Land speed record for railed vehicles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Determination of the fastest railed vehicle in the world varies depending on the definition of "rail".

The French TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) is the fastest conventional train in the world, using powered metal wheels riding on metal rails. In February 2007 it was reported that the TGV had broken its own 1990 record with a new speed of 553 km/h (343.7 mph) under test conditions with a shortened train (two power cars and three passenger cars).[1][2]

The Japanese JR-Maglev is the fastest non-conventional train in the world, having achieved 581 km/h (361 mph) on a magnetic-levitation track. Unmanned rocket sleds that ride on rails have reached over 10,400 km/h (6,462 mph), equivalent to Mach 8.5.

Contents

Further information: TGV world speed record
km/h (mph) Train Type Location Date Comments
203 (126.13) Siemens Drehstrom-Triebwagen Electric Germany October 1903
380 (236.12) SNCF TGV Sud-Est Set No. 16 Electric France 26 February 1981 On LGV Sud-Est
406.9 (252.83) InterCityExperimental (ICE-V) Electric Germany 1 May 1988
408.4 SNCF TGV Sud-Est Set No. 88 Electric France 12 December 1988 On LGV Sud-Est
482.4 SNCF TGV Atlantique Set No. 325 Electric France 5 December 1989 On LGV Atlantique. Set formed of 2 power cars + 3 trailers
515.3 (320.19) SNCF TGV Atlantique Set No. 325 Electric France 18 May 1990 On LGV Atlantique. Set formed of 2 power cars + 3 trailers
553 (343.6) unofficial SNCF TGV POS Set No. 4402 Electric France 13 February 2007 On LGV Est. Set formed of 2 power cars + 3 trailers
557 (346.18) unofficial SNCF TGV POS Set No. 4402 Electric France 20 February 2007 On LGV Est. Set formed of 2 power cars + 3 trailers

km/h (mph) Train Type Location Date Comments
243 (150.99) CC 7121 Electric France 21 February 1954
330.9 (205.61) CC 7107 Electric France 28 March 1955
330.9 (205.61) BB 9004 Electric France 29 March 1955
357 (221.82) 1216 050 Electric Germany 2 September 2006 Record attained in Germany, but locomotive owned by ÖBB

km/h (mph) Train Type Location Date Comments
318 (197.59) TGV 001 Gas turbine-electric France 8 December 1972

km/h (mph) Train Type Location Date Comments
205.0 (127.4) DRG SVT 137 "Bauart Leipzig" Diesel Germany 17 February 1936 First diesel train faster than 125 mph
215.0 (133.6) DRG SVT 137 155 (Kruckenberg) Diesel Germany 23 June 1939
230.4 (143.16) Class 252 (HST prototype) Diesel United Kingdom 12 June 1973
238 (147.88) Class 43 (HST) Diesel United Kingdom 1 November 1987 Current diesel speed record listed in 2006 Guinness Book of Records
271 (168.39) TEP80 Diesel Russia December 1992 Record claimed by Russian manufacturer
256.38 (159.30) Talgo XXI Diesel Spain 12 June 2002 Record claimed by Talgo manufacturer

km/h (mph) Train Type Location Date Comments
230.2 (143.03) Schienenzeppelin Propeller pushed railcar with a petrol aero engine Germany 21 June 1931 Absolute record for more than twenty years

km/h (mph) Train Type Location Date Comments
8 (4.97) Richard Trevithick's world's first railway steam locomotive Steam United Kingdom 21 February 1804
Locomotion No. 1 Steam United Kingdom
Stephenson's Rocket Steam United Kingdom
131 (82) Empire State Express No. 999 Steam United States May 10, 1893 Unofficial clockings claims 112 mph (179 km/h) which would make it the first wheeled vehicle to exceed 100 mph.[1]
164 (101.90) GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro Steam United Kingdom 9 May 1904 Claimed to be the first steam locomotive to reach 100 mph.
160 (100) LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman Steam United Kingdom 1934

In 1934, Flying Scotsman achieved the first authenticated 100 mph (160 km/h) by a steam locomotive.[2]
168.5 (104.70) LNER Class A3 No. 2750 Papyrus Steam United Kingdom 5 March 1935 First run at 100 mph+ with complete, surviving documentation.
181.1 (112.53) Milwaukee Road class A #2 Steam United States 15 May 1935 [citation needed]
185.07 (115.00) Pennsylvania Railroad E6s #460 Steam United States 11 June 1927 E6s #7002 was clocked at Crestline, Ohio at 127.1 mph (204.55 km/h) in 1905. However PRR Steam Locomotives did not carry speedometers at that time, time was calculated by measuring time between mile markers, so this is not recognized as a speed record.[citation needed]
200.4 (124.52) Borsig DRG series 05 002 Steam Germany 11 May 1936
202.6 (125.88) LNER Class A4 No.4468 Mallard Steam United Kingdom 3 July 1938 Peak speed 202.6 km/h, mean speed (half-mile) 201.2 km/h. Mallard suffered an overheated big end during the run, but was repaired and returned to traffic within 9 days[3].

km/h Train Type Location Date Comments
430 (267.18) Aérotrain Jet aero engine France 5 March 1974 Peak speed 430 km/h, mean speed 417.6 km/h

km/h (mph) Train Type Location Date Comments
412.6 (256.37) Transrapid 06 Maglev Germany 1988
450 (279.61) Transrapid 07 Maglev Germany 17 June 1993
531 (329.94) JR-Maglev MLX01 Maglev Japan 12 December 1997
552 (342.99) JR-Maglev MLX01 Maglev Japan 14 April 1999
581 (361.01) JR-Maglev MLX01 Maglev Japan 2 December 2003

517 (321.24) JR-Maglev ML500 Maglev Japan 21 December 1979
550 (341.75) JR-Maglev MLX01 Maglev Japan 24 December 1997

1026 (637.52) JR-Maglev MLX01 Maglev Japan 16 November 2004

Average speed (km/h) Top speed (km/h) Train Type Location From To Distance Date Comments
124 160 (?) "Fliegender Hamburger" Diesel-electric Germany Berlin Hamburg 286 km 1933 DMU, 98 passengers
132.1 160 Mistral Electric France Paris Dijon 315 km 1964
162.8 210 Hikari Shinkansen Electric Japan Tokyo Shin-Osaka 515.0 km 1965 stopped at Nagoya and Kyoto
261.8 300 Nozomi Shinkansen Electric Japan Hiroshima Kokura 192.0 km 1997 operated by 500 Series Shinkansen
263.3 320 TGV Electric France Lyon-St Exupéry Aix-en-Provence 289.6 km 2005

Top speed (km/h) Average speed (km/h) Train Type Location From To Distance Date Comments
210 128.9 Hikari Shinkansen Electric Japan Tokyo Shin-Osaka 515 km 1964
270 - TGV Electric France Paris Lyon-Perrache 425 km 1981
300 - TGV Electric France Paris Le Mans 176 km 1990
320 263.3 TGV Electric France Lyon-St Exupéry Aix-en-Provence 289.6 km 2005 Fastest conventional
431 245.5 Shanghai Maglev Train Maglev China Shanghai Pudong Airport Shanghai Longyang Road 30 km 2003

Average speed (km/h) Train Type Location From To Distance Date Comments
242.5 Nozomi Shinkansen Electric Japan Shin-Osaka Hakata 554 km 1997 Fastest conventional
245.5 Shanghai Maglev Train Maglev China Shanghai Pudong Airport Shanghai Longyang Road 30 km 2003

Top speed (km/h) Train Type Location Date Comments
4972 Rocket New Mexico (USA) 1959 It ran on SNORT (Supersonic Naval Ordnance Track).
9845 Rocket Holloman Air Force Base (USA) October 1982 Unmanned. It blasted a 25-pound payload to a speed of 6119 mph.
10430 Rocket Holloman Air Force Base (USA) 30 April 2003 Unmanned. It was the final stage of a four-stage sled train, which included the sled, a Super Roadrunner rocket motor, and a 192-pound payload on top. The sled train delivered payload into a target at a velocity of 9465 feet per second, or 6453 mph (2885 m/s), or Mach 8.5.

  1. ^ Le Parisien of 14 February 2007 reported that the new record was set on 13 February 2007 on the new TGV Est line at Passavant-en-Argonne in Champagne.
  2. ^ "French high-speed TGV breaks world conventional rail-speed record", Deutsche Presse-Agentur (reprinted by Monsters and Critics), 2007-02-14. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  3. ^ http://www.lner.info/locos/A/a4.shtml

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