| Commercial Speed | 120 mph, 192km/h (in theory!) |
| Speed Record | 170 mph, 270km/h |
| |
The Turbo Train is a more interesting train. This uses gas turbines, as used in helicopters to power the wheels. This in fact borrows some of the technology used in the Early French Gas Turbine trains. However when the price of oil quadroupled in the 1970s it was decided in France to use electricity to power the trains. In fact the French gas Turbine TGV hit 192 mph (310 km/h) which is a world record for a non-electric train. The reason why it is so limited in speed it because it runs on American railways, which do not get enough funding to run trains safely at speeds over 100 mph. However unrealiability has hampered the train, Gas Turbines are not well suited to the stop start routine of trains.
See also:
The Metroliner - fastest train in
North America
The TGV Turbo - original development
of Turbo trains.
Links:
http://www.iconn.net/igor/train.html
- A lot more information can be found here
High-Speed Rail (HSR) in the United States -- Why Isn't There More?
American TGVs
- To see further Projects on HSTs for the USA
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