| Top Commercial Speed | 100mph (160km/h) |
| Speed Record | 120mph (193km/h) |
| |
The XPT is the fastest train in Australia. It is not very fast but you wouldn't expect it because Australia only has a population of 18 million... Compared with the UK (56 million) France (52 million) Germany (63 million) and with a low population density the demand for high speed rail is comparatively low. This is a diesel train.
The interesting thing about this train is that it is based on the British Inter-city 125, and many of its components have been assembled in Brush works in the UK. Clearly though it is considerably slower than its British counter-part, why this is I don't know although I assume it is to save costs, and also railways in Australia don't allow for high speed train travel. It uses the same engines.
The Engine used in this train is the Paxman Valenta 12RP200L with
an integral Brush alternator. The Valentas in
the XPT were downrated from 1680kW to 1475kW with 1350kW available
for
traction. The trailing power car supplies auxiliary train power
and only
has 1150kW available for traction.
Below I quote from a conversation thread that may be of interest on the News group AUS.RAIL
Its probably worth noting that whilst the XPT can run at 160 km/h there is very little of the Rail Network over which it runs where its actually allowed to run at this speed for any reasonable distance. In fact the longest single stretch of 160 km/h running is Albury to Wagga, a distance of a mere 125 km. All of the other lines over which it runs are slower, particular the Brisbane line where most of the time its barely hits 80 km/h due to the shocking alignments.
Maurie Daly
mauried@commslab.gov.au
Maurie Daly wrote:
> Ive never understood why countrylink doesn't
run an XPT service to Adelaide via
> Broken Hill.
> From Parkes to Adelaide the line is essentially flat and
mostly straight,
> ideal for high speed running.
At present the XPT is limited to 115 km/h on this
section. Level crossings and trackage would need to be modified
for 160 km/h running.
> It would easily compete with the IP which is slow and expensive.
I wouldn't say slow... I have paced the IP near Mingary
at nearly 140 km/h and have travelled on it from Broken Hill to
Parkes at 120 km/h most of the way.
David Johnson
CityRail Guard
trainman@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~trainman
It may in some places travel fast, but from the current timetable it takes 18 1/2 hours to get from Sydney to Broken Hill, dist 1100 kms which equates to an average speed of 60 km/h, certainly not in the league of fast trains,and lets face it , its not marketed as a fast train , its an adventure,but that doesnt mean that we cant have a fast train service as well. Even Countrylinks once per week Special from Orange will get you from Sydney to Broken Hill in approx 13 hours, even allowing for the change at Orange.This equals an average speed of 84 km/h which is a lot better. An XPT should be able to manage 90- 95 km/h average easily. Lets face it , even in Victoria,the XPT averages 106 km/h between Melb to Albury where it isnt allowed to run at its full speed. A service like this could get you from Sydney to Adelaide in about 18 hours,which is not much longer than the current Sydney - Brisbane Service. Sufficiently innovative timetabling could see the train come back via Melb to form next days Melb - Sydney XPT. Im sure that David B could come up with a suitable schedule.
Maurie Daly
mauried@commslab.gov.au
See Also:
Related Links:
The XPT Page
A comparison Between the XPT and the British HST
Pictures