Re: Transrapid at it again

["M.B. and C.M.McDonald" <michael.and.colleen.mcdonald@xtra.co.nz>]

David Bromage wrote in message ...
>The Transrapid Roadshow was back in Canberra yesterday, trying to get the
>Speedrail project cancelled in favour of a maglev. Here's a summary of the
>points their hired mouthpiece raised. My comments in square brackets.

>- TGV is as costly as maglev [TGV is less than half ber km, isn't it?]
>- The TGV system has peaked, wheel stress at higher speeds will cause
>  shattered wheels. The ICE and Pendolino accidents were quoted.
>- running at higher speeds will cause trains to become airborne due to
>  centripetal forces on the wheels. [I didn't know that wheels were that
>  aerodynamic. :)  Never heard of spoilers?]


Damn!  How come Newton, the Wright brothers, and Einstein all missed that
method of levitation!  ;-^)
Actually, the levitation (when it's appreciable) is the same as for an
aircraft wing - the air over the top surface is taking a longer path than
the air over the bottom surface.  If you want to avoid the levitation, build
the "wedge" the other way up!  Come to think of it, there may be other
factors at work too, like the "ground effect".

<big snip>

The media don't always get things right.  I was a bit surprised by an
article (on-line) from the Economist that my son showed me.  Talking of the
delays in completing the Rome-Naples treno alta velocita (TAV) link, was
this paragraph :-

"Unfortunately, the project has gone badly wrong.  One problem was the
decision that Italy would not have a dedicated high-speed line, as in France
or Japan, but would mix old and new track and rolling stock.  Such systems
bring the complication of connections with the existing railway network,
explains Umberto Bertele, TAV's chairman."

If that prestigious publication has got it right, Umberto hasn't been across
the border to Nice where you can catch a TGV to Paris.  It's not until Lyon
(at least, that was the case on my trip in 1994) that you got on to
dedicated high-speed track.  And what about Eurostar?

I think the TGV proposal for Sydney-Canberra is on "the right track".  Being
able to use existing lines as well as dedicated track is definitely an
advantage.  Now, to turn it round the other way, does anyone know if the
Japanese wish that their "bullet trains" could use the national system.

And now "off topic" - the toilets on the TGV caused a certain amount of
hilarity amongst our group - we had a compartment with a view of the loo.
Can't remember for sure which way around it was, but the doors opened
inwards or outwards depending on whether you turned the handle up or down,
causing more than a few passengers (who tried the wrong combination) to
believe the toilet was occupied.

Michael