TGV world record runs on December 5, 1989 and May 18, 1990
As part of the TGV world record runs December 5, 1989 and May 18, 1990 a set TGV - train (a French Höchstgeschwindkeitszug) on the high-speed line LGV Atlantique with 482.6 and 515.3 kmh new world speed records for conventional rail vehicles on.
With this, the “ Blue Ribbon of the Rails ”, which temporarily went to Germany as part of the ICE world record run on May 1st, 1988 (406.9 km / h) , was recaptured by the French engineers. The records of 1989 and 1990 were further increased on April 3, 2007 as part of the record run " V150 " by a modified TGV train with 574.8 km / h.
history
background
Since during the world record runs of the SNCF on 28/29. In March 1955 the record set at 331 km / h, which in 1981 was increased to 380 km / h by a TGV, France held the world record for rail vehicles for 28 years without interruption. When the then Deutsche Bundesbahn raised the speed record for rail vehicles to 406.9 km / h on May 1, 1988 and brought it to Germany, the SNCF initially lacked a suitable set for journeys in this speed range.
As a result, the TGV-Süd-Ost-Set 88 was converted in the Bischheim repair shop for trips at very high speed. The end cars of the set 88 u. a. larger wheels , the number of intermediate cars was reduced to five. In this configuration, the set should reach speeds of up to 420 km / h. In two test drives on the LGV Atlantique, the multiple unit reached top speeds of 365 km / h each in October and November 1988.
Unofficial record runs
Between December 5 and 9, 1988, the train on the LGV Sud-Est finally broke the 400 km / h mark nine times in the Sambourg-Tonnerre area. On December 12 of the same year, the train unofficially set the German record of May 1 of the same year at 408.4 km / h. The French Transport Minister Michel Delebarre thereupon initially canceled the test program and instructed those involved to keep silent about the unofficial record drive and to indicate 405 km / h as the highest speed achieved. A new world record was not to be set on rails in the same year in which 56 people died in the train accident at Gare de Lyon . In addition, the tense relationship with railway unions at the time was also the reason for the delays.
First record run (December 5, 1989)
Preparations
In the course of 1989, the indications of plans for a new record run, in which the German record was officially to be clearly surpassed, intensified. In September 1989 rumors surfaced in the French press about a planned record speed of 445 km / h, which the SNCF denied. Two months later it finally became known that a TGV Atlantique set was being converted for a record run in the Châtillon depot. The project received the code name TGV 117 , for 117 meters per second (= 421 km / h). The secrecy of the project went so far that test drives to check the vehicle equipment were only carried out at night.
From November 23, 1989, a series of preparatory test drives was made with the TGV 308 set. On November 30th, test drives in the high speed range began with the later record set 325. Three journeys were planned per day, with extensive measurement data being evaluated after each journey and the maximum speed being pushed higher and higher. During the first of these test runs, the TGV record of 380 km / h from 1981 was achieved.
On December 1, 1989, the multiple unit unofficially set the German record of May 1, 1988 at 442.6 km / h. On the two following trips, the record was further increased with speeds of 463 and 473 km / h. An even higher speed was initially not achieved by the vehicle after a circuit breaker triggered on December 4 at 463 km / h.
Course of the record run
On December 5th, around 7:30 a.m., multiple unit 308 pulled the record train 325 from the depot in Châtillon - the record train was not able to cover the short stretch between Gare Montparnasse and the start of the high-speed line with its own without a DC pantograph Drive to drive.
Dangeau, 114 km from Paris, was planned as the starting point for the record run. First, the 308 set was sent ahead at 350 km / h to check the functionality of the track and overhead line . After the set had arrived at the end of the test track, the priority gave the waiting 325 multiple unit the departure permit.
The multiple unit intended for the world record run then used the northern section of the LGV Atlantique, which was already in operation at that time, to start up. With a special permit, he was also allowed to drive on points at speeds of over 300 km / h.
At the beginning of the specially prepared test section, near Courtalain (approx. 111 km), the multiple unit had already reached a speed of 363 km / h. At km 149.5 a speed of 450 was reached, at km 166 a speed of 480 km / h. At kilometer 166.6, at 11:47 a.m., the multiple unit reached the new record at 482.6 km / h. At kilometer 169, the train driver received the order to switch off the drive. The train then continued its journey to Vernou-sur-Brenne.
In total, the multiple unit took six minutes or 22 km to reach a speed of 400 km / h. More than 400 km / h stood over 45 kilometers on the clock, with over 450 km / h the train traveled 22 kilometers. A light north wind of 5 km / h had a supportive effect, while the cold (and therefore denser) air in a high-pressure area that was passed through was considered adverse . 50 technicians and engineers from SNCF and GEC-Alsthom were on board the record train . These included the two senior engineers at TGV Atlantique and the deputy general manager of the SNCF (who was responsible for the record run).
With a top speed of 482.6 km / h, the SNCF not only officially surpassed the ICE record of 1988. The 410 km / h record set by an experimental rail vehicle in August 1974 in Pueblo ( USA ) was surpassed, as was the 428 km / h record set by the Aérotrain hovercraft in March 1974.
Immediately after the record run was completed, a helicopter took off with a film of the record run to Paris . A press conference was held in the evening at which journalists were furious that they only found out about the record run after the end of the record drive. To appease the criticism, a trip for journalists was offered two days later, on which 471.1 km / h were reached. Transport Minister Delebarre, Research Minister Herbert Curien and the South Korean Ambassador to France, Han Woo Suk, were also on board . (A few days earlier there had been a special trip for the South Korean President Roh Tae Woo at 300 km / h, whose country was planning a high-speed line from Seoul to Busan including the corresponding high-speed trains .) François Lacôte , who was largely responsible for the record run said that speeds of over 500 km / h were possible.
Second record run (May 18, 1990)
Preparations
After the measured values of the first record run showed scope for even higher speeds, the 325 set completed further test runs in December 1989 to probe the limits of high-speed traffic.
The 325 set was then returned to the Châtillon depot, where it was subjected to further technical changes in February 1990. Numerous test drives followed. March 8, 1990 was initially set as the date of the second record run. This date could not be kept after the specially manufactured transformer in the rear power car exploded on March 5 and damaged the set. On March 9, the record run was officially postponed indefinitely.
Initially, a standard transformer was installed while another custom-made one was under construction and the damage was being investigated. On May 4th, the 325 set unofficially exceeded its own record of 485 km / h. On May 9th, the 500 km / h mark was unofficially broken for the first time with a top speed of 501.6 km / h. The following day problems arose with the pantographs , which led to a number of components being replaced. In addition, the mechanical tension of the overhead line has been increased slightly. On May 16, 1990, the top speed was increased to 510.8 km / h. Due to the upcoming preparations for the commercial commissioning, which was to take place in September 1990, there were only a few days left for further high-speed runs. In doing so, the decision was made to organize one last high-speed trip that would take place in the public spotlight.
On May 17, 1990, more than 100 journalists were invited to attend the record drive. On the following day they were brought to a bridge at km 167.5 in a special train. From there, the route could be overlooked up to about 163.5 kilometers. The journalists were able to follow the preparations on board the 325 train via a radio link and loudspeaker.
The blue-silver painted train let sparks hit from the pantograph in the high-speed range and threw up a cloud of dust behind it. To the cheers of people standing by the route, it was initially assumed that the train had reached a top speed of 517 km / h - an unmanned Japanese magnetic levitation vehicle had already reached this value in 1979. A few minutes after reaching the top speed, the officially measured value of 515.3 km / h was announced. This speed was reached at 10:08 a.m. at route kilometer 166.8 (south of Vendôme station ). A little later, the world record train pulled into the Vendôme train station, whistling loudly.
Vehicle configuration
The TGV Atlantique 325 set was selected for the first record run and shortened to four intermediate cars . The train comprised a measuring car, a car with a bar and conference area and two second- class cars . The record train included numerous technical modifications, and a number of components were specially selected and replaced for the record runs. The press work of the SNCF at the time always referred to the multiple unit as a regular TGV train. This was true insofar as the power cars and cars would later be used again in passenger operations.
The diameter of the wheels on the power cars was increased from 920 to 1050 mm for the first record run. The gear ratio was changed so that at 4000 revolutions per minute a speed of 400 instead of 300 km / h could be achieved. The axle bearings used had been run in on a TGV on the LGV Sud Est over 10,000 km, the gear ratios had been extensively tested in a test laboratory of the SNCF. Each bogie was fitted with roll dampers , the side dampers were adjusted to absorb higher forces. The air pressure in the air bellows of the secondary suspension was increased in order to be able to compensate for stronger jolts . The raising of the intermediate car by about one centimeter caused the difference in height between the raised end cars and the cars.
In the electrical part, the output power of the mains transformer was increased, the output of the synchronous motors was increased from 1100 to 1500 kW each. The continuous rated output of the machine was thus 12,000 kW. Both pantographs had been removed from one power end and replaced by aerodynamic panels, while on the other power end only the 25 kV pantograph remained on the roof.
The brakes have also been revised. The brake discs on the non-driven axles have been adjusted for a higher braking force, the braking resistors have been revised in order to be able to dissipate heat more effectively.
The set 325 also received a large number of monitoring devices, in particular in order to be able to monitor and record the acting forces. Measuring devices recorded, among other things, the forces exerted by the wheels on the track and the temperatures on traction motors , axle bearings and other components. A radar was installed between the rear powered end car and the adjacent intermediate car , a camera with a video recorder monitored the pantograph, and other cameras kept an eye on the driver's cab and the interior of the measuring car.
Changes for the second record run
For the second record run, the fleet was shortened to three intermediate cars in order to further improve the force-mass ratio. The diameter of the power car wheels was increased by 40 mm to 1,090 mm and the drag of the multiple unit was reduced by a further ten percent through various measures.
route
A southern section of the LGV Atlantique was selected for the record run . It began not far from the Courtalin junction, near Dangeau, 114 km from Paris. The test track ended in St Cyr-du-Gault and included a long downhill stretch.
The minimum curve radius at the northern end of the section was 6,000 meters and reached radii of 15,000 meters in the maximum speed section. A small bridge over the navail was specially reinforced.
For the record runs, the track was replenished and leveled . Pieces of ballast at the edge of the track were removed to avoid flying ballast . The force with which the contact wire was tensioned had been increased from 20 to 27 kN , the electrical voltage from 25 to 28 kV . At the beginning of December 1989, the contact wire tension was increased to 28 kN in order to prevent transverse waves and thus to exceed the critical speed for the pantograph above the 500 km / h mark. At the beginning of May 1990 the tension of the contact wire was increased slightly again.
As on the train, numerous measuring instruments were installed along the route. Sensors monitored the position of the track, the noise level and the speed of the train.
source
- The final triumph . In: Murray Hughes: The High Speed Story . alba-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-87094-151-0 , pp. 217-226
Individual evidence
- ^ French Railways, Commercial Delegation: TGV Atlantique . 18-page brochure, August 1990, p. 1.