Text 2: high-speed transportation

This tendency provides for the construction of new railway lines and the creation of high-speed rolling stock according to special technical specifications.

The services, rendered the passengers on railway transport, are compensated during high-speed traffic at a speed of more than 200 km/h for a distance up to 800 km for day and 2000 km for night trips. It is reasonable that directions with the heaviest traffic are being chosen for the creation of high-speed lines. By June 2001, the length of new high-speed lines in Europe had been increased up to 3000 km, and it is being planned to bring it to 6000 km by 2010.

The history of modern high-speed rolling stock dates back to 50s-60s of the XX^th century. At that time high-speed trains, designed for the commercial speed of more than 200 km/h were put into operation at first in Japan then in France and later in Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden. The commercial operation of high-speed railways of Europe began in 1981 in France, where the maximum speed of trains on the section Paris – Lion reached 270 km/h.

The idea of high-speed traffic also found wide application in the other countries of Europe, Asia and America. In the former USSR the first high-speed train ER – 200 was built at the end of 1970s. Since 1984 the train has been commercially operated on the line St. Petersburg – Moscow. In 1997 – 1998 the pilot consist of a new high-speed Russian train “Sokol” (its speed reaches 200 km/h) was built.

Japanese railways constantly strive for the perfection of their high-speed trains’ designs to strengthen their positions at the market of transportation services under the conditions of rough competition among home airlines, road and railway transport. The creation of a new high-speed 500 series electric train in Japan was the result of a long research and designing work. The 554 km rout it covers for 2 hours and 15 minutes. In March, 2000 Hikari Rail Star trains (maximum speed is 285 km/h) were put into operation. Eight-car electric trains cover the distance of 644 km for 2 h and 45 m. The combination of high speed and high frequency of traffic contributed to the traffic flow increase that states for the fact, that Japanese company found the efficient means to compete with air transport.

 

Bodies of these cars are made of double-layer aluminium alloy with sound-absorbing filling material to isolate passenger compartments from external noise. Specially designed bogies which don’t have bogie bolster are provided with damping devices of semiactive type and additional longitudinal and crosscut shock absorbers between car bodies which reduce vibration and increase the smoothness of train run.

There are the following requirements to the design intent of high-speed trains, created in different countries: high commercial speed; comfortable trip conditions for passengers; observance of ecological requirements; high level of operational readiness, safety, reliability and maintainability.

To fulfil the first requirement, special traction drives, providing the sufficient tractive power, have been designed. Metalware of cars was lightened to the maximum, their aerodynamic resistance was decreased.

To use the potential of high-speed traffic in Europe, it is provided for the creation of all-European network, consolidating more than 30 railways with high carrying capacity. Nowadays the agreements as to the development of technical specifications, providing the compatibility of networks, are being concluded between railways. They contain all the necessary data about the combined indices, beginning with rail-wheel interface and ending in the work of tractive power supply system. But it will take some time to provide the compatibility of railway networks because of the peculiarities of railway infrastructure in different countries.

The introduction of high-speed running of passenger trains in Ukraine is also one of the priority tendencies of its railway transport development.

The programme of high-speed train running in Ukraine provides for covering six main directions with high-speed trunk lines which can support the traverse speed up to 200 km/h. It is supposed to modernize infrastructure, especially to rehabilitate some working railway lines, which will make it possible to operate modern railway consists on them.

The first high-speed train in Ukraine - the “Capital Express” - was put into operation in June, 2002 on the route Kyiv – Kharkiv. The time of the trip was reduced from 10 to 5,5 hours and it is 1,5 hours less than travelling by bus.

The latest achievements of science and engineering found their application in the construction of a passenger car. The car is equipped with such systems as: air conditioning with automatic control, radio and television, isolated toilet etc. Due to the use of 10 instead of 9 compartments (as it is in similar type cars), the car occupancy has been increased by 10%.

The car body design allows building almost all the types of locomotive traction cars on its base - compartment cars, compartment cars with sitting places, sleeping cars. These cars are designed for passenger transportation on railways of the CIS and Baltic countries.

The operation of high-speed trains in Ukraine showed that the efficiency of a high-speed car 4 times as high as an ordinary compartment car and 8 times as high as a sleeping car. High-speed running allows to provide much higher level of service for passengers, competing with air transport in speed.