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Department of exposing technical illiteracy and diverse nitpickery:

a stronger, 25,000-horsepower engine

A modern electric train has one engine per driven axle, you idiot! That means 12 engines in the test train altogether.

Also note that though SNCF's communique itself is not so precise, there are different definitions of horsepower, and with them:

  • US/British horsepower (HP): 550 foot x lbs / sec = 745.7 W, that is the test TGV does c. 26.300 HP,
  • Metric horsepower (originally German PS): 735.49875 W, that is the test TGV does c. 26.650 PS/cv/whatever.


*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 at 11:01:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It'd be nice (not that I have the slightest idea about much of this stuff) to see a comparison again on the environmental impact of rail, in particular high-speed electric rail, versus competing transport methods (in particular, air).

I think you've done this before too.

Fai de bèn a Bertrand, te lou rendra en cagant

by redstar on Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 at 12:56:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
OK, I'll look for that tomorrow from work.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 at 02:06:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Sounds very interesting.
Can you also include a slow form like Hot Air/dirigibles blimps? I have read the USA DoD is thinking of using some of these for transport of heavy equipment.

Rutherfordian ------------------------------ RDRutherford
by Ronald Rutherford (rdrradio1 -at- msn -dot- com) on Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 at 05:29:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Doesn´t DoD publish its reports and environmental impact statements?


Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.
by metavision on Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 at 06:07:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I suspect that bicycles are still the only form of transportation with a net savings of time when you count all the time going into building and maintaining the systems. Meaning that those using a system save less time than the many other people lose creating and maintaining it.

Not quite the question you were asking, but in the same vein.

Jeff Wegerson - Prairie State Blue

by wegerje on Wed Apr 4th, 2007 at 02:19:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I don't talk hot air :-)

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Wed Apr 4th, 2007 at 04:37:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Looking around the ET archive, relevant stuff:
I also looked up a source on CO2 emissions themselves, it's from German railways 2004 report, all numbers are gram CO2 per ton-kilometre:
  • Freight transport: train 29, river barges 35, road (lorries >3.5t) 96, airplanes 665
  • Local passenger: buses 77, trains 98, average private car 148
  • long-distance passenger (includes high-speed ICE): buses 33, trains 52, average car 147, [domestic] planes 183

Note that train CO2 emissions can be reduced to near zero by changing the structure of power generation...

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Wed Apr 4th, 2007 at 06:20:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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