- Thread starter oz.
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Now we know why the UK a/ has the worst rail system in the developed world and b/ still does not have it's high speed rail link to connect with Europe !
Oh, and if that machine were used here it would mean the end of excuses for rail delays and then how would the rail companies justify their outrageous prices ?!
I had to drive upto Leeds last week and I thought I would check the viability of using the train ! Well, apart from the fact that it was twice as expensive as using the car, it would have taken twice as long and I would have had to change a total of 8 times !! And I would have been charged for parking the car at the station my end !
I would have also needed to get a Taxi at the Leeds end to get to my destination, another £10 no doubt !
What a joke, the government cannot possibly be serious in suggesting public transport is a viable alternative to the car !
Oh, and if that machine were used here it would mean the end of excuses for rail delays and then how would the rail companies justify their outrageous prices ?!
I had to drive upto Leeds last week and I thought I would check the viability of using the train ! Well, apart from the fact that it was twice as expensive as using the car, it would have taken twice as long and I would have had to change a total of 8 times !! And I would have been charged for parking the car at the station my end !
I would have also needed to get a Taxi at the Leeds end to get to my destination, another £10 no doubt !
What a joke, the government cannot possibly be serious in suggesting public transport is a viable alternative to the car !
rikrobson
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We have some of that kit over here. the process is changes depending on the lines and what is being renewed. Some is laid in preformed sections from the neighbouring line. I suppose its really down to what work need doing and how much each process costs. each section of track is different so one process may not suit everything. There is still a fair bit of bolted together bullhead rail on the network a,d that process cant do points, which now tends to be prefabricated in sections. IIRC newark flat crossing was replace this way a couple of years ago.
This usually happens at night or at Christmas when the network is quiet. It's just that you don't see it happening.
This usually happens at night or at Christmas when the network is quiet. It's just that you don't see it happening.
good bit of kit 
If the government was interested in actually having good public services they would not have sold all of the ******s off so where left with even worse money grabbing sods at least with a government your supposed to be able to vote them out sadly were stuck with the “public services”
If the government was interested in actually having good public services they would not have sold all of the ******s off so where left with even worse money grabbing sods at least with a government your supposed to be able to vote them out sadly were stuck with the “public services”
We considered using that on the manchester metero extensions, specifically for the south manchester line and the Oldham Rochdale. The governing factor are the ground conditions. As these lines where being laid on Beeching lines the ground needed extensive works before hand. As the work on the MME is a rolling program its easier to lay the tracks by hand so to speak.
I recently finished a project in China using track laying machines. They work very well but the set up cost on new lines is great. You need to transport the machine via road to teh start of the line. The chinese line was 1000km so it was worth it. Guangzhou to Beijing line if you want to look it up.
In the UK we dont build new lines (cross rail and euroline excepted) we only repair short lengths of rail due to head wear, sleeper rot or ballast emulsification (ballast gets ground down in to paste). Plus most of our lines are still on timber sleepers. Although the new tack is on twin block or embeded the S&Cs are still on timber.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dune_uk/page8/
What we really need is a whole new rail system. Starting with new straight lines between old staions. That would mean a massive compulsory purchase order but its what UK need for the future.
I recently finished a project in China using track laying machines. They work very well but the set up cost on new lines is great. You need to transport the machine via road to teh start of the line. The chinese line was 1000km so it was worth it. Guangzhou to Beijing line if you want to look it up.
In the UK we dont build new lines (cross rail and euroline excepted) we only repair short lengths of rail due to head wear, sleeper rot or ballast emulsification (ballast gets ground down in to paste). Plus most of our lines are still on timber sleepers. Although the new tack is on twin block or embeded the S&Cs are still on timber.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dune_uk/page8/
What we really need is a whole new rail system. Starting with new straight lines between old staions. That would mean a massive compulsory purchase order but its what UK need for the future.
Hello Tigler,
I think it looks rather magical, but would guess that the power requirement is extremely high just to elevate the train, and it is more efficient just to run on rails. It would need a track capable of supporting the train's weight so I doubt if there is a saving there either.
Alec
I think it looks rather magical, but would guess that the power requirement is extremely high just to elevate the train, and it is more efficient just to run on rails. It would need a track capable of supporting the train's weight so I doubt if there is a saving there either.
Alec
Drains
Yeah, nah.
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Maybe you've answered your question tigler. If a system had been in use for over 200 years (rather longer than that I believe, in the case of the wheel), perhaps we use it because it's proven. You won't see coal trains weighing 1000's of tonnes being moved on a mag-lev system either.
By the way, one reason why we have, in parts, a relatively poor railway system, is because it's old and curvy. There is lots of fancy track-laying and tamping equipment in the UK, but lots of track where it can't be used. Do remember we have a country which is flat in the East, but very hilly in the West and North, highly populated, and very owned.
The French TGV system is absolutely fantastic, but mostly built on flat land, in a country with a far lower population density, and a very different government-people-centric political system. Land ownership in France, and many other countries, does not have the importance we give it in the UK. A Frenchman's home is not his castle. If the UK government had the kind of power some other foreign gov's enjoy, doubtless we'd have more and faster modern railway lines.
Also, historically, the British railways have suffered from shocking under-investment since the 1930s, and were torn to pieces by Mr Major in the 1990s. They still suffer a stupid, complex and expensive ownership system which has the banks owning the rolling stock and making massive amounts of money, while the rest of the operating companies, track maintenance companies, track owners etc, are subsidised by the government, yet still ticket prices are high.
And all the UK rolling stock manufacturers (with some small exceptions) have gone out of business (blame Mr Major again), a mainline loco has not ben built in Britain for almost 20 years (excepting class 66 locos which are anyway mostly made in Canada). Freight is mostly operated by Deutschebahn, so now most new freight rolling stock is made in Germany.
If it's any consolation, Britain's railways are busier than they have ever been. Unfortunately it's on less track, and that's Beeching's fault.
And finally, if our railways are rubbish, and we want to blame governments, I personally can't really blame one in particular. They're all crap.
Shox Dr
Chief Engineer to Carlos Fandango
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The mere thought of any UK Government having more power than they already have is frightening.
Drains
Yeah, nah.
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Absolutely. I gave France as an example, because the power they have isn't necessarily more, but different. The French are very hot on not letting their government get away with stuff (so hot, their cars burst into flame!).
Uk rolling stock manufacturers don't exist because they couldn't compete with the eastern european manufacturers on price.
British Locomotives were terrible so it was no surprise all the freight operators such as Freightliner, GBRF and DBS wanted the class 66 for its better reliability and simple maintenance.
Brush who made the class 60 is still around but no longer have the technical no-how.It took them roughly three years,I think, to iron out all the faults from the first locomotive.
The class 66 on the other hand, connect the batteries, fill up with diesel and away you go making money for the freight business.
I blame the BR board in the old days for ordering large numbers in one hit instead of long term dribs and drabs like our european cousins do which is why the likes of Siemens, Bombardier, Alstrom and General Electrics still manufacture.
British Business Management is poor and always have been!
Good to see the knowledge shared.
It's not like the machine takes away jobs. As the video shows you still need people to operate the machine, make sure everything stays as it's meant to etc.
It seems that despite the fact that the british rail infrastructure isn't that big it takes more than your average joe bloggs to make it work.
It's not like the machine takes away jobs. As the video shows you still need people to operate the machine, make sure everything stays as it's meant to etc.
It seems that despite the fact that the british rail infrastructure isn't that big it takes more than your average joe bloggs to make it work.
rikrobson
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There is new track being laid.
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...TORY-BEGINS-WORK-14a7/SearchCategoryID-3.aspx
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...TORY-BEGINS-WORK-14a7/SearchCategoryID-3.aspx
sorry Drains.
Its british and mainline certified
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Peppercorn_Class_A1_60163_Tornado
Its british and mainline certified
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Peppercorn_Class_A1_60163_Tornado
brightspark
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tornado passed our house 2 weeks ago
i live in station house ive got an original sandstone sleeper of the s and d railway
Drains
Yeah, nah.
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It's superb, but it doesn't count.
mike os
just a little insane.....
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ffs they laid a mile a day by hand 50+ years ago
& this is supposed to be "progress"this country & its infrastructure is so badly run it defies belief
ffs they laid a mile a day by hand 50+ years ago
this country & its infrastructure is so badly run it defies belief
The tollerances that the rails are laid to today are much finer as the forces involved are much higher as the velocities are so much greater. Also the tracks are welded rather than fishplated.
