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Awesome! Thanks for posting, really interesting to see what you have to say about working on the Acela. Good point as well about unsprung weight - hadn't thoug

by kposehn 15y ago

Awesome! Thanks for posting, really interesting to see what you have to say about working on the Acela. Good point as well about unsprung weight - hadn't thought about that. As the Acela is that powerful (it is based on the TGV Atlantique I believe), what in your opinion is the worst issue that set has faced? I really think that if we could buy off the shelf designs (Shinkansen N700 for example) with minimal adaptation, that would solve a large number of problems. (I'm also more a proponent of HSR with EMU's instead of power cars). I do agree about our nation being unwilling to invest, but I also would add that it is a matter of density. Average travel distance via any HSR line in the US will be much longer than any other nation on the planet, making it much less attractive. There are some corridors which would see benefit, but because of the sprawl that most non-northeast cities have, a train doesn't provide you a realistic way to get from point A to point B outside station-to-station. You still have to get from the platform to your final destination.

Anechoic 15y ago
> what in your opinion is the worst issue that set has faced? Well the crappy infrastructure (shared ROW, lots of stops, lots of crossings, 100-year old catanary south of NYC, etc) is by far the most detrimental issue to Acela performance. With regard to the actual Acela vehicles itself: from what the insiders have told me, the worst issue the set has faced was, frankly, the selection of Bombardier/Alstom in the first place. I was told that when FRA auditioned the various HSR vehicles on the NEC (they actually paid to bring over a bunch of European trainsets to the NEC for testing back in the late 80's or early 90's), Siemens told them that their vehicle (ICE) could meet most of FRA/Amtrak's spec with a little work but not everything. Bombardier/Alstom said they could meet all of the performance requirements with no problems. After getting the vehicle contract, Bombardier/Alstom started to agitate about not being able to meet large parts of the specs which led to compromises in the design and delays. By the time FRA/Amtrak realized they made the wrong choice, they were in too deep. Again from what I've heard, if Amtrak/FRA had it to do over again, they would have gone with Siemens. It will be interesting to see what happens when it's time to replace the Acela.
- kposehn 15y ago
  Interesting, didn't know about Siemens bid being much closer to the mark. While we can't say that they wouldn't have had problems, I always figured that Bombardier/Alstom really had botched it, especially with the issue where the carbody was too wide for full-tilt.
- LeafStorm 15y ago
  Do you think the same problems will present themselves on the SEHSR corridor[1]? [1]: http://www.sehsr.org/ http://www.sehsr.org/
caf 15y ago
I suspect that the density problem in the US isn't as bad as in Australia.
- kposehn 15y ago
  Very true. As one person I know put it, "Australia is a few cities separated by an ocean of largely useless land." That Australia has managed to not only grow but thrive despite this is a testament to the people there. One great example is the Pilbara ore mining operations (BHP, Fortesque, Rio Tinto), that run some of the heaviest trains in the world. Even more interesting is that while the national Australian network has a tighter loading gauge and stricter load requirements, the Pilbara railways have the heaviest axle-load in the world at 230+ tons per car. For reference, in the US most trains are limited to 120 tons and in China 80 tons.
  - caf 15y ago
    Those Pilbara trains are robotically driven, too.
    - kposehn 15y ago
      Actually they aren't - they did try though. Currently they use a single-operator ruleset. Locomotives have a refrigerator, hot plate, coffee maker and stereo with CD player and iPod hookup for the crew member. There's one on YouTube who has done cab rides all the way from the mine to Port Hedland. I think he is rather bored :D

by kposehn 15y ago

Anechoic 15y ago

> what in your opinion is the worst issue that set has faced? Well the crappy infrastructure (shared ROW, lots of stops, lots of crossings, 100-year old catanary south of NYC, etc) is by far the most detrimental issue to Acela performance. With regard to the actual Acela vehicles itself: from what the insiders have told me, the worst issue the set has faced was, frankly, the selection of Bombardier/Alstom in the first place. I was told that when FRA auditioned the various HSR vehicles on the NEC (they actually paid to bring over a bunch of European trainsets to the NEC for testing back in the late 80's or early 90's), Siemens told them that their vehicle (ICE) could meet most of FRA/Amtrak's spec with a little work but not everything. Bombardier/Alstom said they could meet all of the performance requirements with no problems. After getting the vehicle contract, Bombardier/Alstom started to agitate about not being able to meet large parts of the specs which led to compromises in the design and delays. By the time FRA/Amtrak realized they made the wrong choice, they were in too deep. Again from what I've heard, if Amtrak/FRA had it to do over again, they would have gone with Siemens. It will be interesting to see what happens when it's time to replace the Acela.

kposehn 15y ago
Interesting, didn't know about Siemens bid being much closer to the mark. While we can't say that they wouldn't have had problems, I always figured that Bombardier/Alstom really had botched it, especially with the issue where the carbody was too wide for full-tilt.
LeafStorm 15y ago
Do you think the same problems will present themselves on the SEHSR corridor[1]? [1]: http://www.sehsr.org/ http://www.sehsr.org/

caf 15y ago

I suspect that the density problem in the US isn't as bad as in Australia.

kposehn 15y ago
Very true. As one person I know put it, "Australia is a few cities separated by an ocean of largely useless land." That Australia has managed to not only grow but thrive despite this is a testament to the people there. One great example is the Pilbara ore mining operations (BHP, Fortesque, Rio Tinto), that run some of the heaviest trains in the world. Even more interesting is that while the national Australian network has a tighter loading gauge and stricter load requirements, the Pilbara railways have the heaviest axle-load in the world at 230+ tons per car. For reference, in the US most trains are limited to 120 tons and in China 80 tons.
- caf 15y ago
  Those Pilbara trains are robotically driven, too.
  - kposehn 15y ago
    Actually they aren't - they did try though. Currently they use a single-operator ruleset. Locomotives have a refrigerator, hot plate, coffee maker and stereo with CD player and iPod hookup for the crew member. There's one on YouTube who has done cab rides all the way from the mine to Port Hedland. I think he is rather bored :D