ICE world record run on May 1st, 1988

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The ICE forerunner train InterCityExperimental (end of September 1985 in Munich)

The ICE world record run on May 1, 1988 was a record run by the previous ICE train InterCityExperimental on the high-speed line from Hanover to Würzburg . On a section of the route specially designed for the record run, the train reached a top speed of 406.9 km / h, surpassing the world speed record for wheel-rail vehicles set by a TGV in 1981 at 381 km / h. The 400 km / h mark was already exceeded in previous test drives.

As a result, France lost the “ rail blue ribbon ” for the first time since 1955 . The SNCF took part in world record runs on 28/29 with modified locomotives . March 1955 reached 331 km / h and was outbid by a TGV train in 1981. The interim speed record of the ICE was exceeded again during a TGV trip on December 5, 1989 with 482.6 km / h.

Even the Shinkansen - prototype STAR 21 was later h during test drives 425 km / faster than the InterCityExperimental 1989 of 2000 as the third fastest train in the world - compared the reached top speeds of train types was retired -.

The InterCityExperimental were only slightly below the 412.6 km h / his record, the maglev 06 Transrapid at the beginning of the same year at the Emsland test facility reached.

Course of the record run

Train destination sign of the record run

The train departed on Sunday, May 1, 1988 at 11:00 a.m. under train number 80100 (other source: 16980) on track 1 of the Würzburg main train station, heading north. After leaving the switch area of ​​the station and at km 327 on the track planned for the record run of the new Würzburg - Fulda line (direction south-north), the ICE-V accelerated to 280 km / h in a first stage. When entering the Steinberg tunnel (km 325.0) the train had reached 120 km / h, in the Roßberg tunnel (km 322.6) 200 km / h, on the Main valley bridge Veitshöchheim (km 321.3) 230 km / h. In the Hohe Wart tunnel (route km 308.6, around 20 km from Würzburg Hbf), a high-speed section of 24.2 km (up to route km 284.4) specially designed for journeys over 350 km / h began.

At 11:10 a.m., 345 km / h were reached, and after ten kilometers in the test section the train had reached a speed of 370 km / h, with a gradient to the main valley helping the train to accelerate further. In an arc between km 300.9 and 299.5, 365 km / h had already been reached. In the Mühlberg tunnel , at 11:11 a.m., the TGV world record (380 km / h) was beaten. In the same tunnel, at 292.6 kilometers, the train passed the 400 km / h mark for the first time. For 4.6 km the train kept a speed of at least 400 km / h.

South portal of the one-time mountain tunnel. The safety lighting makes the initially rising, then falling course recognizable.

The train was traveling at 405 km / h on the Main valley bridge in Gemünden , but fell below the 400 km / h mark again due to a slight incline in the subsequent one-way mountain tunnel . After passing the subsequent gradient (eight per thousand), the train reached the world record speed of 406.9 km / h at 11:12:38 a.m. north of the tunnel, in the Sinntal (route kilometers 287.956). While the record was being raised on board, the train began to brake in the Sinnberg tunnel so as not to exceed 300 km / h at the end of the test section. At 11:22 a.m. it came to a halt in the Mottgers depot (route kilometer 266). Overall, the train had traveled over seven kilometers at a speed of over 400 km / h. Between the route kilometers 288.674 and 287.7, the speed was 406 to 406.9 km / h. The residual acceleration at the maximum speed of 406.9 km / h was, in a gradient of 1.47 per thousand, 0.029 m / s², the calculated excess traction force 7.9 kN.

About 80 people were on board the train, in addition to ministers, the board of directors of the Federal Railroad and representatives of the press. The guests included the then Federal Transport Minister Jürgen Warnke , Federal Research Minister Heinz Riesenhuber and Reiner Maria Gohlke , the chairman of the board of the then Deutsche Bundesbahn . Thousands of onlookers watched the world record run along the route that Sunday. The trip should initially be kept secret, even the federal ministers were only invited two days in advance.

There were three drivers on board: Romano Henning, Jochen Bierbaum and Josef Fischer. Henning, who drove the train during the record run, became the “fastest engine driver in the world” and is still (as of 2005) the “fastest engine driver in Germany”. According to his own statements, Heinz Kurz was also in the driver's cab.

Topology of the trial section

The express trips took place in the section between Würzburg main station (km 327) and the Mottgers depot (km 266). The Würzburg – Hanover track was always used for high-speed travel. The high-speed section intended for journeys at more than 300 km / h began north of the Hanfgarten tunnel (km 308) and ended at the Burgsinn tunnel (km 282). The gradient of the route initially rose north of the Hanfgarten tunnel and fell between the Rohrbach depot (km 301) and the Main Valley over a length of around 10 km with a 12.5 per mille gradient. After the one-time mountain tunnel (km 289), the route rose briefly at 12.5 per mille and then fell at 8 per mille. The rest of the test section, up to the Burgsinn depot , was almost flat. The smallest arc radii in the test section were 5,300 m (between km 306 and 304 and between km 284.6 and km 283.1) and 5,500 m (between km 300.9 and 299.5). The superelevation reached up to 85 mm. There were 14 points in the test section .

Preparation of the record run

Selection of the test section

Several sections of the high-speed route Hanover – Würzburg were considered for the record run. However, since none of the conditions were more favorable than the selected southern section, the Federal Railroad selected this for the record run. On April 8, 1988, the board of directors of the Deutsche Bundesbahn decided to carry out the record run before the start of the southern section planned for May 29, 1988.

Along the way

The record run was preceded by extensive preparations and investigations. Before the record run, the track bed was compacted several times using track laying machines . Immediately before the record run, two rail extensions on the Maintal bridge were tamped and re-compacted, and the rails were reground in three sections in which the tracks had previously been replaced due to skidding . All points in the high-speed section were additionally set with hand locks , tongues and frog tips were secured with further measures. Measuring devices were attached to the tracks at various points in order to record the forces emanating from the vehicle . No special precautions have been taken on the bridges and tunnels along the route. Beyond that, the superstructure and points had not undergone any fundamental changes.

The overhead line was replaced between April 11th and 17th, 1988 in the high-speed section (between km 308 and 282), which had been upgraded for speeds over 280 km / h, with a specially checked, fault-free contact wire. The mechanical tension of the contact wire had also been increased from 15 to 21  kN in order to ensure that the pantograph ran smoothly in the high speed range . This also raised the contact wire so that the overhead line of the branching line had to be temporarily connected in the switch areas to prevent the pantograph from colliding. After completion of the test drives, the contact wire was replaced between May 2 and 12, 1988, and the tractive force was reduced.

A measuring train parked on the opposite track checked the effects of the passing on the contact wire at ten points in the area of ​​the Main valley bridge. Another measuring train was placed in the next single mountain tunnel, which was driven through at almost 400 km / h. 300 measuring points had been set up along the route.

In the area of ​​safety technology, liner train control and punctual train control have been upgraded for journeys at over 250 km / h. A special communication link via train radio was established between the driver , the dispatcher and the test manager in the measuring vehicle . The journeys were carried out using the "green wave" procedure, which means that all signals in the route section were already set to travel (green) before departure.

At the vehicle

Pantograph from the world record run, exhibited in the Nuremberg Transport Museum

The InterCityExperimental received six measuring wheelsets as part of the deadline work that was due anyway , with which, among other things, the temperature of the hollow shafts and wheelset bearings as well as the vertical and horizontal wheel forces in the power car and intermediate car could be checked. The pantograph received measuring devices to determine the contact pressure and the elongation of the upper scissor beam . In addition, the load on the rotors in the traction motors by the centripetal force was checked, whereby a sufficient power reserve was determined.

High speed runs

The vehicle was transferred to Würzburg on April 22, 1988 from the Minden Federal Railway Central Office . On the same day, the first high-speed drives took place at first 220, then 300 km / h. On April 23, an intermediate car was removed from the train set. The now four-part vehicle (two power cars, two intermediate cars) was then subjected to high-speed drives at up to 400 km / h until April 28th. On April 25th the test program was accelerated to 350 km / h, on April 26th due to demonstration drives the test program was interrupted. On April 27, the train reached between 300 and 370 km / h on several trips. On April 28th, 387 km / h were finally reached and the TGV record was surpassed for the first time. In the afternoon of the same day, the train reached 401 km / h, on April 29, 404 km / h. It was the first time that a rail vehicle was faster than 400 km / h. No test drives took place on April 30th. Before the record run, there were two more high-speed runs at 330 and 385 km / h on May 1st. During the latter trip, the power car had automatically reduced its output due to an excessively high contact wire voltage (18,000 volts).

Before the ICE forerunner train started running at full speed, a converted class 103 locomotive had driven the test section at up to 285 km / h.

meaning

Certificate of participation in the record run

DB CEO Gohlke commented on the record run with the words: "Today a new era has begun on the rails". Federal Transport Minister Warnke spoke of an "impressive result of German cutting-edge technology". Research Minister Riesenhuber spoke of a "milestone in rail technology".

The InterCityExperimental broke the previous French world record (380 km / h) a total of seven times. In contrast to the TGV's record run, higher speeds were not opposed by the overhead line / pantograph system, but the topological conditions of the route (curve radii, cant). In addition to the sheer gain in prestige, the multi-million DM record drive is seen as evidence that the wheel-rail system has significant performance and safety reserves beyond the regular traffic (planned at the time) at 250 km / h. This thesis is based, among other things, on compliance with all limit values ​​during the record run and the measurement of a track measurement train immediately after the run, which did not result in any changes to the superstructure. The Federal Ministry for Research and Technology had u. a. the upgrading of the overhead line for the record run promoted.

The calculated maximum speed of the four-part InterCityExperimental on the route (without inclines, under standard atmosphere ) is given as 395 km / h in the tunnel and 426 km / h on the open route.

New French records

Shortly after the ICE record run, it became known that the SNCF would try to break the new record on the new LGV Atlantique . On December 12, 1988, the record was initially unofficially surpassed by a TGV south-east set of 408.4 km / h. The speed achieved was initially kept secret. The record was again unofficially increased when the TGV train set 325 on the LGV Atlantique on December 1, 1989 with 442.6 km / h. On the two following trips, the mark was further increased to 463 and 473 km / h. On December 5th of the same year, the record was finally officially surpassed with a speed of 482.6 km / h. On May 9, 1990, the same multiple unit topped its own record with 510.6 km / h as it did on May 18, 1990 with 515.3 km / h. On April 3, 2007, the current (2008) world record of 574.79 km / h was finally achieved during the V150 trip.

According to the literature, the repeated surpassing of the TGV records of 1989/1990 was not opposed by the performance of the InterCityExperimental - the power reserves would have allowed a speed of 500 km / h - but not by sufficient arc radius . The arc radius of at least 7000 m required for 500 km / h was not given on the new German routes at that time, the curve radii of which reached down to 5600 m. At 400 km / h the pulling force of the world record train was still 68 kN.

Documentation

  • The ICE world record run , EJ video library series , VHS video, approx. 30 minutes
  • 406.9 - Documentation of the world record (series Die neue Bahn , film 341), approx. 9 minutes.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Jürgen Hörstel, Marcus Niedt: ICE - New trains for new routes. Orell-Füssli-Verlag, Zurich / Wiesbaden 1991, pp. 105-107, ISBN 3-280-01994-X .
  2. ↑ There are still numerous hurdles for Japan's maglev train. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung No. 239, 1995, ISSN  0174-4917 , p. 30.
  3. ↑ The DB sets a world record with 406 "things". In: Mittelbayerische Zeitung . Regensburg, May 2, 1988.
  4. ↑ Video The world record run of the ICE , series EJ-Videothek , VHS-Video, approx. 30 minutes, approx. 18 minutes.
  5. ↑ a b Zug for the next millennium. In: Franconian Volksblatt Würzburg . dated May 2, 1988.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Josef Brandt: ICE - the Intercity Express . Weltbild Verlag, 2006, without ISBN, pp. 30–34.
  7. ↑ a b c With a world record speed of 406 km / h into a new railway age. In: Lohrer Zeitung of May 2, 1988.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Wolfgang Harprecht, Friedrich Kießling, Reinhard Seifert: "406.9 km / h" - world record on the rails - energy transmission during the record run of the ICE DB. In: Electric Railways, Volume 86, Issue 9/1988, pp. 268–289.
  9. ↑ Message The ICE set a world record . In: The Federal Railroad . 1988, No. 6, p. 566 f.
  10. ↑ a b c Jean-Luc Peters: Determination of the aerodynamic resistance of the ICE / V in the tunnel and on the open route through run-out tests. In: Railway technical review . Issue 9/1990, pp. 559-564.
  11. ↑ a b Vera Stegner: Congratulations, white flash! In: mobile . No. 6 , June 2016, ISSN  0949-586X , ZDB -ID 1221702-5 , p. 114-116 .
  12. ↑ The high-speed age is approaching. In: Die Bahn informs. ZDB -ID 2003143-9 , issue 1/1989, pp. 4-8.
  13. ↑ a b A train with a speed of 406: There was great joy. In: Main Echo Aschaffenburg , May 2, 1988.
  14. ↑ With Tempo 406 into a new railway age. In: Der neue Tag Weiden, May 2, 1988.
  15. ↑ At a speed of 330 through the Altmühltal. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung No. 283, 2005, ISSN  0174-4917 , p. 49.
  16. ↑ On the racetrack. In: mobile . April 2010, pp. 46-49.
  17. ^ Matthias Maier, Rüdiger Block: ICE. InterCity Experimental. InterCity Express. In: Eisenbahn-Kurier Special: High-speed traffic . No. 21, 1991, excluding ISSN, pp. 58-67.
  18. ↑ a b c d The final triumph. In: Murray Hughes: The High Speed ​​Story. alba-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-87094-151-0 , pp. 215-226.
  19. ↑ Train sets world record near Würzburg. In: Franconian Volksblatt Würzburg. dated May 2, 1988.
  20. ↑ For the record…. In: Today's railways Europe. August 2007, issue 140, ISSN  1354-2753 , p. 7.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on October 3, 2008 .