High Speed Rails and How they Work?

Railway is one of the most ancient form of long distance transportation. Many developments has been made to railway throughout the time. Wooden trains were the oldest and they're the first kind of trains which was used to pushed by animals and humans. Speed is always a concern for railway they always want to achieve higher speeds. To achieve high speed the High Speed Rails (HSR) has been developed.

First High Speed Rail

The first Electric HSR was introduced by Japan on 1 October 1964, Japanese national railways started the operation of a fully brand new 515 km standard gauge line, the Tokaido Shinkansen, from Tokyo Central to Shin Osaka. Tokaido Shinkansen had the Top Speed of 210km/hr.

Development 

After Japans Tokaido Shinkansen success, many other countries adopted HSR system. Now, only 16 nations have HSR system. China has done a lot to their transport system in last 15 years. China began planning for its current high-speed rail system in the early 1990s, modeling it after Japan’s Shinkansen system. Now, China have the world's longest HSR network with 27,000KM of track. Japan, Spain, France & Germany has over 1000KM such track.

Working

Many of the HSR works on magnetic levitation, Due to which trains float over a guide-way using the basic principles of magnets to replace the old steel wheel and track trains. Opposite poles attract and like poles repel each other. This is the basic principle behind electromagnetic propulsion. Electromagnets are similar to other magnets in that they attract metal objects, but the magnetic pull is temporary.The magnetic field created in this wire-and-battery experiment is the simple idea behind a maglev train rail system. There are three components to this system.

• A large electrical power source
• Metal coils lining a guide-way or track
• Large guidance magnets attached to the underside of the train

Maglev train has an engine which differs from a conventional electric engine. The magnetic field created by the electrified coils in the guide-way walls and the track combine to propel the train.The magnetized coil running along the track, called a guide-way, repels the large magnets on the train's undercarriage, allowing the train to levitate between 1 to 10 centimeters above the guide-way. Once the train is levitated, power is supplied to the coils within the guide-way walls to create a unique system of magnetic fields that pull and push the train along the guide-way. The electric current supplied to the coils in the guide-way walls is constantly alternating to change the polarity of the magnetized coils. This change in polarity causes the magnetic field in front of the train to pull the vehicle forward, while the magnetic field behind the train adds more forward thrust.

Less Friction, More Speed

Maglev trains float on a cushion of air, eliminating friction. This lack of friction and the trains' aerodynamic designs allow these trains to reach unprecedented ground transportation speeds of more than 500 kph.

Fastest HSR

China have the fastest HSR with the name of Shanghai Maglev with Top Speed of 267mph (430km/h). Which run on the route from Longyang Rd. to Pudong International Airport (PVG). It only takes 8 minutes to complete his one sided journey of 30KM long track.