STRESSES AND BEHAVIOR OF RAIL TRACKS DURING THE PASSAGE OF TRAINS TRAVELLING AT VERY HIGH SPEEDS; STANDARDS ADOPTED BY THE SNCF FOR ITS FUTURE VERY HIGH SPEEDS LINES (250/300 KM/H)

On the Paris-Madrid line in Southwest France, between Bordeaux and Dax, there is a section on which there are two straight stretches of 20 to 45 km, separated by a curve with a radius of 2850 meters. This SNCF line allows tests to be carried out at speeds of over 250 km/h. Since August 1972, two prototype trains, the TGV 001 turbotrain, and the Z 7001 electric motor train, have been traveling four times a day at speeds between 250 and 320 km/h. This paper summarized the knowledge acquired in France as the result of systematic tests carried out at those speeds in anticipation of the new Paris-Sud-Est line on which trains will travel at speeds of over 250 km/h. Although the problems are not yet completely solved, they are at least now defined very clearly, and none of them is of a fundamental type. The doubts raised a few years ago now appear to be baseless, at least for speeds of up to 300 km/h.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/12903475
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This article is extracted from Symposium on Railroad Track Mechanics, RRIS 01 130826, Publication 7602.
• Corporate Authors:

  Princeton University

  Department of Civil Engineering
  Princeton, NJ  United States  08450
• Authors:
  • Prud'homme, A
• Conference:
  • Symposium on Railroad Track Mechanics
  • Location: New Jersey
  • Date: 1975-4-21 to 1975-4-23
• Publication Date: 1975-10

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 29-31
• Monograph Title: SYMPOSIUM ON RAILROAD TRACK MECHANICS PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, 1975

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Data collection; High speed rail; Mechanical stability; Railroad tracks; Test trains; Train track dynamics
• Identifier Terms: Societe nationale des chemins de fer francais
• Uncontrolled Terms: Track stability
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Railroads; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00130834
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Princeton University
• Report/Paper Numbers: 76-TR-1
• Contract Numbers: DOT-FR-54175
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 7 1976 12:00AM