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Re: Calif. High-speed rail on track for debacle
Author: ericmarseille
Date: 07-18-2011 - 05:11
Hi,
My Frenchman's two cents here.
The fastest AVERAGE speed on a SNCF route is 179 mph on the newest EST-LGV line, between two minor stations (don't remember their name), don't remember the distance between them, must be between 70 and 100 miles.
SNCF has a relatively conservative (and wise, should I say) philosophy on that matter ; what they are looking for is to maximize return on investment ; as a result what is most important to them is the average time FROM PARIS TO ANY OTHER CITY, all the while keeping the time schedule as close as they reasonably can to 3 hours, which is the turning point in high speed rail competitiveness (4 hours being the point after which competitiveness falls).
A Paris to Marseille trip for instance, with two stops at Avignon and Aix-en-Provence, takes these days 3h17mn for a total of 480 miles (410 as the crow flies), that is 146 mph (125mph as the crow flies).
You can reasonably put most of TGV routes in a bracket between 120 and 180 mph average speed depending on how much of a high speed rail line do they use, how many intermediary stops, newest or oldest high speed rail lines (newer=faster), whether Paris is Departure/Arrival or not.
My Frenchman's two cents here.
The fastest AVERAGE speed on a SNCF route is 179 mph on the newest EST-LGV line, between two minor stations (don't remember their name), don't remember the distance between them, must be between 70 and 100 miles.
SNCF has a relatively conservative (and wise, should I say) philosophy on that matter ; what they are looking for is to maximize return on investment ; as a result what is most important to them is the average time FROM PARIS TO ANY OTHER CITY, all the while keeping the time schedule as close as they reasonably can to 3 hours, which is the turning point in high speed rail competitiveness (4 hours being the point after which competitiveness falls).
A Paris to Marseille trip for instance, with two stops at Avignon and Aix-en-Provence, takes these days 3h17mn for a total of 480 miles (410 as the crow flies), that is 146 mph (125mph as the crow flies).
You can reasonably put most of TGV routes in a bracket between 120 and 180 mph average speed depending on how much of a high speed rail line do they use, how many intermediary stops, newest or oldest high speed rail lines (newer=faster), whether Paris is Departure/Arrival or not.
