A train for the 21st century Operating at speeds of 240 km/h, the ‘Acela Express’, the fastest train in North America, will soon revive a link with the epic railroad days on the new continent, using Nomex® brand paper for electrical insulation n the 10th of May, 1869, in Promonto- New York and Boston to just under 3 hours Richardson, Amtrak’s vice-president for mar- video facilities, sockets for portable comput- ican high-speed train is making its appearance in procedures, quicker boarding times and Ory, a tiny settlement in Utah, the Union and between New York and Washington to 2 keting and communications, “convey a brand ers with modem connection and a sit-down on the North-east Corridor network, from immediate luggage availability. Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroad lines hours and 45 minutes. new experience in rail travel.” dining service. The cars, which are designed Boston in the north to Washington in the south, Rail travel is also more comfortable, more were joined to complete the very first Passengers will embark for their 240 km/h to be accessible to persons with limited mobil- since this region is the most densely populated economical, less energy intensive and virtual- transcontinental rail link between the east and journey at the venerable Grand Central Sta- Unparalleled comfort and service ity, will have wide corridors, toilet facilities, in the United States and has the most heavily ly pollution-free. Indeed, the success of the west coasts of the United States. The railroad tion, in the centre of Manhattan, and will Apart from speed, Amtrak, operator of the plenty of room for passengers, pay-phones congested transportation system. European and Japanese high-speed trains thus came to represent nothing less than the enjoy standards of safety, comfort and quality North-east Corridor network, has sought to and generously-sized lockable luggage com- As we approach the next century, the train shows that over these distances, which are unity of the American nation and would of service, which will, according to Barbara place the emphasis on passenger comfort and partments. Each train will also include a 34- has been transformed from a powerful trans- similar to the distances involved in the North- become the backbone of a new convenience, so that families, seat dining car, offering a selection of meals. continental link, as it was at the end of last east Corridor, the train is the most rational ‘conquest of the West’, just as the tourists and especially business- In a society which has been dominated in century, into a preferred means of transport for form of transport and can carry a lot more ‘covered wagons’ of the pioneers men, who are the main clients on recent times by car and air travel, this is a true passengers wishing to travel over short to people. had before it. this line, come to regard the train renaissance. Admittedly, things have come a medium distances of 200 to 500 kilometres The introduction of the ‘Acela as their preferred means of city- long way since the trains first arrived at (125-320 miles). For these distances, overall The experience of the TGV Express’ this autumn will be an centre to city-centre transport. Promontory. Today, the railroad has a very dif- travelling times by train are usually shorter In Europe, high-speed rail travel already equally historic event. It is the Each seat will have its own ferent image and fulfills quite different needs. than by plane, due to the location of main-line forms part of everyday life for millions of pas- first high-speed train to enter ser- electrical socket and audio sys- Indeed, it is no coincidence that the first Amer- stations in downtown areas, simplified check- sengers, and travelling at 300 km/h is no vice in the United States and will tem, whilst first-class passengers longer a source of wonderment. The French reduce journey times between will also benefit from individual TGV, the fastest passenger train in service, showed the way as early as 1981. Since then, high-speed rail tracks have multiplied, putting French cities such as Lyon, Rennes and Nantes within 2 hours travelling time of Paris. The joining of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad lines in 1869 created the first rail link between the east and west coasts of the United States. When it enters into service later this year, the ‘Acela Express’ will bring high-speed rail travel to the United States. 16 The German Inter-city Express (ICE) now done to reduce the weight of the carriages and In order to deliver the 5.745 MVA power By decreasing the mass of the windings, closely with Alstom engineers in the United links many of Germany’s major cities, while bogies, and particularly the drive system, required and to reduce the volume of the all the transformer components, including States and France to help provide technical Sweden’s X2000 high-speed train operates a including the motors and transformers, pays transformers so that they would fit beneath the the magnetic core, the tank and the volume support for this application. high-speed service between Stockholm and dividends. Says Stéphane Renaud, who man- two 6000 hp motor coaches of each train, the of cooling oil, can be can made smaller, sav- The assembly of the most powerful traction Gothenburg. ages the Amtrak project for Alstom’s Traction mass and cross-section of the copper conduc- ing not just a few kilos of insulation materi- transformers, weight-for-weight, ever built in Elsewhere, Brussels is now just one-and-a- Transformers division: “Since the first TGVs, tors had to be reduced, raising the continuous al, but several tonnes. And, since they are the United States is being undertaken at half hours from Paris, thanks to the Thalys, Alstom has introduced major design improve- operating temperature of the transformer to virtually free from ageing, Nomex® paper Alstom’s state-of-the-art facility in Medford, and the Eurostar will soon cut rail journey ments to the drive units to reduce their size 160 °C, with a peak temperature of 180 °C. and pressboard contribute directly to the Oregon. This business has manufactured dis- times between London and Paris to two-and- and volume, notably through the use of high As conventional materials are unable to pro- transformers’ 25 to 30-year lifespan and to tribution and measurement transformers since a-half hours. vide the required safety margin of 220 °C, easier maintenance. 1969, but this job is a totally new experience. By entrusting the building of the ‘Acela Nomex® paper was the obvious choice. According to Pat Barry, who is in charge of the Express’ to a consortium composed of Bom- By virtue of its unique ability to withstand International technology transfer Amtrak project at the Medford plant, the Amer- bardier, the leading North American train As conventional materials electrical loads, and because of its mechanical On the ‘H’ Class transformers designed and ican Alstom engineers and technicians are manufacturer, and Alstom, the designer and strength, thermal stability, chemical compat- manufactured by Alstom for the ‘Acela proud to be taking part in this project with the are unable to provide ® Manufacture of transformer coils at Alstom’s manufacturer of the TGV, Amtrak is benefit- ibility, longevity and flame-resistance, Express’, Nomex paper is used to cover the Medford plant. Nomex® paper and pressboard are support of their European colleagues. For, the ing from the experience acquired over almost the required safety margin of DuPont Nomex® is used as paper and press- copper windings on the coils, whilst Nomex® used for the ultrasonically welded cooling ducts ‘Acela Express’ venture is a story of success- ® ® two decades of high-speed rail travel. For, 220 °C, Nomex paper board in a large number of critical high-volt- pressboard is used for the spacers that separate and Nomex paper for the conductor insulation. ful technology transfer by the leader in high- while the 20 ‘Acela Express’ trains ordered was the obvious choice. age insulation applications. In particular, this the coil layers and act as guides for the sili- speed electric traction and an opportunity for from the consortium are mostly being built in high-performance material makes it possible cone cooling oil in which the internal trans- these spacers for Alstom’s plant at Medford, Alstom to establish itself firmly in the traction the United States, they use some of the to reduce the weight of power transformers by former components are immersed. Oregon, where the transformers are assem- transformer market in the United States, in co- world’s best technology. between 15 and 25 per cent, while optimising Tafanel S.A., a French company specialis- bled. Jacques Vaillant, general manager of operation with DuPont and Tafanel. Because of the sinuous nature of the terrain the volume and considerably improving long- ing in the precision cutting and machining of Tafanel, which has developed an exclusive Today, the countdown to the introduction of between New York and Boston, and the large performance materials, such as DuPont term reliability. high-performance plastic materials, produces tool to optimise the cutting of pressboard the ‘Acela Express’ is well under way. Of the number of relatively sharp bends, the ‘Acela Nomex® paper and pressboard.” sticks in Nomex®, emphasises that his firm is 61 firm orders due to be delivered by the year Express’ trains ordered are of the ‘tilting’ As the transformer is the heaviest compo- “one of just two companies in the world to 2000, 12 transformers have already been type, so that they can use the existing track, nent in the drive system, weighing about 11.5 master the technique of welding material delivered to the Bombardier factories at Barre, thus saving Amtrak the huge investment of tonnes, it was here that the initial research Use of Nomex® paper and using ultrasonics, a technology which it intro- Vermont, and at Plattsburgh, New York, where pressboard made it possible building a dedicated high-speed line.