High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, new lines in excess of 250 km/h and existing lines in excess of 200 km/h are widely considered to be high-speed, with some extending the definition to include much lower speeds (e.g. 160 km/h) in areas for which these speeds still represent significant improvements. The first such system began operations in Japan in 1964 and was widely known as the bullet train. High-speed trains normally operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates a large turning radius in its design.
Many countries have developed high-speed rail to connect major cities, including Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Uzbekistan. Only in Europe does HSR cross international borders. China has 19,000 km of HSR as of December 2015, accounting for two thirds of the world's total.
InterCity 125
The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train (HST) fleet, which was built from 1975 to 1982 and was introduced in 1976. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two Class 43 power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages (the number of carriages varies by operator). The train operates at speeds of up to 125 mph (201 km/h) in regular service, and has an absolute maximum speed of 148 mph (238 km/h), making it the fastest diesel-powered train in the world, a record it has held from its introduction to the present day. Initially the sets were classified as Classes 253 and 254. A variant of the power cars operates in Australia as part of the XPT.
After four decades, most of the HST fleet is still in front-line revenue service under privatisation, and while the InterCity 125 brand name is rarely mentioned officially by the private train-operating companies (TOCs), the InterCity 125 still forms the backbone of intercity services on several British main lines. Almost all sets are expected to be replaced by 2018 by the Intercity Express Programme. Under early plans for that programme, some HSTs were due to continue in use on London to Devon/Cornwall services, where there are no plans to electrify the lines. However, in March 2015 it was announced that the remainder of the Great Western fleet would be replaced with bi-mode Intercity Express sets, equipped with the required powerplants and fuel tanks to tackle the distances and inclines of Westcountry services.
Podcasts:
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by R.E.M.
High Speed Train
by: R.E.M.When I look into your eyes.
Your drop like an anchor eyes.
I scudded and clipped the sky
Just shy of making it.
And you almost got away.
I told you I was afraid.
Did I really want to try
You're holding me to my claim
I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
I flail like the antelope
Who jumped from the building
and you caught me on the sly
you've taken me by surprise.
you've mirrored my best disguise and
turned it back on me.
I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
I flail like the antelope
Who jumped from the building
I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
To Berlin, Kyoto or Marseilles
I'd go anywhere for you
I'll bring you a big bouquet
I picked it myself today
it compliments your eyes
there's love at the end of the line
I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
I flail like the antelope
Who jumped from the building
I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
To Berlin, Kyoto or Marseilles
I'd go anywhere for you
And that's what I always knew
I'd like to have hung the moon.
I'd wrestle you for a spoon inside your sleeping bag.
Just us.
No war. no hate. no past.
It's real.
I'm here. I'm yours. I'm fast.
I'm long in the eye
I'm cry when I try
I just want to fly