900 kms.
(L) ICE and TGV on the same platform of Paris's terminal station
(R) A TGV train vehicle is caring on a boat on the Seine River.
Railway Travel in France
All railway trains should be completely smoke -free.
Travel by Train
Italia Rail: Trenitalia
ロンドン・ユーストン駅に到着した乗客は１０年に及ぶ大工事の成果を実感した。「すばらしい旅行でした。
とてもスムースで出発も到着も時間通りでした」「驚きました。こんなに良くなったとは思いませんでした」
「最高でした」と賞賛する。
1880年代に開通した英国を南北に繋ぐ大動脈、ウエストコースト線は、より速い、より多くの本数を
との要望に応えるため鉄道の再構築が必要であった。2008年12月に10年の歳月を費やした工事が
完成し、ここに高速鉄道が誕生した。この巨大プロジェクトにより毎時100キロのところを200キロで
運行出来るようになり、ロンドン・グラスゴー間が4時間10分に短縮された。運転本数も週中では30％、
週末では60％増加させることが出来、ロンドン・マンチェスター間は20分おきに列車を運行出来る。
資料 Network Rail, London
イギリスの首都、ロンドンの主要ターミナル、セント・パンクラス駅。
2007年11月、英仏海峡トンネル鉄道（CTRL)の大規模な鉄道改修・新設工事の完成に伴い、それまで
ユーロスターの終着駅だったウォータールー国際駅が閉鎖された。今はセント・パンクラス駅を起点に
英国と欧州大陸を高速鉄道が結び、パリやブリュセルからの国際列車が乗り入れている。
ユーロスターユーロスターの乗客は年々増え続け、ロンドン・パリ間は一日18本以上運行する。燃料代
高騰のあおりを受け乗客の減少に悩む航空会社とは対照的だ。エコノミークラスの正規料金は最高、
2万1000円で航空機のエコノミークラスの1万7000円に比べ高い。(注：運賃は日により変動する）。
パリまではおよそ2時間20分。2007年に高速化するための線路が完成した後、運行時間が20分縮まった。
駅のセキュリテイチェックは7分ほど、航空機より速くなった列車の高速化が鉄道の利用をさらに
加速させている。
（注）筆者がユーロスターを利用した2000年には、イギリス国内全域で古い線路を走行したためのろのろ
運転の状態であった。当時のロンドンの終着駅はウォータールー国際駅で、途中、新線の建設の模様を
車窓から垣間見たのだった。
ヨーロッパでは2010年に鉄道事業が自由化され、鉄道各社は国境を越えてサービスを展開できる
ようになる。各国では高速鉄道のネットワーク化が進み、その規模は2020年には3倍にまで拡大する。
こうした動きは航空会社には脅威となる。最近、ロンドン・パリ間の便を減らしたエールフランスは
鉄道事業への参入を検討している。
画像引用 NHK BS放送 2008.12.18
Railway Travel around the World 世界鉄道旅行
All railway trains should be completely smoke -free.
鉄道全面禁煙化は世界の常識
Smoking ban in the railway trains of the world
高速鉄道の開発競争
執筆 医学博士 宮本順伯
★This Web site is link-free.
The article was written in December 2008, last revised in January 2014,
by Junhaku Miyamoto, M.D., PhD.
Copyright (C) 2008 Junhaku Miyamoto, PhD. All right is reserved.
 Smoking ban in the railway trains of the world  |
|
Smoke-free Hotel and Travel 世界の鉄道レンタカー航空旅行ホテル喫煙規制情報サイト Restaurant hotel railway rent-a-car travel airport condominium smoking ban   Twitter@worldviewtokyo Twitter＠smokefreejpn Twitter@criticismjpn |
