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What if Swiss trains consist of 30-40 cars at most? Then the rule is purely technical and doesn't even have to be remembered.

by hkai 7y ago

adrianmonk 7y ago
Very fair point. As long as that condition holds, then I guess it's a non-issue. There are apparently trains bigger than that in some parts of the world (such as the US and Australia) but maybe conditions in Switzerland prevent that from happening? This is way beyond my level of knowledge though.
kposehn 7y ago
Actually, the longest regular Swiss trains seem to top out at 44 cars. This is because of passing siding lengths being much smaller than other countries such as the US. There are longer trains that are scheduled on routes with longer sidings however such as a the main north/south routes. Most European trains rarely exceed 22 cars for the same reasons as they have to be able to be passed by express trains in stations.
- Freak_NL 7y ago
  Yeah, a bit of light browsing yields a 25 to 30 unit average for European freight trains¹. https://www.allianz-pro-schiene.de/themen/aktuell/740-meter-gueterzug/ https://www.allianz-pro-schiene.de/themen/aktuell/740-meter-...
  - kposehn 7y ago
    Ah, it’s up from last I checked. Thanks!
- RugnirViking 7y ago
  but if most of the cars have 8 axles per wagon, they'll hit 256 pretty easily. I don't know how many freight wagons have that many axles, but a lot of passenger carriges do.
  - usr1106 7y ago
    I am somewhat interested in railways, but I have never seen an 8 axle passenger wagon. Even 6 axle passenger wagons are not in use in Europe today. Can you give a reference of any 8 axle wagon? The longest passenger trains in Central Europe are around 400 meters. To get 256 axles there would be an axle every 1.6 meters on the whole train. Freight trains of 1000 meters are exceptional in Europe. You would need an axle every 4 meters to come up to 256. The axle limit is completely theoretical. The are plenty of other limits a train would exceed before.

What if Swiss trains consist of 30-40 cars at most? Then the rule is purely technical and doesn't even have to be remembered.

by hkai 7y ago

What if Swiss trains consist of 30-40 cars at most? Then the rule is purely technical and doesn't even have to be remembered.

adrianmonk 7y ago

Very fair point. As long as that condition holds, then I guess it's a non-issue. There are apparently trains bigger than that in some parts of the world (such as the US and Australia) but maybe conditions in Switzerland prevent that from happening? This is way beyond my level of knowledge though.

kposehn 7y ago

Actually, the longest regular Swiss trains seem to top out at 44 cars. This is because of passing siding lengths being much smaller than other countries such as the US. There are longer trains that are scheduled on routes with longer sidings however such as a the main north/south routes. Most European trains rarely exceed 22 cars for the same reasons as they have to be able to be passed by express trains in stations.

Freak_NL 7y ago
Yeah, a bit of light browsing yields a 25 to 30 unit average for European freight trains¹. https://www.allianz-pro-schiene.de/themen/aktuell/740-meter-gueterzug/ https://www.allianz-pro-schiene.de/themen/aktuell/740-meter-...
- kposehn 7y ago
  Ah, it’s up from last I checked. Thanks!
RugnirViking 7y ago
but if most of the cars have 8 axles per wagon, they'll hit 256 pretty easily. I don't know how many freight wagons have that many axles, but a lot of passenger carriges do.
- usr1106 7y ago
  I am somewhat interested in railways, but I have never seen an 8 axle passenger wagon. Even 6 axle passenger wagons are not in use in Europe today. Can you give a reference of any 8 axle wagon? The longest passenger trains in Central Europe are around 400 meters. To get 256 axles there would be an axle every 1.6 meters on the whole train. Freight trains of 1000 meters are exceptional in Europe. You would need an axle every 4 meters to come up to 256. The axle limit is completely theoretical. The are plenty of other limits a train would exceed before.