Feature 40 Years of High-speed Railways High-speed Railways in Germany Klaus Ebeling of his planned railway system covering all consisted of several states) because the High Speed? Germany. In The National System of railways would solve the problem. Economic Policy (1841, uncompleted), History proved him right! When the railway appeared as a new his main work on economics, he The railway’s greater speed compared to means of transportation in the first half countered Adam Smith’s (1723–90) classic previous means of transportation played of the 19th century, its top speed of 30 to doctrine of free trade with a ‘theory of a major role in the huge industrial boom 40 km/h was considered dangerous. In productive forces’ orientated toward in Europe and America at the end of the Germany, where Adler transported two economic practice and describing the 19th century and railway’s pre-eminence barrels of beer between Nuremberg and impact of a speed increase in was only jeopardized by the later advent Fürth in 1835 as the first German rail transportation on industrial and economic of the more-flexible automobile and the freight, physicians warned people against issues. Subsequent modern experience faster aeroplane. such perilous adventures and farmers proved his hypothesis of the extraordinary The struggle for supremacy in were worried that their cows grazing economic development set in motion by transportation is not a recent phenomenon alongside the tracks would ‘go mad’ at shortened travel times and expansion of and railway advocates have long the sight of the ‘rushing steel monsters’ people’s range of action. His appraisal pondered how to compete against air and and that the milk would sour. was shared by Goethe (1749–1832) who road. The earliest and obvious solution Although these worries turned out to be did not experience rail travel but realized was found by increasing speed and the unfounded, there were renewed that such an effective means of transport early years of the 20th century were warnings against further speed increases could have political repercussions as well. marked by successive breakings of various when railways were already well Goethe said he was not worried about rail speed records. In 1903, Germany set developed. In Paris in the Twentieth German unity (at that time Germany an early record of 200 km/h with an Century (written in 1863 but not published in English until 1997), Jules Verne (1828–1905), the famous French Planned Trans European Network Transport (TEN-T) author of science fiction literature New route including Around the World in Eighty SundsvSundsvallall Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues under Improved route HG-Netz 2020 Oslo the Sea described a future fantasy world Helsinki St. Petersburg of shiny skyscrapers made of glass and StocStockholmkholm Tallinn steel, high-speed trains, gas-driven GothenbGothenburgurg Riga GlasgowGlasgow EdinburghEdinburgh automobiles, computers, fax machines Moscow and a global communications network. Copenhagen Gdan´sk´ sk Vilnius HamburgHamburg Verne’s farsighted vision of future Minsk DublinDublin Amsterdam Berlin technologies is set against the background HannoverHannover London Warsaw of the tragic struggle of an idealistic young BrBrusselsussels Cologne FrankfurtFrankfurt Nuremberg Prague Lvïv Kiev man searching for happiness in an LuxembowgLuxembowg Katowice Paris Munich Vienna unmerciful materialistic dystopia. In this Bratislava Rennes Budapest gloomy picture, Verne fears the approach Zürich Kishina Zagreb Geneva Milan of a future in which loss of humanity is Lyon LjubLjubljanaljana the price paid for the unscrupulous Bordeaux Bologna Belgrade Bucharest GenovaGenova Sarajevo application of perfected technology. Marseille Sofia Friedrich List (1789–1846), the founder of SkopjeSkopje PortoPorto Rome Istanbul Barcelona TirTiranaana the German macroeconomic science, had Madrid Naples BarBarii Ankara a different attitude toward the new means ValenciaValencia of transportation. He was a champion of Lisboa Athens Germany economic unity and had a SeSevillavilla MMálagaálaga profound impact on German railways; he 0 500 km established the Leipzig–Dresden Source: UIC Eisenbahngesellschaft in 1834 as the basis 36 Japan Railway & Transport Review 40 • March 2005 Copyright © 2005 EJRCF. All rights reserved. electric locomotive between Marienfeld and Zossen. A new dimension in commercial high speed on rails was inaugurated by the Deutsche Reichsbahngesellschaft in 1933 when the world-famous Fliegender Hamburger (Flying Hamburger) achieved an average speed of 122 km/h and a maximum speed of 160 km/between Berlin and Hamburg. Japan’s railways came to the forefront of attention in 1964 with still higher speeds when the Tokaido Shinkansen opened between Tokyo and Shin Osaka with operations starting at 210 km/h. The French topped this in 1981 with speeds of 270 km/h on the new TGV line between ICE 3 running parallel to the Autobahn A3 between Cologne and Frankfurt (Bildarchiv DB AG) Paris and Lyon. These two mammoth railway achievements were followed by long debate on the relative merits of reach between 300 and 350 km/h, of Transport and railway management distributed traction (used by the depending on local topography, and the centred on the key issue of whether new shinkansen) and centralized traction with high-speed records prove that the wheel– lines should be dedicated solely to a locomotive (used by the TGV), as well rail system still has the technical potential passenger traffic (following the Japanese as on the value of separation of passengers to go beyond present commercial speeds, and French model) or whether mixed and freight or use of mixed transport. although noise and energy consumption passenger and freight traffic would be Germany finally followed the Japanese considerations have prevented this so far. best. The state railways obtained a large and French achievements with the High-speed railways are being planned part of their income from freight traffic development of the InterCity Express (ICE) in other countries too, including Spain, and were therefore inclined to offset the described in more detail below. Italy, Korea and Taiwan. In some high investment in new infrastructure by As commercial speeds rose, various countries, high-speed trains operate on serving freight traffic as well. On the railway operators conducted ever-faster existing conventional lines by keeping to other hand, some top persons advocated trial runs to investigate pushing the the 200 km/h maximum limit. For separation of passengers and freight. commercial speed envelope higher. example, Switzerland’s mountainous Although the Cologne–Frankfurt line was France set a new world record for topography allows no other solution that intended to be the first new high-speed electric traction in 1955 with a test run stays within reasonable cost limits. In line, the planning schedule has been of 331 km/h. This was broken by Sweden, despite very long lines that can delayed by this dispute to such an extent Germany in 1988 with an ICE test run of only operate at a profit by connecting major that it has fallen behind the Hannover– 406.8 km/h. This was beaten in turn a conurbations, the low population density Würzburg and Mannheim–Stuttgart lines. few weeks later by France with 408 km/h makes little sense of going overboard on Although the first decision was to build and then again in 1990 with 482.4 km/h. high-speed transportation. In mountainous the Cologne–Frankfurt line as a mixed France still holds the current world speed countries, a common solution is to use passenger–freight line, experience from record for wheels on rails with 513.3 km/h tilting trains permitting up to 30% higher the other lines showed that freight traffic achieved in 1990 using a production TGV. speeds on conventional lines. could only be accommodated with These test runs have helped prove the severe restrictions. First, it was reliability of rolling stock and Separate or Mixed Passenger impossible to create a reasonable infrastructure at high speeds and railway and Freight Traffic? timetable for daytime freight due to large engineers now describe speeds above speed differences between passenger and 200 km/h as ‘high speed.’ However, The German preparations for adoption of freight traffic. Second, the required time actual commercial speeds have gradually high-speed services saw a very time- slots for night freight traffic could not be been pushed well beyond 200 km/h to consuming debate between the Ministry allocated because high-speed lines Copyright © 2005 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Japan Railway & Transport Review 40 • March 2005 37 40 Years of High-speed Railways require high levels of maintenance that Even more fundamental questions were the state-of-the-art Class 103 electric can only be done at night. The different being raised about the necessity for high- locomotive came into scheduled service weight of passenger and freight trains is speed trains based on economic, social and is a good indicator of the internal another factor favouring separation of and environmental objections. disputes described above. The ET403 passenger and freight traffic; lighter Undoubtedly, high-speed track, rolling came into full service with the 1974–75 passenger trains can negotiate steeper stock, and safety infrastructure are winter timetable revision and was actually grades (35 per mil or 35‰) than heavier incredibly expensive and state funding a very advanced concept. It had freight trains (10 per mil or 10‰), tends to leave government