People s Daily: High-speed EMU Runs As Fast As Liu Xiang

The passengers who have taken high-speed EMU may have deep impression that they feel very steady and comfortable when the high-speed train is running, and even they can walk with a cup of water without spilling over. The train can run at a high speed about 200-300 kilometers/hour. It can run smoothly only by intimately contacting two rails.

The core part for the high-speed train to run fast and steadily is the high-speed bogie. As to the speed of EMU alone, the high-speed bogie is just like Liu Xiang s legs. The speed is largely dependent on it. said assistant chief engineer Zhang Hong of CSR Qingdao Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co., Ltd..

Successfully researched and developed High-speed Bogie of the EMU at the Speed of 250 kilometers/hour and Application which won 2009 National Science and Technology Progress First Prize upgrades the highest operating speed per hour of China s existing railway from 160 kilometers to 250 kilometers in a few years, creating an operating record of domestic and foreign existing railway.

The transporting capacity of China railway is very limited and it is very hard to buy a train ticket. The fundamental way of solving transportation bottleneck is to newly build passenger special line and expand scope of the railway network. The operation of high-speed EMU on the existing railways over 6,000 kilometers is another effective way to improve passenger capacity quickly.

Zhang Hong expressed that for the purpose of realizing EMU s 250 kilometers per hour on the existing railways, since 2004, under the key project support of the country and Ministry of Railways, CSR Qingdao Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co., Ltd. organized other relevant units to carry out systematical technical innovation for the high-speed bogie of the EMU at the speed of 250 kilometers/hour aiming at Chinese features of existing railways and operating demands on the opportunity of introducing, assimilating and re-innovating the EMU.

What is bogie on earth? In fact, since coming into the world, guidance of a train running on the railway has been automatically realized by the Bogie . When the train runs to a bending line, it has to turn automatically. The higher the speed is, the higher the demands on turning will be. Automatic turning must depend on the bogie. At present, as a special operating device in rolling stocks, the bogie can not be described only by Turning as its function. It has a system of functions such as load bearing, vibration reduction, guiding, traction, braking, etc. which can decide the high-speed EMU s operating speed, operating safety and operating quality. It is one of the core technologies of the high-speed EMU.

Zhang Hong said, The automatic turning function also causes an inherent side-slip phenomenon namely snaking movement to the train in the process of running in straight line. They are contradictory and they are main reasons of limiting the speed of train. Chinese existing railways are used by both passenger trains and freight trains, so this contradiction becomes more obvious. High speed should be guaranteed and passing the bending railway should also be guaranteed for safety. The difficulty and pursuing goal of the world railway industry should be the search of the best balance point. When a train runs faster and faster, the most important task of the bogie is to control the snaking movement. At the same time, when the train runs faster, the rail s impact on train will become stronger and passengers will feel uncomfortable. Therefore, for realizing the operation of the EMU at the speed of 250 kilometers/hour on the existing railways, safety, reliability and comfort should be indispensable. This is the difficulty which must be solved by the bogie.

In the project of High-speed Bogie of the EMU at the Speed of 250 kilometers/hour and Application , the scientific research personnel has not only solved these key technical difficulties but also used the simplest structure to realize many designed functions. It has obvious advantages in respect of light structure, reliable performance, assembling technology and convenient maintenance, etc. Once this high-speed bogie is applied, it has created a new world record of speed acceleration on existing railways in the great speed acceleration on the existing railways of our country.