High Speed 2 225 mph train

[Metroland]

t's a far cry from the hot and sweaty commuter crush endured by millions of train travellers daily.

But this futuristically sleek, aerodynamic and downright sexy train is the way in which the backers of a new high speed rail link across Britain think travellers should be transported at speeds of up to 225mph within 15 years.

With an interior more reminiscent of a luxury penthouse apartment, comfortable sofas with cushions and soft furnishings, airy glass modules fitted with computer screens, a storage space for folding bicycles, and a well stocked bar, glass modules, and a double decker observation deck, it is far removed from the experience of most rail travellers.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-nicknamed-Concorde-tracks.html#ixzz0th05vghn

 

[Mojo]

"Private pods" - hmm, now haven't I seen them on a train somewhere before?

 

[Metroland]

Most places in Europe? And here before they decided to inflict US style open coaches on everyone....

 

[Dai.]

Now that's a Snazzy train.

 

[Proud Salopian]

Compartmented carriages are back!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I love those panoramic windows.

 

[Lampshade]

Wow, a Mk1 on steroids

 

[WatcherZero]

Bit more proffesional journalism from Rail News.

Britain’s leading transport designer has unveiled his concept for the UK’s new high speed train in a pre-emptive move to persuade the government of the urgent need to move forward as soon as possible with the project.

Paul Priestman of Priestmangoode, designer of the iconic Virgin Pendolino train, believes that the new high speed train is vital for the future of Britain, both as the low-carbon, sustainable transport of the future and as a crucial opportunity to champion British design and engineering in an increasingly competitive global economy.

Currently working with Sifang to design high speed trains for China and the rest of the world, Priestman believes that whilst the economic and political benefits of a world-class high speed rail network are clearly understood, having a train to be proud of is equally important. He believes that an iconic design is imperative in order to show Britain’s credentials to the world and in the battle to make Britain’s transport infrastructure more sustainable – by persuading people to leave their cars at home, eschew domestic air travel and make rail their first choice

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Lot in common With Shinkansen E5 and E6, but then this is Sifang accused of stealing their technology.

 

[route:oxford]

Not so sure about that glass balcony overlooking the bar. It appears to be only 80-90cm high - below the centre of gravity of (many) adults- rapid acceleration could send someone over the edge.

 

[Drsatan]

With such an opulent interior it's going to have quite a high axle load, although this depends on what materials are used to construct the train. TGV Duplex's only have an axle load of 17 tons despite being double-decker, so it should be possible to keep the weight down.

Although it's a train Britain should be proud of, I can imagine it being built abroad, or even (if it's based on a Chinese design) in China to save money.

 

[Royston Vasey]

What a ridiculous concept.

- These things would be paid for by taxpayers at the end of the day and I have no interest in paying for such coaching stock to be lavishly equipped for the elite. If Virgin West Coast need hundreds of millions of pounds of subsidy despite their overcrowded yet overpriced trains, what hope for this?? The fares in the end would have to be obscene to i) regulate demand and ii) pay towards the things.
- 225 mph with yawning spaces like that? What if the emergency brakes are applied? Wouldn't want to be strolling around.
- What about when it is crowded? Lovely with 10-20 people in these lounge cars but running the 17:00 London to Glasgow on a Friday night it'll look like a low rent nightclub at 1am. Except worse - you don't have to be drunk to fall over, the train would shake you off your feet.
- How that would get past crash protection and health & safety standards I would love to know!

No more than a publicity stunt.

 

[sprinterguy]

HSTs are still more "iconic" than that!

I think the design is a fantastic feat of imagination, I commend the designer on thinking "outside the box" (and inventing the Worlds' fastest cocktail bar), but I think the design is a non-starter.

First of all, will that sort of expanse of CURVED panoramic glass windows really be acceptable in meeting crash worthiness standards on a train that is travelling almost DOUBLE the speed of current Intercity services? And the amount of glass used inside the train looks decidedly dodgy if one of these trains were to be involved in a major crash.

The seating layout looks, to say the least, exceedingly low density. No wonder DfT wants 400 metre long trains for HS2, they'll need them just to fit in the number of people you can currently fit onto a Pendolino which is half the length. Even with double deck trains, it still seems to be a vast waste of train capacity.

If these trains are expected to run onto areas of the existing rail network, which is favoured for HS2, such as Manchester to Glasgow, how would anyone manage to squeeze a luxurious two-tier bar arrangement such as the one shown into the British loading gauge?

Finally, journey times from London to Manchester or Leeds are expected to be around 1 hour 20 minutes, and less than 50 minutes to Birmingham. The provision of such a range of facilities for a journey that would in many cases be at most the same as the current Birmingham to London WCML journey time seems excessive, as just how many people would actually have the opportunity to make use of the various novel features present on the train?

In a time when such important projects as the GWML electrification are in serious doubt, how is it possible that someone can be thinking about the design and construction of what will most likely be a one off fleet (unless the new trains were based on an existing design, like the Eurostar being built on TGV technology) of what would already be massively expensive trains for HS2?

Much more realistic to order a fleet of off the shelf Alstom AGVs, which is a proven design (Developed from the TGV) with a sensible internal layout and cheaper operating costs than a "white elephant" fleet of high speed penthouses.

Having said all that, I am completely in support of bringing back compartments!!

 

[gordonthemoron]

There is far too much glass, it'd be like sitting in a greenhouse, on a hot day

 

[thefab444]

Agreed, all most people want is a seat.

 

[route:oxford]

Agreed, all most people want is a seat.

All most people want is a *comfortable* seat*

*And low fares
*And fast service
*And 24 Hour operations for getting to and from the Airport on the first/last flights.
*And the new track routed away from their homes.

 

[Super Sprinter]

Does not look cheap.........and I don't just mean the ticket prices. With the state the countries finances are currently in it is hard to imagine something like this in just 15 years.

 

[Fincra5]

Its all very well but I imagine the price of a ticket would be stupidly expensive.

 

[Mintona]

Can't we just order some of them new Alstom AGV thingie-wotsits? Then they could potentially work in multiple on trips to the continent.

 

[Lampshade]

I don't see why we can't design and build our own :?

 

[Geezertronic]

I don't see why we can't design and build our own :?

Given the fiasco of IEP, I presume it would be cheaper to buy "off the shelf" wouldn't it?

 

[caliwag]

Sorry, I wrongly assumed this came into the rolling stock thread...hence my post there...now locked, fair enough. Just curious as to who is going to use this! It will be a lot more expensive, as shareholders will be involved. It'll be a real power guzzler and won't every sensible person be working much smarter in 15 to 20 years time? Britain is too small for this sort of stuff, and the Retfords and Yorks will want to get in on the act...or West coast Warringtons and Carlisles (you've got to tap the wheels somewhere).
Nah...granny, aunty wotsit, students and families will still use the real railway. Javelin has not been a roaring success has it?

Dear oh dear...just sound like a Daily Wail reader now.

 

[andyc225]

It looks like a 500 series Shinkansen with a top deck glued on. This one needs a rethink.

 

[starrymarkb]

I'd say its a non starter - sort of like 1st class on the A380, off limits to cattle (and what cattle get isn't mentioned!)

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Its all very well but I imagine the price of a ticket would be stupidly expensive.

The return of the 'Club Coach' perchance?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I wouldn't want a railway like this. I would rather the money be spent on improving local and regional current services, or improving our current IC 125 network

 

[starrymarkb]

Maybe something like the railjet - 3 classes Standard, First and Premium. Premium takes up half a driving trailer and has compartments with leather armchair seating. First is rather like FGW first class and Standard is FGW Standard with more tables..

Premium - http://www.flickr.com/photos/chezrene/4654983441/

First - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gutay/3108065450/

Standard - http://www.flickr.com/photos/chagiajose/4319684046/

Maybe not an exact carbon copy but more attainable then the HS2 proposal

 

[Greenback]

I wouldn't want a railway like this. I would rather the money be spent on improving local and regional current services, or improving our current IC 125 network

Agreed. As far as I can recall, Concorde only ran between London and the US and did not benefit a great deal of ordinary people in the UK!

We don't need these sorts of trains!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Agreed. As far as I can recall, Concorde only ran between London and the US and did not benefit a great deal of ordinary people in the UK!

We don't need these sorts of trains!

Yeah really hate it when the govt etc get so high about being able to do London-Bhm in 1 hour or whatever costing millions and millions and taking many years, when commuters round here have to stand out in the pouring rain waiting for a horrible ex-Merseyrail 142 to turn up. There's a new thread in Infrastructure for smaller schemes that really need funding ahead of this

 

[LE Greys]

Maybe something like the railjet - 3 classes Standard, First and Premium. Premium takes up half a driving trailer and has compartments with leather armchair seating. First is rather like FGW first class and Standard is FGW Standard with more tables..

Premium - http://www.flickr.com/photos/chezrene/4654983441/

First - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gutay/3108065450/

Standard - http://www.flickr.com/photos/chagiajose/4319684046/

Maybe not an exact carbon copy but more attainable then the HS2 proposal

Really should be First, Second and Third. That might encourage other operators to return to decent levels of comfort in all classes. If you want to see what first class ought to be, go down to Didcot and have a look inside the Hawksworth BCK. And that is a general service coach.
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Yeah really hate it when the govt etc get so high about being able to do London-Bhm in 1 hour or whatever costing millions and millions and taking many years, when commuters round here have to stand out in the pouring rain waiting for a horrible ex-Merseyrail 142 to turn up. There's a new thread in Infrastructure for smaller schemes that really need funding ahead of this

I quite agree, especially after the huge costs of getting Brum within 1h20 of London. In Intercity terms, getting Sheffield within 2 hrs of London (regularly rather than one-a-day specials) would have a much higher priority, while electrifying the suburban network around Manchester or Leeds would probably benefit more people per day in reality. Even just filling in Redhill-Wokingham, Oxted-Uckfield and Marshlink would provide cost-savings and free up a few spare DMUs.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I quite agree, especially after the huge costs of getting Brum within 1h20 of London. In Intercity terms, getting Sheffield within 2 hrs of London (regularly rather than one-a-day specials) would have a much higher priority, while electrifying the suburban network around Manchester or Leeds would probably benefit more people per day in reality. Even just filling in Redhill-Wokingham, Oxted-Uckfield and Marshlink would provide cost-savings and free up a few spare DMUs.

Yep... like you say just things like Manc-Rose Hill/Marple and Ellesmere Port-Warr BQ would be must better to release stock. Electrifying Uckfield, The North Downs and the Marshlink would leave one piece of passsenger track in SE England unelectrified. Anyone want to guess where?