Cargo Business Newswire

Friday, April 4, 2014

Europe's fast passenger trains leave U.S. "high-speed" trains in the dust

California, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, and Washington have all ordered Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotives for passenger service, with some of the services being billed as "high speed."

Although the new locomotives on the "high-speed" corridor between Chicago and St. Louis could reach speeds of up to 110 mph, the trains wouldn't make the high-speed cut in terms of the European Union's definition. EU high-speed trains have to be able to clock 124 mph on conventional tracks and more than 155 mph on tracks upgraded for high-speed rail.

The Charger locomotives are based on a popular European design that tops out at 125 mph. That's comparable to the Metroliner that ran between New York and Washington D.C. in 1969, so it's hardly the high-speed train of the future.

But, to quote the International Union of Railways, "It is also necessary to take into account those railways which are making laudable efforts to provide high speed despite a basis of old infrastructure and technology which is far removed from that employed by the railways of western Europe."

Since America's passenger rail system has an aging infrastructure that needs to catch up to the rest of the world, any improvement could be considered high speed, and might help move the U.S. toward modern high-speed rail.

For more of the Wired story: wired.com