Chinese bullet trains take wing to hit speeds of 280mph
Didi Tang, Beijing
Tuesday November 23 2021, 12.20pm GMT, The Times
Asia
China
Beijing to Shanghai on a bullet train takes about four hours 20 minutes at present; with the next generation the journey time could be cut to about three hours
VISUAL CHINA GROUP/ GETTY IMAGES
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Some of the world’s fastest trains may now reach even higher speeds after scientists in China suggested adding “small wings” to the carriages.
Adding five wings, or airfoils, to each carriage would generate enough lift to reduce the weight of the train by nearly a third and increase the top speed to 280mph (450kmh), researchers said.
The study is part of Beijing’s CR450 project which aims to develop a new generation of high-speed trains.
“As the operating speed increases, the wear on the wheels will increase and inevitably shorten the repair cycle and service life of the wheels,” said researchers, led by Zhang Jun, an engineer, at the Chengdu Fluid Dynamics Innovation Centre.
“The high-speed train with lift wings is a breakthrough in the traditional concept of high-speed train aerodynamic design, to reduce overall energy consumption and operating costs,” they wrote in the paper published in peer-reviewed Chinese journal Acta Aerodynamica Sinica.
China’s bullet trains currently run at speeds of up to 217mph (350kmh). The new CR450 trains could connect Beijing and Shanghai in about three hours, down from four hours and 20 minutes.
By comparison high-speed trains in the UK can travel at a maximum 124mph.
China already has the world’s largest network of high-speed trains and is keen to cement its position. The authorities see the improvement of the country’s rail network as crucial to economic development.
In July, China rolled out a magnetic levitation train that runs at 372mph (600kmh).
Chen Yu, a research engineer with Tongji University in Shanghai who is not involved in the project, told the South China Morning Post that the plan would come with some “extremely challenging engineering issues”, including absorbing additional noise without adding too much weight to the train.
Didi Tang, Beijing
Tuesday November 23 2021, 12.20pm GMT, The Times
Asia
China
Beijing to Shanghai on a bullet train takes about four hours 20 minutes at present; with the next generation the journey time could be cut to about three hours
VISUAL CHINA GROUP/ GETTY IMAGES
Share
Some of the world’s fastest trains may now reach even higher speeds after scientists in China suggested adding “small wings” to the carriages.
Adding five wings, or airfoils, to each carriage would generate enough lift to reduce the weight of the train by nearly a third and increase the top speed to 280mph (450kmh), researchers said.
The study is part of Beijing’s CR450 project which aims to develop a new generation of high-speed trains.
“As the operating speed increases, the wear on the wheels will increase and inevitably shorten the repair cycle and service life of the wheels,” said researchers, led by Zhang Jun, an engineer, at the Chengdu Fluid Dynamics Innovation Centre.
“The high-speed train with lift wings is a breakthrough in the traditional concept of high-speed train aerodynamic design, to reduce overall energy consumption and operating costs,” they wrote in the paper published in peer-reviewed Chinese journal Acta Aerodynamica Sinica.
China’s bullet trains currently run at speeds of up to 217mph (350kmh). The new CR450 trains could connect Beijing and Shanghai in about three hours, down from four hours and 20 minutes.
By comparison high-speed trains in the UK can travel at a maximum 124mph.
China already has the world’s largest network of high-speed trains and is keen to cement its position. The authorities see the improvement of the country’s rail network as crucial to economic development.
In July, China rolled out a magnetic levitation train that runs at 372mph (600kmh).
Chen Yu, a research engineer with Tongji University in Shanghai who is not involved in the project, told the South China Morning Post that the plan would come with some “extremely challenging engineering issues”, including absorbing additional noise without adding too much weight to the train.
