4 ms·
In Switzerland the freight trains are not this long, perhaps at most 40 cars. They need three engines [0] to climb the gradient of 28‰ of the Gotthard mountain
by _nalply 10y ago
In Switzerland the freight trains are not this long, perhaps at most 40 cars. They need three engines [0] to climb the gradient of 28‰ of the Gotthard mountain line (now being replaced by the Gotthard base tunnel).
[0]: http://bazonline.ch/schweiz/standard/Zwei-Haende-bremsen-den-1800TonnenZug/story/17383753?track http://bazonline.ch/schweiz/standard/Zwei-Haende-bremsen-den... (German)
- pm24601 10y agoThat is probably the best point -- Swiss trains have to be short, so this 2^8 constraint isn't really an issue.
- rmoriz 10y agoYes and no. The limit until 2010 was 670m in nearly all parts of western europe. Block signals, crossroads, stations… need to be made sufficient long enough. With ETCS [1] there are no "fixed" physical block segements anymore. They are simulated in software and allow a much higher densitiy of trains and also longer trains. While SBB is highly motivated to roll out and migrate their legacy signalling systems, it's still a long way. The new Gotthard Base Tunnel is already built ETCS-only. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Train_Control_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Train_Control_System