>>1681657>...which is completely divorced from reality.Dunning Krueger. Its not because something appears to be arbitrary that it is.
>Do these numbers refer to rolling stock, and if so does this mean potential speeds or working speeds? Line speeds, and if so on existing track or dedicated? For all of the way or just parts, and if so which parts and for how long? Who the fuck knows lol.The speeds allowed for real life operation, instead of claimed or one-time achieved speeds.
Everybody and their mother ran a locomotive at high speeds for testing and record setting purposes before 1964, but officially "High Speed Rail" was created when Japan started operating them REGULARLY.
>Line speeds, and if so on existing track or dedicated?Its impossible to regularly operate a high speed train at existing tracks. The subgrade must be reinforced in order to avoid the track to move due to the train vibrations.
Many countries managed to get up to 250 km/h updating the line (rebuilding the ballast, changing superelevation and transition curves, new catenary, signalling and comunication systems, etc), but speeds above that requires a new alignment or a complete rebuild of the railway (rebuilding the embankment/cutting/viaduct, searching and filling faults with concrete, creating a semi-rigid surface below the ballast, and many more things depending on the local geography, in other words, removing the old railway and building a new one in the same place).
Therefore, in real life, any railway section operating with allowed speeds above 250 km/h means a high speed line was constructed, with adequate signalling and systems. Hence why both EU and UIC separates "upgraded existing lines" and "specially built high-speed lines".
