RAILWAY SPEEDS

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 February 1937, Page 11

RAILWAY SPEEDS

FRANCE’S LIMIT, 75 M.P.H.

. French rail speeds were increased IQ per cent during 1936 over 1935, and France' thereby achieved second place for the highest speeds over the greatest mileage, beipg surpassed only by the United States. Germany and Great Britain are .third and fourth. - The reference is, of course, to commercial speeds of daily occurrence, not to exploits of- a sporting and technical nature which have little practical value. To-day France has 5704 miles of track served regularly by passenger trains with a speed of 62 miles per hour, and 12,144 miles at 60 miles per hour. These statistics are announced by the research department of the combined railways of France. For safety reasons France sets a limit beyond which trains may not go; it is 75 miles per houi’ for steam locomotives and SI miles per hour for rail buses. Among the new speeds attained are the following. The distance between Paris and Le Harve is now covered by steam trains at an average speed of 56 miles per hour; for rail buses it is 71.

Last year the, “Nord” railroad conducted experiments with heavy trains, that is, 700 to 800 metric toils, and reach a speed of 55 miles per hour. However, it has been exceeded dtifing the past summer; the Paris-Calais run is now covered at 58 miles per hour; Paris to Boulogne, 61; and Paris- Brussels, 6-1.

■ Remarkable results have been secured by the Paris-Orleans-Midj line, especially on its Paris-Bordeaux run, where electric traction and steam trains are used. Paris to Orleans is covered at a rate of 71.5 m.p.h., and Orleans Tours, 74.5. The Paris-Lyons-Mediterranean express covers the distance between Paris and Lyons at a rate of 68 m.p.h. En route the speeds achieved are as follows: Paris-Laroche, 77; Laroche-Dijon, 75; Dijon-Macon, 77; Macon-Lyons, 69. The Eastern Railroad of France, which transported thousands of British soldiers, has also increased its speeds. Paris to Troyes is covered at a rate of 66 m.p.h., and Paris-Nancy at 62.