Re: Transrapid's latest story

[Nicolai Meyer <n-meyer@gmx.de>]

David Bromage wrote:

> Wheel on rail technology has peaked. The ICE3 will be limited to 285km/h.

Never heard about this limitation. Perhaps it means in reality: ICE3
will run only 285 km/h on the existing lines until the Cologne-Frankfurt
line is completed. On the existing German High-Speed lines it would be
nearly impossible to put much faster, additional trains into the scedule
between trains running at 250 km/h.

The Commercial speed of TGV-Nord is 300 km/h.

> 
> Transrapid was certified in 1991.
> 
>    My comment: With the concrete guideway. When was the steel guideway
>    certified?
> 
Certified for what?

> The Hamburg - Berlin line will go ahead, starting contruction in a few
> months. A 100km section in the middle of the route will be running for
> testing in 2002, with full commercial service in 2005. 
This is doubted in Germany. The position of the government is: They'll
pay 6 Bill DM and not a Pfennig more. Costs have risen. 

> Transrapid stands
> by the estimates of 12-15 million passenger journeys per year. He disputes
> that there are only 4 flights per day between the two cities, and that
> Germany's two most important cities would not have such a small aircraft
> as a Dash-8 flying between them.
> 

According to the Lufthansa timetable there are 6 flights Monday to
Friday. 3 are by a Canadair Jet, having 48 seats. One is 737, this is
Hamburg-Berlin-Moscow. 2 are operated by suboperators Cimber Air and
Augsburg Airway, these companies own exclusively Turboprops (30-50
seats) and no 500-seat 747. 

> The guideway has a life of 80 years. The vehicles have a life of 25-30
> years. TGV track has a life of 12-25 years, TGV trains have a life of 8-10
> years.
> 
>    My comment: The TGV-PSE track and trains are all a bit older than that.
>    The track has been there for nearly 20 years, and many of the trains
>    have been around since 1980. The box steel girders of the TR guideway
>    might last 80 years, but what is the life of the stators?

Of course TGV-Tracks are exchanged from time to time. They are rebuilt
into lines with lower speeds.
The first generation of TGV is now rebuilt, mainly the interior which is
not up-to-date style.
I'm sure that we can find some track on branch-lines that lived for 100
years. It says nothing about the maintenance costs and the
security-standard after 40 years.


> There is interest in Transrapid all over the world. Some proposed lines
> include:
>  Baltimore - Washington DC
>  Pitsburgh - Philadelphia
>  Orlando - EPCOT
>  Atlanta - Chattanooga
>  Sacremento - San Francisco - Los Angeles - San Diego

They propose since 15 years:
>  Los Angeles - Las Vegas

>  Hamburg - Amsterdam
>  Berlin - Warsaw
>  Berlin - Krakow
>  Berlin - Dresden - Prague

>  Munich - Vienna (freight only)
The nastiest idea, I ever heard!

These won't hesitate if german gov. pays it:
>  Moscow - St Petersburg
>  Rio De Janiro - Sao Paulo - Campinas
>  Santiago de Chile - Valparaiso
>  Johannesburg - Cape Town
>  Moscow - airport
>  Beijing - airport
>  Shanghai - airport
>  Shenzhen - Hong Kong
>  Kuala Lumpur - Singapore

The most likely: Too much money, it's modern, no rails to integrate and
if the king says so everything might be built everywhere:
>  Jiddah - Medina/Yanbu
>  Riyadh - Dhahran - Jubayl
> 

And no one bought it. 
In Germany they discuss to give the chinese a 6 Billion DEM-loan to
construct an airport-link in Beijing. 
To make it clear: no one would reject it if the german taxpayer pays it.

Everywhere they bidded against TGV, the TGV won.

> The Hamburg - Berlin line was always going to cost DM9 billion. Costs have
> never risen.

Transrapid-companies say that not. Behind closed doors they ask for more
government-money.


> Transrapid can carry freight. They are designing a double deck version for
> passengers, the freight version of which can carry ISO shipping containers.
> 
The german line surely not. It may carry standard airline-containers.
Transrapid double-decker or with an ISO-container would not fit under
the bridges in Berlin and Hamburg.

Nicolai