Cruising speed

Under cruising speed is defined as the average speed on a trip.

definition

Travel speed and duration

In relation to the individual passenger and the individual transport case, the following generally applies:

${\ displaystyle \ mathrm {Travel speed} = {\ frac {\ mathrm {Travel distance}} {\ mathrm {Travel time}}}}$
Travel distance is the travel route , the distance between the starting point and the destination,
Travel duration is the amount of time that must be spent on the journey.

Conversely, travel distance (in  distance hours ) = travel speed  (in  km / h ) × travel duration  (in  hours ), the same also applies to the calculation of longer trips in days.

In this sense, historical or geographical comparisons can be made using travel times. Whether one means the distance as the crow flies or the traffic route by travel route is an open question.

Because several different modes of transport are generally used on a trip , the terms place of departure and destination must be seen in the respective context, i.e. whether the calculation is “from house to house” or only the stage of a means of transport is considered. Also, whether the question concerns a specific travel case, the performance of a means of transport, or the infrastructure, leads to different terms. Hence there are several more specific definitions.

Cruising speed and driving speed

In general logistical traffic planning, a distinction is made between travel speed and travel speed of a means of transport: The term travel generally encompasses the entire period of time from starting to reaching the destination. The travel speed also includes the set-up times before departure and at the end. Therefore, the general rule is that the cruising speed is lower than the driving speed. In addition, the faster the means of transport, the greater the difference between travel and driving speed (i.e. the set-up times). The set-up time for a cyclist is almost zero, while that in air traffic is long, both in absolute terms and in relation to travel time.

In the case of railways, this means the average speed based on the total travel time between departure and arrival stations, including any intermediate stops, and in the case of road vehicles (e.g. cars ) the average speed for the entire distance between the start and destination point, taking into account the breaks on the way.

In long-distance transport, there is also the question of whether you measure from train station to train station or airport to airport or, for example, from city center to city center (arrival times) - depending on the situation, comparisons are very different. In private transport , the question arises as to whether one means travel speeds from city to city including city traffic up to the entrance to the trunk road, or from the city limits.

Cruising speed and operating speed

From a technical point of view, the speed of a means of transport is also called 'travel speed', which is reached under the specific circumstances of a travel route, not a specific journey. The travel speed is then the optimum continuous speed typical for a means of transport ( operating speed ) , as it is achieved in regular service.

In addition to the maximum allowable (distance-based) top speed (speed limit) and the maximum design speed is added at locomotives and trains the operating speed of standard track and the design speed within the route network and subsumes both the latter to a cruising speed '(the cruising speed of a modern high-speed set is on a high-speed line designed for you must be dimensioned differently than in mixed operation in the classic rail network ).

Cruising speed and traffic speed

In relation to the traffic infrastructure and the specific conditions of a route, travel speed refers to the average speed of all road users that is reached on the route within regular travel operations on open routes and in free traffic .

The term is no longer restricted to Antrittsort and destination, so called, cruising speed 'for the traffic speed on a section, as it is aimed at this as a stage in normal travel, or in air traffic for the route in cruising is possible to cruising speed at cruising altitude .

The determination of the travel speed averaged over the vehicles is then by no means trivial in road traffic, and it is complex in terms of its measurement or modeling. If the traffic speed is the traffic flow over time, the mean travel speed of the route section is roughly defined as the sliding mean value of the individual speeds determined at a measuring point of passing vehicles (see fundamental diagram of the traffic flow ).

Travel speed and travel quality

And finally, for the travel speed, the speed is used as a basis of assessment, which guarantees optimal travel quality and maximum safety.

For example, the recommended travel speed for the motorist is a recommended speed that is adapted to the volume of traffic, the time of day, the route and weather conditions, but also to the performance of the vehicle, in ship traffic that can still be reasonably adhered to depending on the sea and wind, or in air traffic that, which, depending on turbulence, can still be flown for the pilot and passengers.

Stops at stops

The average travel speed of public transport depends on the number of stops, the duration of the stop and the distance between the stops. If the number of stops is tight, for example, fast means of transport ( e.g. subways in the city center) cannot reach their maximum speed at all or only use them over short distances, the time-optimized journey between two stops then only consists of acceleration and braking.

Historical development

Average travel speeds of different means of transport in the course of historical development. The information of the speed refer to average benefits under state of the art in regular operation: In the urban space around the effective speed of traffic is (drawing on idle times of the traffic guidance , speed limit , traffic congestion , parking space and stops stays) today throughout the 10-15 km per Hour, as in the times of horse traffic. Even today, passenger trains are still traveling on routes that reflect average times in the 1950s, regional trains with frequent boarding stops and lower priority than long-distance trains are still far below (around 40–50 km / h).

Means of transport epoch km / h Remarks
Pedestrians , pack animals 0,000,000.004th 10  hours away , day trip up to approx. 40 km on the plain
day march , military: 22.5 km,
forced marches up to 50 km message runners, for example the Chaski of the Inca: 3–400 km as the crow flies (day and night continuous run in the relay)
Riding horse 1850s 0.000.000.024 Pony Express : The fastest ride of a section of 193 km took 8 hours and 10 minutes.
bicycle today 0.000.000.015th On August 1st, 2010 Christian von Ascheberg reached 1219 km in 24 hours or 50.8 km / h on the Lausitzring with a velomobile
Stagecoach 1700s 0,000,000.002 Daily output: 20–30 km
Stagecoach 1800s 0,000,000.003
Stagecoach 1815s 0,000,000.004th
Stagecoach 1830s 0,000,000.006th
Stagecoach 1850s 0.000.000.010 Daily output: 100–120 km
Railroad ( horse-drawn tram ) 1840s 0,000,000.009 Daily output: 128 km horse-drawn railway line Budweis – Linz since 1836, from: 5 am, to: 7 pm
Railway ( steam ) 1850s 0.000.000.035
Railway (steam) 1870s 0.000.000.050
Railway (steam) 1910s 0.000.000.090
Railway (steam) 1930s 0,000,000.120
Railway ( diesel / electric ) 1980s 0,000,000.125
Railway (electric) today 0,000,000.263 Wuhan – Guangzhou high-speed line , 969 km, travel time three hours and 41 minutes (as of 12/2017).
Subway (electric) 1950s 0.000.000.028 Travel speed of the Hamburg S-Bahn and U-Bahn
automobile 1905 0.000.000.015th
automobile 1940 0.000.000.050
automobile today 0.000.000.060 Average travel speed in German-speaking countries, overland. In the city center, the travel speed sometimes drops below that of the bicycle.
Sailing ship 1850s 0.000.000.018th Short-term speed in optimal wind conditions; In contrast, as a practical example, the journey time of the whaling ship Essex 1820 from Nantucket / east coast USA to the fishing area off Peru / west coast South America : approx. 10 months for approx. 18,000 km!
Compare also: Etmal
Steamship 1838 0.000.000.016 380 km: Great Western Bristol - New York 1838, 8.66 kn = 16 km / h
Steamship 1952 0.000.000.066 5,450 km: United States New York - Southampton 1952, 35.59 kn = 65.91 km / h
Cargo ship today 0.000.000.039 Due to overcapacity and to save fuel costs, the largest cargo ships reduced their cruising speed from around 23 knots to 21 knots in 2015/2016