European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 13, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Selling High Speed trains to the . By Paul Lewis new York times t he vineyards of Burgundy Flash past the window in a Long Green blur As France s High Speed train a Grande Viesse travelling at170 Miles per hour eats up the 270 mile Between Paris and Lyon in a Bare two hours. If the builders and operators of the world s fastest and most extensive High Speed rail network have their Way. The Orange Bullet shaped trains will also be streaking past the countrysides of new York. Florida and other states in years to come. In Competition with train makers from Japan West Germany Britain and Canada French rail companies Are now pushing hard to sell the Tiv to state and local authorities in the United Stales interested in High Speed passenger railways. No one can rival our experience insists Michel Walrave director of planning and research at the society National Des Cheminis de Fer France s state owned railway. The in of designed and operates the train a Grande Viesse who a literally translated Means the train of great we have the Best technology so we Are confident any state inter sled in High Speed rail travel will recognize the Tiv s value added Cullen Dwyer a spokesman for the Tiv co. The company based in Washington is the marketing Arm of Althom Atlantique. A state owned French engineering group that manufactures much of the Tiv and Franco rail a company that exports French railway technology. Suggested High id rail links in the United states where the French companies and other train manufacturers see a potential Market include a line Between new York and Montreal that would pass through Vermont. Studies commissioned by new York state. Vermont Montreal and the province of Quebec have concluded that such a rail link would raise enough Revenue to cover operating costs but not All of its capital costs. Officials from the four governments have begun talks with United states and Canadian Bankers to explore ways of financing the project. Service in Florida from Miami to Orlando and Jacksonville. The state has established a commission empowered to Grant a High Speed rail franchise and has set july As the target for inviting firm bids. A Texas Triangle line linking Houston. San Antonio and Dallas for which Germany s Messer Schultt Boelkow Blohm has just completed a feasibility study using its inter City experimental train. The train is designed to reach speeds of 186 Mph. But has not yet entered service. Dwyer of Tiv says we would like to see an Independent study of this project which evaluated the functioning Tiv As a link Between los Angeles and Las vegas nov., Lor which studies Are now under Way. To achieve High speeds. France opted Lor a train built As a single unit that runs at conventional speeds Over existing track within a City but switches to special High Speed track in the Countryside. The High Speed track has gentler curves than conventional lines but steeper gradients which saves on expensive tunnelling and Earth cuts. 8vrsl to ins have been built or Are in the planning stages in other countries some employing radically different approaches. Japan s Shin Hansen Bullet trains Are basically similar to the Tiv. Though they Are somewhat slower travelling at a top Speed of 143 Mph. Mess Schultt s ice train also needs special track to achieve its top speeds but it is designed to be More flexible than the Tiv because its engine and coaches can be decoupled and the size of the tra varied. Germany and Japan Are also working independently no of 13. Loss on a magnetic hover train thai would Glide along a Monorail track supported by magnetic forces at speeds of up to 310 Mph. But the French who abandoned this idea a decade ago. Say the track would Cost at least twice As much As a new Tiv line which can be built Lor about $4 million a mile. A Canadian company. Bombardier inc. Has manufactured a High Speed train now operating Between Montreal and Ottawa. Although designed to run at 125 Mph. The train has been plagued by troubles and is limited to a Speed of about 80 Mph. Britain is striving to build a Tilting train that can sustain speeds of 125 Mph on existing track. British rail the nationalized railway is working on a version of the train in which the passenger coaches would lean inward on fast curves to keep passengers from being thrown out of their seats. Italy is building a High Speed line Between Rome and Florence called the direct Sima that will Cut the journey time from 3 hours 10 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes. Austria is considering a High Speed line Between Vienna and Salzburg while Spain is planning one from Madrid to Barcelona. Compared with Europe the United states is simply not in the picture at All when it comes to High Speed rail technology in of s Deputy director general. Raymond Monnet. Said. But while that makes the United Stales appear to be a tempting Export Market european manufacturers of High Speed trains recognize that they must overcome America s preference for automobile travel. We Are still having a love affair with the automobile in this country so All our calculations Are very conservative said John k. Lussi. Director of rail marketing at the new York state department of transportation in Albany referring to studies about the proposed High Speed line Between new York and Montreal. Such a service with stops in Albany and Burlington. I. Would Complete the 370-mile trip in about three hours hitting speeds of up to 160 Mph current service on Amtrak trains takes eight hours. French engineers say that 20 to 25 Tiv trains would be needed for the service costing a total of about $200 million. Laying special High Speed track or improving existing track would add $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion to the Bill. At least one train manufacturer in the United Stales the Budd co. Of Troy. Mich., has shown interest in the project according to new York officials. Studies commissioned by american and Canadian officials suggest the service would attract 2.5 million to 3.5 million passengers a year not enough to finance the huge capital costs. French experts think those studies Are unduly pessimistic. They contend that a Tiv line would generate 6 million or More new passengers a year. They base that on their experience with the Paris Lyon run. Which now goes on at lower speeds Over older track to Geneva in 3 hours 40 minutes and to Marseilles in the South of France in 4 hours 40 minutes. Last year this service carried More than 13 million passengers of whom some 6 million Are considered new passengers who would have used other methods of transport or not made the trip at All. About 2 million of these Passen is were attracted away from existing air plane service with another million taking the train instead of driving according to the experts. The Tiv line lost Money in its first three years of limited operation rom 1981 through 1983. But last year receipts covered costs and amortization leaving the service with a profit of about $50 million. The in of expects to have paid Oil All Tiv related debt by 1994 at the latest. Last year the French government decided to build a Tiv Al antique line linking Paris with Bordeaux. Nantes and Brest on the Western coast. New More luxurious trains will reach speeds of up to 185 Mph. Now that we be mastered the technology of sustained Safe High Speed we re going to put the emphasis on Comfort and prestige says Francois la Cote the in of s chief Tiv Engineer. But France s ambitions for the Tiv do not Stop there. Later this year French belgian and German transport ministers will decide whether to build an International Tiv link that would Cut the train time Between Paris and Brussels from 2 hours 30 minutes to 1 hour 30 and take a further hour to reach Cologne with a possible Branch to Amsterdam. And if Britain and France can Ever agree to build a Tunnel under the English Channel the in of would want to run a Tiv line through it making the trip Between Paris and London in 3 hours and 15 minutes. Three French High Speed Trant Intond ready for the Parit Lyon run. The stars and stripes Page 15
