# WORLD | High Speed Freight



## TRZ (Sep 18, 2004)

Songoten2554 said:


> what about in Asia they use the same type of frieght system as Europe i think?
> 
> i think in japan its like Europe somehow?


In Japan, JRFreight is a joke. Most freight in Japan is by truck and by sea. Trains don't carry much freight in Japan.


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## TRZ (Sep 18, 2004)

Rodalvesdepaula said:


> This train operated from 1968 to 1976, to compete with Union Pacific trains, and the speedy was 108 Km/h.


That's not high speed. Freight trains in Canada reach 100km/h all the time. Was that sarcasm?


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## elfabyanos (Jun 18, 2006)

Freight trains in the UK run at up to 120km/h on the mainlines.


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## Songoten2554 (Oct 19, 2006)

yeah on the UK there are faster.

but i wonder why can't the US frieght be faster then the ones in Europe?


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## ADCS (Oct 30, 2006)

Songoten2554 said:


> yeah on the UK there are faster.
> 
> but i wonder why can't the US frieght be faster then the ones in Europe?


They don't need/want to be. Running lots of freight at low speed is more cost effective, since savings are made both in infrastructure costs and in fuel costs.


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## elfabyanos (Jun 18, 2006)

In the UK there are two speeds, 60mph and 75mph (where possible) for freight. 75 mph paths tend to be for freight that requires speed, such as intermodal container trains, and the lower speed for things like coal and cement. Axle weight and available wagons plays an important part. One example of high speed freight wagon procurement http://www.therailwaycentre.com/News April 2008/110408_VTG.html.

Also, higher speed freight is useful to not be in passenger traffic's way so much.


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## TRZ (Sep 18, 2004)

Songoten2554 said:


> yeah on the UK there are faster.
> 
> but i wonder why can't the US frieght be faster then the ones in Europe?


Track quality. US tracks are cheap and weak in large portions of the network.


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## RSG (Jul 7, 2006)

High Speed Freight Rail is a very interesting idea.


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## serdar samanlı1 (Feb 20, 2008)

I think it is hard to make a train carry heavy loads and travel at high speeds at once.


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## Momo1435 (Oct 3, 2005)

In the May issue of Today's Railways (Europe) there's an article about the start of the high speed freight project in France. At first 2 TGV Sud-Est sets will be converted to carry freight, they will be labeled Fret-GV. Most likely the 2 sets that will be converted are 2 sets that are now stored after accidents.


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## Songoten2554 (Oct 19, 2006)

why can't the US tracks be fixed then to have faster and safer freight then.


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## elfabyanos (Jun 18, 2006)

It really is down to economics. Most freight routes in Europe are used heavily by all traffic, it therefore pays to invest in quality rails and sleepers, and employ the best construction techniques to allow high speed running and affordable maintenance costs with high amounts of traffic. A lot of the lines in the USA are used much less than European routes, and it's therefore uneconomic. Even if they could get some sections up to 75mph, there's no point investing in the vehicles just for short sections of use, so it's kind of stuck.


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## JMFA (Aug 30, 2007)

an High speed line cant have level-crossings. I think in europe there is legislation that oblies lines with speeds higher than 160km/h, being totally fenced.


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## elfabyanos (Jun 18, 2006)

In the UK any route can have level crossings, apart from new lines. At the moment many exist on the ECML with trains passing at 200km/h. In France the limit is similar.


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## JMFA (Aug 30, 2007)

well, for sure new high speed lines cant have level crossing and need fencing, and i believe that there is european legislation that oblies/recomends(??) countries to put fences in their lines with speeds higher than 160km/h... that doesnt means that all coutries are doing that and i dont know if there is a dead line to that implementation. for example, the portuguese modernization of "Linha do Norte" (major portuguese rail line) is cutting off all level crossing (i believe they were more than 300 hundred 10 years ago and now there´s less than 100) and have fences where trains runs over 200km/h...


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## elfabyanos (Jun 18, 2006)

I think all lines in the UK have fences anyway. I didn't know there are any EU mandates to remove level crossings or add fences.


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## TRZ (Sep 18, 2004)

It depends on the volumes of traffic at a crossing. If the crossing sees both lots of road and rail traffic, then the municipality will consider making the investment, with the operator picking up part of the cost, to grade-separate it.


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## sotavento (May 12, 2005)

elfabyanos said:


> I think all lines in the UK have fences anyway. I didn't know there are any EU mandates to remove level crossings or add fences.


EU directive 96/48 (and subsequent upgrades) ... somewhere in there it is mentioned that HSL level crossings should be "monitored , controlled and protected" ... 

You (british) wen't with some complex camera controls over ECML ... others wen't with bridge building like madmen (like the portuguese). :lol:


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## TRZ (Sep 18, 2004)

^^ There is no apostrophe in "went"... "wen't" isn't a word.


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## JoKo65 (Feb 28, 2007)

In Germany even high speed lines are not fenced, but level crossings are only allowed till 160 kmph.


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