Late Tilt At Train Contract
Sun Herald
Saturday April 12, 1997
A LOW-TECHNOLOGY Spanish tilt train is a late entrant for this week's deadline for bids to provide a very high speed train service between Sydney and Canberra.
Talgo-Medina is the third tilt train builder in the running to operate the service. Registration of expressions of interest are due by Thursday.
It joins the pioneer of the very fast train concept in Australia, Speedrail and its French 300 km/h TGV. The TGV will require a new high-speed track, as would the German 400-500 km/h magnetic levitation (MagLev) train from Transrapid, which claims to do Sydney-Canberra in 58 minutes.
By contrast the Talgo tilt train will do the trip in three hours, compared to the present 4 1/4 hours.
"We would be able to get it down to under two hours by straightening the track," said Talgo-Medina's Greg Bullen.
Instead of any "active" computer-aided tilting to ease centrifugal force on passengers when the train goes around a curve, Talgo has "passive" columns over the wheels between which the short carriages tilt like a pendulum.
A short list will be invited to submit formal expressions of interest. A final decision is expected early next year from the Very High Speed Train Group established by the NSW, ACT and Federal governments.
THE CANDIDATES
SPEEDRAIL TGV train, speeds of 300km/h for an 80-minute trip.
TRANSRAPID MagLev superspeed train, 400-500km/h for a journey of 58 minutes.
ADTRANZ tilt train, up to 250km/h for a 100-minute trip.
INTER-CAPITAL EXPRESS
tilt train, speeds of up to 250km/h for a trip under two hours.
TALGO-MEDINA tilt train, up to three hours.
© 1997 Sun Herald