What is the disadvantages of high speed trains?

Question

the TGV frances new high speed train does 357 mph

Answer 1

You get to prison quicker.

Answer 2

The main disadvantage is the cost to build, tracks must be straight and curbe are very smooth.

Other than that, security is much better than standard train, an accident occured a few years ago, train derailed at high speed but nobody was killed, a few injured because the boggey are joint inbetween the wagon, making it impossible to break.

In term of power consumption, the new technology use the cinetic energy when it goes down the hill to makes electricity and not only use it.

High technology for more than 25 years now.

Answer 3

Tough for your average hobo to catch a ride?

Answer 4

One of the biggest problems with constructing those trains is finding a route that will accomodate a vehicle travelling that quickly.  I rode on the TVG, and it goes mostly through flat farm land.  There are big fences on either side of the tracks to keep animals and people off of the tracks.  Also, it is very important to keep the tracks clear of debris due to the increased risk of accidents at a very high speed.

The fence along the train tracks make it necessary for roads to bridge over the tracks.  There are no RR crossings on the TVG when it's going through open land.  In addition, the fence prevents the migration of animals.  So, there are quite a few logistical matters to consider when thinking about a train like this.

In the US, if we could find a nearly straight route that went over relatively flat lands and covered hundreds of miles, one of these trains would make more sense.  But, it's very hard to convince the people who own the land to sell, especially if they are going to have their land separated by a huge fence that will have a 300mph vehicle travelling through every hour or so.

It is really fast, and a comfortable ride, but the tickets are more expensive than you might expect.

Answer 5

Boarding is a nightmare if it doesn't stop at your station.

Answer 6

you  would  not  have  time  to  finish  your  kaffe..

Answer 7

Incredibly noisy & not many survivor's in a crash

Answer 8

A crash at that speed would definitely leave a mark!

Answer 9

High speed accidents !!!

Answer 10

If you are not looking forward to getting somewhere or seeing someone-you get there quicker!

Answer 11

there is none as long as the track supports the speed.

Answer 12

The only disadvantages worth mentioning are the high infrastructure costs, initial and maintenance.

Answer 13

The main disadvantage is that the train has to wait in the station until the train ahead of it is far enough along that the train can stop in time to avoid hitting the rear of it. That's at least nine miles for the Acela train on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.

Another big disadvantage is that when a train is travelling through a station that it doesn't stop at, people waiting on the platform for a different train can get blown over.

I've witnessed trains going by at 125 MPH on the Northeast Corridor, and I had to hold onto the handrail at the back of the platform.

Answer 14

If the driver throws a tea bag out of his window, it could kill someone.

Answer 15

Cost of property acquisition and line construction is an issue.  But TGV is also a regular train, so it can use regular track.  The USA tends to build very heavy regular lines with good engineering, so it's often plausible to make incremental upgrades to existing lines rather than build from scratch.  Examples are Boston-NYC, LA-San Diego and Chicago-Detroit.

A line can't be a busy freight line and also a busy high-speed-rail line at once, so in many corridors there will need to be two separate rail lines.  However in those same places, there are many abandoned or barely-used freight routes; the "Cotton Rock" StL-KC, the old PRR mainline Chicago-Pittsburgh, the O&W Albany-Buffalo, etc.  Either the high-speed could use that line, or the through-freight could be moved onto it.

Mountainous terrain remains a very significant challenge.  The Swiss have proven it can be beaten, but at significant cost.   Freight lines are tolerant of curves but intolerant of grades; for high-speed rail it's the other way 'round.   So existing mountain railroads are "built wrong" for high-speed rail.

Answer 16

Motion sickness.

Answer 17

Enormous capital cost. High maintenance costs. Slower than airplanes.

Answer 18

Wear and Tear, Power, Stopping Distances, Strength of train and track, Life of Carriages, Safety of passengers, Training, Congestion

Don't forget as the French Rail System was completely relaid in the late 40's and 50's they have track which runs straight for 100's of kilometres.

Answer 19

A high speed train is only suitable for long-distance inter-city routes, either non-stop or with few stops en route.

For local and suburban routes the most essential property of the train is that it can accelerate and brake quickly and stand up to the stress of doing this frequently. Its top speed is going to be lower than that of a high-speed service and at the approach to a principal station it is often necessary to have at least four lines: 2 'main' lines for the express services and 2 'slow' lines for the local trains. As routes converge on a large city station the number of tracks will increase to cope with different grades of train.

Where tracks are at a premium the high-speed trains will take priority and this will slow up the 'lesser' services.

Personally I would judge a country's railway system not on its super-fast 'prestige' services but on how quick and easy it is to get around locally, how frequent and reliable the trains are, whether they integrate well with other types of public transport, etc.