UIC standard: A new railway with a maximum operating speed of over 250km/h or an existing railway with a maximum operating speed of over 200km/h after speed-up transformation is called a high-speed railway. (This standard is widely accepted internationally)
Japanese standard: Shinkansen is a trunk railway, and the running speed of trains in the trunk line section is more than 200 kilometers (the trunk line of Japanese railway is a "local traffic line" defined according to the passenger and freight volume, which is different from the branch line with small traffic volume, so there is no need to entangle it at this point).
(It should be noted that in Japan, the term "high-speed railway" does not necessarily refer to "high-speed railway", but often refers to the electric railway in the capital circle that has nothing to do with high-speed railway. For example, the Tokyo Metro was first built and operated by a company called "Tokyo High-speed Railway", so it is absolutely impossible to follow the book. )
China standard (technical standard after 20 14): High-speed railway is a passenger dedicated line with a design speed of 250km/h or above (including reserved speed-up conditions) and an initial operating speed of 200km/h or above.
It can be seen that the speed standards of China, Europe and Japan are not very different. The speed threshold of high-speed railway is set at about 200 km/h, but there is an additional "passenger dedicated line" in China standard, which brings a question: If a line runs at a speed of more than 200km/h, but it is used for both passengers and goods, should it be regarded as a "high-speed railway"? In this regard, the Japanese Shinkansen is dedicated to passenger transport, and there is basically no freight (except that the Hokkaido Shinkansen runs in parallel with trucks in the form of track groups in the Qinghai-Hankou subsea tunnel section), so it is not difficult to judge its nature; However, most high-speed railways in Europe have fast freight trains running at the same time. If we have to struggle with the "passenger dedicated line", isn't it the conclusion that there is no "high-speed railway" in Europe? Obviously, this is not practical, so we tend to think that the high-speed railway only needs to meet certain speed standards, and the specific operation mode, whether it is dedicated to passenger trains or mixed passenger and freight trains, will not affect the fundamental nature of "high speed" (the speed of passenger trains is above 200 kilometers per hour).
Above, we have a clear definition of high-speed rail, and we can discuss the "high-speed rail accidents" in Europe and Japan.
1. Shinkansen in Japan
Regarding the Shinkansen accident, some people mentioned the derailment accident of the JR Fuzhishan line, which is similar to the derailment accident of the train crossing the line and the train collision accident in Xinle Plateau, but it is not. The Fukuyama Line was built before World War II and is called "incoming line" in Japanese laws and regulations (similar to existing domestic lines). The normal running speed of the train is only 130km/h, which belongs to the commuter railway in the city, similar to the domestic Jinshan intercity in Shanghai, and obviously does not belong to the category of "high-speed railway". Although the JR Fukuyama Line accident in 2005 and the earlier train conflict accident in Xinle Plateau caused serious casualties and exposed major defects in Japanese railway operation and management, which had nothing to do with Shinkansen, people were often too attracted by the casualty figures and confused them intentionally or unintentionally.
Similarly, both Akita Shinkansen and Yamagata Shinkansen belong to "mini Shinkansen", which are special Shinkansen trains that have been transformed into 1435mm gauge on the basis of existing lines. Due to the limit of building clearance, the car body is smaller than the standard Shinkansen train, so it is named "mini Shinkansen"-through operation. As we know, the UIC standard recognizes that existing lines are transformed into high-speed railways with a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour. However, the Yamagata Akita Shinkansen has a top speed of only about 130 km due to the poor alignment of the existing line, which is similar to the existing domestic trains such as Guangzhou-Shenzhen Harmony (calculated by 20 1 1 year). In fact, in Japan's railway laws and regulations, the standardized name of Yamagata Shinkansen before transformation is Aoyuben Line, and the standardized name of Akita Shinkansen before transformation is Tianzehu Line-Aoyuben Line. The operation mode of the Northeast Shinkansen through the mini Shinkansen is called "Shinkansen", in other words, these two lines are legally incoming lines. As for why there is the name Shinkansen, apart from the fact that Shinkansen trains can run through, it is because the government and people along the line are willing to rub a popular IP of Shinkansen to attract popularity.
Then, what are the "standard Shinkansen" with a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour? By 20 17, there were seven standard shinkansen, namely Tokaido Shinkansen, Yangshan New Line, Tohoku Shinkansen, Shang Yue Shinkansen, Hokuriku Shinkansen (formerly known as Nagano Shinkansen), Kyushu Shinkansen (Kagoshima Line) and Hokkaido Shinkansen, all of which were basically "high-speed railways" with a speed of more than 250 kilometers per hour. In addition, there are no other railway lines in Japan with a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour. What accidents have happened in the history of Shinkansen? It can be said that since 1964, there have been no major passenger casualties on the Shinkansen, but it is by no means a zero accident boasted by some people. The more notable accident is-
An accident that caused a lot of casualties:
1964 On the Tokaido Shinkansen, an accident occurred in which a late train collided with a railway operator working in the line area, killing five people and injuring five others. The same type of accident happened on the Northeast Shinkansen 1985, with 2 deaths and 6 injuries.
Accidents causing passenger casualties:
1995 passengers fell at Mishima Station of Tokaido Shinkansen. A high school student was caught by the closed automatic door of the train because he was in a hurry to get on the bus. Because the train conductor and platform staff did not pay attention to the observation, the automatic door of 0 series car failed to detect foreign objects. Passengers were dragged to the end of the platform by the train, fell into the track and were crushed to death. The passenger falling accident at JR Mishima Station became the first accident in Shinkansen history that resulted in the passenger's death due to the operator's responsibility.
On 20 15, an accident occurred in Yangshan new trunk line, in which the vehicle parts were loose and fell off when the train was running at high speed, and a passenger was injured by the falling parts flying out of the window, which was a personal injury accident caused by the operator.
Train derailment accident:
1973 the no-load return train of the tokaido shinkansen Osaka comprehensive vehicle derailed at low speed, causing no casualties. However, the derailed train broke through the turnout and entered the main line of Tokaido Shinkansen, which caused the operation to be interrupted and almost caused the follow-up passenger train to rear-end. This is the first time in the history of Shinkansen that the train derailed. However, although ATC (Automatic Train Control) system failed to prevent the train from sending back the signal of rash derailment, it prevented the passenger train from entering the accident area immediately after the train derailed (once the consequences were unimaginable), which was a mixed blessing.
Affected by the Niigata-Vietnam earthquake in 2004, a 200-series train traveling at 200 kilometers per hour on the Shinkansen train from Shanghai to Vietnam derailed on the viaduct during the deceleration process, although it braked urgently after receiving the signal from the earthquake wave warning device. This is the first time that a passenger train derailed on the Shinkansen. Fortunately, the train slowed down and did not fall off the viaduct. Miraculously, the accident did not cause any casualties.
Similarly, affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March of 20 1 1, an E2 train in the trial operation of the Northeast Shinkansen derailed, with no casualties. The Kumamoto earthquake in April, 2065438+2006 also derailed the return train of 800 series cars in Kumamoto comprehensive depot of Kyushu Shinkansen, with no casualties. Up to now, there have been four train derailment accidents on the Shinkansen (five if the train derailment accidents caused by the irregularity of the Akita Shinkansen in track snow in 20 13 are counted), but no casualties have been caused (but three of them are empty return trains or test trains, and passenger casualties are understandable).
In addition, there have been many technical or operational failures in the Shinkansen, such as the axle fracture during the operation of the Tokaido Shinkansen train in the 1960s, the excessive braking caused by insufficient adhesion of the early 0-series wheelsets, and the falling of concrete blocks and other components in the Yangshan New Trunk Tunnel in the 1990s. Although these failures did not cause casualties, they have formed a sign of major accidents. The myth of Shinkansen safety is not absolute. It must be admitted that there have been no major passenger casualties on the Shinkansen so far, and there are quite a few lucky elements in it.
2. French high-speed railway
"TGV" is the abbreviation of "high-speed train" in French. France's high-speed railway system includes the newly-built high-speed line (LGV) and the existing lines through which TGV trains run (called lignes? Classiques), the latter is usually not high speed due to the limitation of line conditions, which is roughly equivalent to the existing trains in China. Strictly speaking, only LGV with a top speed of 270~320km/h can be called a real "high-speed railway". TGV trains running on existing lines have had several crossing accidents that collided with cars and ordinary trains on existing lines. Fortunately, the casualties are not serious. On the newly-built high-speed line LGV, TGV high-speed trains have also had several major accidents-
1992: A TGV high-speed train derailed at Jean Marcornroach station on the southeast line of LGV from Paris to Lyon because it broke through a turnout. The accident did not cause any casualties to the passengers on the train, but after the train derailed, the ballast on the track in the station (the ballasted track has always been used by the French high-speed railway) was blown away, resulting in more than 20 passengers waiting at the platform being injured by the scattered gravel ballast.
1993: The tunnel left over from World War I was not surveyed during the construction. Due to the collapse of the rainstorm, the line collapsed, and a TGV high-speed train derailed at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour while running on the LGV north line from Paris to Lille. The accident set a world record-the highest speed derailment accident in history (300km/h). The unique articulated bogie of TGV high-speed train (the bogie is installed at the junction of carriages to make the front and rear carriages closely connected) has made great contributions in this accident. Although the train derailed and slipped, the connection between carriages was not damaged, and only 1 passenger was slightly injured (of course, it cannot be concluded that articulated bogies are definitely better than independent bogies, and both have their own advantages and disadvantages in technology).
2000: An E300 Eurostar high-speed train from Paris to London (British Railway 373, based on TGV high-speed train technology) derailed at a speed of 250km/h on the northern line of LGV, because the parts on the bogie of the bullet train were loose. Seven passengers were injured and many people were frightened.
20 15: during the commissioning of a TGV test train on the eastern LGV line from Paris to Strasbourg before its official opening, the driver failed to brake in time (during the commissioning, the train control needs to be temporarily closed because the line speed needs to be increased by 10% on the basis of the normal running speed, so the train can't brake automatically under the control of the signal system like normal running. Can only rely on the driver's judgment and control) and at a speed of 243km/h, the train derailed on a sharp bend at the exit of expressway near Ekvilsang (the speed limit of this bend is normally set to 160km/h, and it is planned to pass at 176km/h during the test, but the driver didn't have time to brake when entering the bend), and then the train turned off the viaduct. Because it was a test train, most of the 1 1 people who died in this accident were French railway employees and technicians who participated in the test, and 42 others were injured, some of them seriously. However, during the rescue, it was found that some minors should not be present at all. After investigation, it was found that some French railway staff took their children on the test train privately (this behavior may have existed for a long time, but it was only exposed in this accident), which was severely criticized by French railways. This is the most serious casualty accident since the opening of the French high-speed railway 198 1.
Up to now, the most serious accident of high-speed railway in France is the derailment accident of LGV East Line test train in 20 15, which killed 1 1 and injured 42 people. The safety performance of French high-speed railways is generally qualified, but it is inevitable that various accidents will occur.
3. German high-speed railway
The high-speed train in Germany is called ICE(Inter? City? Express, which means inter-city express train), like France, Germany's high-speed railway system also includes two types: new high-speed line (NBS, with a maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour) and speed-increasing transformation of existing lines (ABS, with a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour after transformation). Unfortunately, however, Germany has a world record-the worst high-speed railway accident in the world so far. This accident directly caused Siemens, which almost won the Taiwan high-speed rail bill, to be "killed" by the Japanese Shinkansen (of course, the negative impact of the accident was not the only reason for ICE's defeat), and the price was not heavy. This is1June 3, 998, when the Axel train derailed. When an ICE- 1 high-speed train from Munich to Hamburg was traveling at a speed of 200 km/h, the steel hub was broken due to the design defects of the wheelset, and finally the train derailed and disintegrated, and an overpass bridge at the derailed place completely collapsed, resulting in the death of 10 1 person (except passengers and train sets, two German railway employees who were working under the bridge at that time) When it comes to the German high-speed rail accident, it is enough that it is only the disaster in Ashdod, and the cause of this accident is completely man-made: the inherent defects in train design, the negligence in daily maintenance, and the driver's failure to stop in time after the train makes abnormal noise ... It can be said that it is a complete shame from the technical level to the operational management level.
(P.S. "German high-speed trains can only run on plains with suitable climate"? The limit slope of NBS is 40‰, which is one of the best among high-speed railways in the world. The peregrine falcon high-speed train with a speed of 250 kilometers per hour on the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed line in Russia is an imported version of the ICE-3 EMU. Is the winter temperature in Russia not lower than 15℃? Don't forget, CRH380BG high-speed EMU used in cold areas in the north is also improved on the basis of CRH3C EMU imported from ICE-3, and still belongs to Siemens Velaro high-speed train technology platform. )
Besides Axel's tragic accident, there have been other accidents (crossing accident, collision with other ordinary trains, derailment accident, etc. ) in the ice, but fortunately there were few casualties on the whole. For example, in 2008, an ice train on the Hanover-Wü rzburg expressway hit a flock of sheep, causing minor injuries to several passengers. 20 10 the door of an ICE high-speed train from Amsterdam to Basel suddenly fell off and crashed into another ICE train on the adjacent line, causing six passengers to be injured. Just on May 2 this year, an ICE high-speed train derailed at a low speed when entering Dortmund Railway Station (possibly due to line irregularity or turnout failure), resulting in two injuries.
4. Spanish high-speed railway
AVE is a high-speed railway brand in Spain. At present, Spain's high-speed railway network is the second largest in the world (after China's 20,000 kilometers, Spain's 365,438+000 kilometers ...), and it also has its own technical characteristics: tilting trains, variable gauge technology, wheelset bogies and so on. Because Spain has introduced high-speed train technology from France, Germany and Italy in addition to domestic high-speed trains, the models of high-speed trains in Spain are quite diverse. Unfortunately, however, Spain has also become another place where high-speed railway accidents with heavy casualties occurred, that is, the derailment accident of Santiago de Compostela on July 24, 20 13 (it seems that it is only one day away from the unfortunate day). Fate is merciless. No matter how much efforts people have made for safe operation in the past decades, as long as one negligence and one major accident are enough to "destroy" the reputation accumulated in the past.
July 20 13, an S-730 high-speed train from Madrid to ferrol (this is a very special train with a designed top speed of 250km/h). This model is a tilting train, which can improve the speed when passing through a small curve; With the variable gauge technology of Talgo train, it is possible to travel freely on Spain 1435mm quasi-gauge high-speed line and 1668mm wide gauge existing line, and it is compatible with 25kv &；; 50Hz alternating current and existing 3kV DC power supply system; The diesel generator car is installed behind the electric locomotive, so that the train can enter the existing line without electrification, but the speed of the diesel locomotive drops to 180km/h when running. A short section of the existing line derailed before entering Santiago de Compostela station. This is a sharp bend transformed from the existing line before entering the station. The curve radius is less than 400 meters, and the normal speed limit is 80 km/h, but the driver of the train obviously didn't drive at the speed limit that day (according to later media surveys, Galkang seems to have a "personal hobby" in racing and often shows it off on his personal website). Because the station was transformed from the existing line, the old signal system was still used at that time, which was different from the ETCS signal system used in the new high-speed railway (the CTCS-3 signal system used in the domestic high-speed railway also partially absorbed the ETCS signal system technology in Europe). Incidentally, the original intention of ETCS is to unify the "fragmented" high-speed railway signal systems of European countries in order to carry out international multimodal transport. At present, international trains within the European Union often need to be equipped with several sets of signal equipment at the same time to adapt to the technical standards of different countries. However, ETCS is only partially promoted in Europe at present. On the contrary, China's high-speed rail has "got there first" in this respect. The signal system of the existing Spanish line only has the function of speeding alarm, but does not have the function of automatic braking of equipment, so it has not become the last line of defense to stop the drivers concerned from speeding. Finally, the train entered the curve at a speed close to 195km/h, which was twice the speed limit. At this time, Garcon began to brake urgently, but it was too late. The train derailed and rushed out of the corner and disintegrated, which also caused the diesel generator car to catch fire. The accident killed 80 people and injured 140 people. This is the most serious accident in the history of high-speed railway in the world, second only to the disaster in Ashdod, and it is not enough to cause such a disaster.
Summary:
There is no absolutely safe and reliable system in the world. What people can do is to be vigilant and prevent and eliminate hidden dangers as much as possible, but even so, any small negligence, even lucky factors, may lead to accidents. Although disasters are annoying, sometimes they are really hard to prevent. After a tragic accident, what people need more is to reflect on the problem and make improvements, instead of losing confidence because of one or two accidents and getting up from where they fell.