French President Nicolas Sarkozy has attended the launch of a new high-speed train made by engineering giant Alstom. The AGV (Automotrice Grande Vitesse) train will travel at up to 360km/h (224mph), powered by engines placed under each carriage, the company says. The absence of locomotives at either end allows it to carry more passengers. Alstom compares the AGV - successor to the TGV - to the world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, in terms of importance and innovation.
The AGV (Automotrice Grande Vitesse) train will travel at up to 360km/h (224mph), powered by engines placed under each carriage, the company says.
The absence of locomotives at either end allows it to carry more passengers.
Alstom compares the AGV - successor to the TGV - to the world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, in terms of importance and innovation.
More passengers is the lesser advantage, having distributed power (or, more precisely, more traction force) is the real big advantage. Also, some US-style boosterism there -- all Japanese Shinkansens and the German ICE-3 have distributed power already. The one new thing here is distributed power on Jacobs bogies (between-cars bogies). *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
