The Car-to-Car Communication technology enables vehicles to autonomouslyexchange data among each other. The main aim is to improve road safety and trafficflow. Unfortunately, the Car-to-CarCommunication technology bears direct networkeffects, i.e. to be able to profit from it, first a certain market penetration is required.Therefore, the mechanisms generally foreseen by car manufacturers to introducesimilar functionalities into the market cannot be deployed.This includes that no carmanufacturer can gain a competitive edge by pursuing the market by himself.On the contrary, this paper shows that a cooperation among car manufacturersand even other parties such as government agencies is required to successfully introducethe technology. Furthermore a mixed approach, of implementing parts of thefunctionality in series while offering others as options, is presented. It is shown thatwhen perceiving the C2CC technology as a platform for a variety of applications,different user groups, of which some are looking for specific solution to their problemstoday, can be satis.
Types
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Special kinds of trains running on corresponding special 'railways' are atmospheric railways, monorails, high-speed railways, maglev, rubber-tired underground, funicular and cog railways.
A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives, and one or more coaches. Alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a "multiple unit". In many parts of the world, particularly Japan and Europe, high-speed rail is utilized extensively for passenger travel.
Freight trains comprise wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains (especially Travelling Post Offices) are outwardly more like passenger trains.
Trains can also be 'mixed', comprising both passenger accommodation and freight vehicles. Such mixed trains are most likely to occur where services are infrequent, and running separate passenger and freight trains is not cost-effective, though the differing needs of passengers and freight usually means this is avoided where possible.
Special trains are also used for track maintenance; in some places, this is called maintenance of way.
In the United Kingdom, a train hauled by two locomotives is said to be "double-headed", and in Canada and the United States it is quite common for a long freight train to be headed by three or more locomotives. A train with a locomotive attached at each end is described as 'top and tailed', this practice typically being used when there are no reversing facilities available. Where a second locomotive is attached temporarily to assist a train up steep banks or grades (or down them by providing braking power) it is referred to as 'banking' in the UK, or 'helper service' in North America. Recently, many loaded trains in the US have been made up with one or more locomotives in the middle or at the rear of the train, operated remotely from the lead cab. This is referred to as "DP" or "Distributed Power."
Terminology
The railway terminology that is used to describe a 'train' varies between countries.- United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom Section 83(1) of the Railways Act 1993 defines "train" as follows:
- a) two or more items of rolling stock coupled together, at least one of which is a locomotive; or
- b) a locomotive not coupled to any other rolling stock.
- United States
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's 1948 operating rules define a train as: "An engine or more than one engine coupled, with or without cars, displaying markers."[3]
Motive power
Main article: Locomotive
The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses. From the early 19th century almost all were powered by steam locomotives. From the 1910s onwards the steam locomotives began to be replaced by less labour intensive and cleaner (but more complex and expensive) diesel locomotives and electric locomotives, while at about the same time self-propelled multiple unit vehicles of either power system became much more common in passenger service. In most countries dieselisation of locomotives in day-to-day use was completed by the 1970s. A few countries, most notably the People's Republic of China, where coal and labour are cheap, still use a few steam locomotives, but most have been phased out. Historic steam trains still run in many other countries, for the leisure and enthusiast market.Electric traction offers a lower cost per mile of train operation but at a higher initial cost, which can only be justified on high traffic lines. Since the cost per mile of construction is much higher, electric traction is less viable for long-distance lines with the exception of long-distance high speed lines. Electric trains receive their current via overhead lines or through a third rail electric system.
A recent variation of the electric locomotive is the fuel cell locomotive.[4][5] Fuel cell locomotives combine the advantage of not needing an electrical system in place, with the advantage of emissionless operation. However, the initial cost of such fuel cell vehicles is still substantial at the moment.
Passenger trains
A passenger train is one which includes passenger-carrying vehicles. It may be a self-powered multiple unit or railcar, or else a combination of one or more locomotives and one or more unpowered trailers known as coaches, cars or carriages. Passenger trains travel between stations or depots, at which passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on a fixed schedule and have superior track occupancy rights over freight trains.Oversight of a passenger train is the responsibility of the conductor. He or she is usually assisted by other crew members, such as service attendants or porters. During the heyday of North American passenger rail travel, long distance trains carried two conductors: the aforementioned train conductor, and a Pullman conductor, the latter being in charge of sleeping car personnel.
Many prestigious passenger train services have been given a specific name, some of which have become famous in literature and fiction. In past years, railroaders often referred to passenger trains as the "varnish," alluding to the bygone days of wooden-bodied coaches with their lustrous exterior finishes and fancy livery. "Blocking the varnish" meant a slow-moving freight train was obstructing a fast passenger train, causing delays.
Some passenger trains, both long distance and short distanced, may use bi-level (double-decker) cars to carry more passengers per train. Car design and the general safety of passenger trains have dramatically evolved over time, making travel by rail remarkably safe.
Long-distance trains
Long-distance trains travel between many cities and/or regions of a country, and sometimes cross several countries. They often have a dining car or restaurant car to allow passengers to have a meal during the course of their journey. Trains travelling overnight may also have sleeping cars.High-speed rail
Main article: High-speed rail
One notable and growing long-distance train category is high-speed rail. Generally, high speed rail runs at speeds above 200 km/h (124 mph) and often operates on dedicated track that is surveyed and prepared to accommodate high speeds. Japan's Shinkansen ("bullet-train") commenced operation in 1964, and was the first successful example of a high speed passenger rail system.The fastest wheeled train running on rails is France's TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, literally "high speed train"), which achieved a speed of 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph), twice the takeoff speed of a Boeing 727 jetliner, under test conditions in 2007. The highest speed currently attained in scheduled revenue operation is 350 km/h (217 mph) on the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail and Wuhan–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway systems in China. The TGV runs at a maximum revenue speed of 300–320 km/h (186–199 mph), as does Germany's Inter-City Express.
In most cases, high-speed rail travel is time- and cost-competitive with air travel when distances do not exceed 500 to 600 km (311 to 373 mi), as airport check-in and boarding procedures may add as many as two hours to the actual transit time.[6] Also, rail operating costs over these distances may be lower when the amount of fuel consumed by an airliner during takeoff and climbout is considered. As travel distance increases, the latter consideration becomes less of the total cost of operating an airliner and air travel becomes more cost-competitive.
Some high speed rail equipment employs tilting technology to improve stability in curves. Examples of such equipment are the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), the Pendolino, the N700 Series Shinkansen, Amtrak's Acela Express and the Talgo. Tilting is a dynamic form of superelevation, allowing both low- and high-speed traffic to use the same trackage (though not simultaneously, of course), as well as producing a more comfortable ride for passengers.
Maglev
Main article: Maglev (transport)
In order to achieve much faster operation over 500 km/h (311 mph), innovative Maglev technology has been researched for years. The Shanghai Maglev Train, opened in 2003, is the fastest commercial train service of any kind, operating at speeds of up to 430 km/h (267 mph). So far, however, Maglev has not been used for inter-city mass transit routes.Inter-city trains
Main article: Inter-city rail
Passenger trains can be divided into three major groups:- Intercity trains: connecting cities in the fastest time possible, by passing all intermediate stations
- Fast trains: calling at larger intermediate stations between cities, serving large urban communities
- Regional trains: calling at all intermediate stations between cities, serving all lineside communities
Regional trains
Main article: Regional rail
Regional trains usually connect between towns and cities, rather than purely linking major population hubs like inter-city train, and serve local traffic demand in relatively rural area.Short-distance trains
Commuter trains
Main articles: Commuter rail and Commuter rail in North America
For shorter distances many cities have networks of commuter trains, serving the city and its suburbs. Trains are a very efficient mode of transportation to cope with large traffic demand in a metropolis. Compared with road transport, it carries many people with much smaller land area and little air pollution.Some carriages may be laid out to have more standing room than seats, or to facilitate the carrying of prams, cycles or wheelchairs. Some countries have double-decked passenger trains for use in conurbations. Double deck high speed and sleeper trains are becoming more common in mainland Europe.
Sometimes extreme congestion of commuter trains becomes a problem. For example, an estimated 3.5 million passengers ride every day on Yamanote Line in Tokyo, Japan, with its 29 stations. For comparison, the New York City Subway carries 4.8 million passengers per day on 24 services serving 468 stations. To cope with large traffic, special cars in which the bench seats fold up to provide standing room only during the morning rush hour (until 10 a.m.) are operated in Tokyo (E231 series train). This train has as many as six sets of doors on each side to shorten the time for passengers to get on and off at station.
Passenger trains usually have emergency brake handles (or a "communication cord") that the public can operate. Misuse is punished by a heavy fine.
