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Advanced trains
For a specially designed high-speed track, the Beijing-Shanghai line will use a specially designed high-speed train. The CRH380A series manufactured by China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp. Ltd. and CRH380B series produced by China CNR Corp. Ltd. have speeds of 350 km an hour and 380 km an hour. Both are independently designed by and in China.
During trial operations, when the trains reached more than 400 km an hour, the derailment coefficient, the rate of wheel load reduction and maximum lateral wheelset force of the train, stood at 0.13, 0.6 and 16, respectively. These are three important coefficients to measure the safety performance of trains—the lower, the better. The international standards for high-speed trains are 0.8, 0.8 and 48.
Yang Guowei, a researcher with the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the institute is responsible for the aerodynamic optimization design of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, and many technologies being employed are based on research on aeronautics and astronautics dynamics made by the institute. For the locomotive shape of CRH380A trains, the institute and CSR Qingdao Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. Ltd. came up with more than 20 designs. After numerical analysis and wind tunnel experiments at the Tongji University, they selected a locomotive design with the least amount of vibration and that produced less noise while in motion.
CRH380A trains are quiet as they run along the track. Noise inside train carriages is only 61 decibels when the trains run at 300 km an hour, while the inside noise for a Boeing aircraft during taking off is 81 decibels and a car running at 120 km an hour, 76 decibels.
Ma Lijun, a technician of CRH380A trains, said they had solved the stability problems the trains experienced when traveling at high speeds in a zigzag pattern along the line. When traveling at 400 km an hour, eggs on a table in the train will not wobble. At 350 km an hour, a cigarette standing on end will not falter.
The CRH380A trains are also extremely safe, according to a Xinhua report. If a 1-kg aluminum ball smacks into the front window of the train at 540 km an hour, the ball will crack but not shatter the glass. Similarly, birds or other animals that may impact the train will cause little to no damage.
The high-speed trains boast more than just advanced technology. Trains for the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway include first-class, second-class and business carriages, as well as dining cars and VIP sightseeing areas. The VIP area is equipped with folding tables, bookshelves and TV sets for passenger use.
Business carriages feature attendant buttons similar to those on aircraft. In the first-class carriage, there are four adjustable seats in each row. The second-class carriage has five seats in each row. Each carriage is equipped with two toilets and one washing room. Special seating sections and toilets are available for disabled passengers.
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