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ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

deutschebahn.com

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Re: ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

#81
post #66
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might want to look into what they define as being "late". > A commuter train is considered on-time by the LIRR if it arrives within 5 minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled arrival time. The second source doesn't say, but let's assume it's the same as for LIRR, i.e. 6 minutes. It's also unfortunate that the SBB doesn't immediately tell us the metric, but I happen to know it's 3 minutes (more specifically 2 minut…

Is on time counted as time at every stop, or just the terminal. It’s easy to fake the terminal times with little impact by padding the timetable. Being on time at every station is far harder. Not sure how you compare a small simple system like Lord which is pretty much one line with a few branches with an integrated multi-national system like the entire Swiss railway either

The answer to your question is "it depends". Some also do weighed calculations, where it's "per passenger", which means trains that have a high passenger load being late have a larger impact than one with few passengers. At least in Denmark, where I am most familiar (though I expect most of Europe to be similar), it's per stop.

As for the LIRR, it seems it's only the terminal station that counts:

> Thus, a train is considered late only if it arrives at its final destination six minutes or more after its scheduled arrival time.

Re: ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

#82
This is the main point of the news:

"The Erfurt-Leipzig/Halle route was used for the record-breaking journey without any modifications. According to Nagl, this shows that infrastructure investments create a solid foundation that lasts for generations. The insights gained will help with future renovations and the development of new high-speed trains.

The ICE test train used was a Velaro Novo test car from Siemens Mobility. Thomas Graetz, Vice President High Speed and Intercity Trains at Siemens, explained that the test runs provided important insights into acoustics, aerodynamics, and handling. The Velaro Novo is set to establish new standards for capacity, economy, and efficiency.

Dr. Hiie-Mai Unger from DB Systemtechnik led the measurements with the special ICE-S test train. This train is equipped with extensive measurement technology and collected data on the interaction between train and track."

https://www.golem.de/news/deutsche-bahn-ice-testzug-erreicht...

Translation via DeepL

Re: ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

#83

This article communicates what this is about very poorly, so I'm not surprised a lot of people are asking "what is so special about this train?". The answer is: Nothing. Many ICE trains have the capability to go that fast* - and some already surpassed these speeds on test tracks decades ago. It's really nothing special to make a train go these speeds. What this test was supposed to show is that the real track (not a…

The Wikipedia page has a reasonably concise overview of the project.

From a passenger perspective, a reduction of about an hour from the scheduled journey time for the long distance connections is pretty good.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erfurt%E2%80%93Leipzig/Halle_h...

https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schnellfahrstrecke_Eltersdor...

Re: ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

#84

This article communicates what this is about very poorly, so I'm not surprised a lot of people are asking "what is so special about this train?". The answer is: Nothing. Many ICE trains have the capability to go that fast* - and some already surpassed these speeds on test tracks decades ago. It's really nothing special to make a train go these speeds. What this test was supposed to show is that the real track (not a…

Also, the passenger miles per unit of energy drops geometrically, as speed increase linearly. Most of the loss is aerodynamic, so you either need a hyperloop tunnel or wings to take you into the literal stratosphere, to avoid high fuel burn at high speeds, so even if you could run the train at 400 km/hr along the whole track, it would be unlikely that any operator would do so, on a recurring basis.

> "geometrically"

It's only quadratic. Aerodynamic drag force ∝ v^2, so aerodynamic power dissipation ∝ v^3—but travel time ∝ v^{-1}, so that cancels out back to ∝ v^2 energy per km.

(I don't know if this was your intent or the opposite, but "geometric" is a synonym for "exponential", which this isn't).

Re: ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

#85
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it is the same as in Switzerland, the solution is in helping people get the health care they need. Most time I got annoying delays when I was living in Switzerland was because of a "personal accident" which 99% of the time meant someone had deliberately jumped in front of a train.

> If it is the same as in Switzerland, the solution is in helping people get the health care they need. [...] Switzerland SBB/CFF and the German DB can not be compared, not even from far. The Swiss trains are amongst the best in the world in term on punctuality. Delays barely exceed few minutes most of the time. Every connection is scheduled to be done At the opposite, German trains in the eastern part are barely on…

The trains in the post-Soviet region may be old, but surprisingly, they are rarely late. I'm only talking about the post-USSR area, can't say much about the Eastern Bloc in general.

Re: ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly it, it's not the new top speed they need, they lack efficiency. And it's not just Deutschebahn. For example BVG, who runs busses and U-bahn in Berlin is even less reliable.

I think higher speeds can help efficiency. For example it can help catch up a train that has been delayed.

I was late to reply, but as others have noticed, delayed trains can't always "catch up" with the schedule. ICE trains can accelerate to 405 kph, but regional trains using the same rail can't.

Re: ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

#88
post #72
post #8

I fear that the general public in Germany will not be praising this achievement. The once efficient and punctional trains in Germany have deteriorated severely in the past years due to lots of delayed maintenance causing lots of delays and even regular cancelations of trains. Also the road infrastructure is suffering from delayed maintenance.

> The once efficient and punctional trains in Germany have deteriorated severely in the past years due to lots of delayed maintenance causing lots of delays and even regular cancelations of trains. The main cause (often somewhat hidden behind the term "decayed infrastructure") is that there are too many trains on too few tracks. There are many reasons for that. I think the main ones are: * Political pressure to have…

> The main cause (often somewhat hidden behind the term "decayed infrastructure") is that there are too many trains on too few tracks.

Do you have a citation for this?

The people I know from the DB bubble are telling me that while some places have not enough track (e.g. the infamous Frankfurt-Mannheim/Riedbahn), but the everywhere problem is that there's just fault over fault over fault in tracks (often switches, but even tracks themselves) and trackside equipment.

> […] the number of trains per hour was increased by a factor of 2-3 […]

Even this I'm not quite willing to accept without citation; the railway timetables in the 70ies and 80ies, especially after the oil shock, were quite dense.

Re: ICE test train reaches speeds of up to 405.0 km/h

#90
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it is the same as in Switzerland, the solution is in helping people get the health care they need. Most time I got annoying delays when I was living in Switzerland was because of a "personal accident" which 99% of the time meant someone had deliberately jumped in front of a train.

> If it is the same as in Switzerland, the solution is in helping people get the health care they need. [...] Switzerland SBB/CFF and the German DB can not be compared, not even from far. The Swiss trains are amongst the best in the world in term on punctuality. Delays barely exceed few minutes most of the time. Every connection is scheduled to be done At the opposite, German trains in the eastern part are barely on…

> The only place in Western Europe I experienced train to be worst than in Germany is currently in Hungary where there were actual soviet trains.

As someone from the region, since when is Hungary 'Western' Europe? We are happy when acknowledged as 'Central' but this is new to me.

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