Passenger Train Variations.

From the point of view of many passengers the ideal seating arrangement for long-distance travel would be if at least half of the overall seating on the train was arranged 'face to face' around tables which are correctly aligned to clean windows. Because not all groups will contain exactly four passengers it would also be welcomed if there was some 1+3 seating and even traditional compartment-style 4+0 seating with a corridor along the carriage side. Semi-open compartments might be preferable to fully enclosed - some of the European images seen below may be seen as useful guides to alternative possibilities. The intention should be to encourage (family)(social) groups, for whom sitting together as a group around a table (or several tables) is part of what makes the journey so enjoyable. However, not all passengers want to sit at tables facing total strangers so some 'airline' seating is desirable as well - providing the seat pitch gives sufficient leg room.

On some routes it might also be of benefit if there were some proper compartments, especially for business people (eg: company directors with secretaries / managers / lawyers) as the privacy offered by compartments means that they can use their travelling time for business purposes - which includes talking on the telephone - without disturbing (or being disturbed by) other passengers. This would be particularly appreciated where they are discussing confidential matters for which they may even wish to reserve a complete compartment.

Introduced in 1975 the diesel-powered 125mph (201km/h) HST (High Speed Train) revolutionised longer distance rail travel in Britain.

Initially used on the non-electrified London (Paddington) - Bristol - South Wales / the West Country routes these trains have also seen service in many other parts of Great Britain, including on the East Coast Main Line [London (Kings Cross) - Yorkshire / Tyneside - Edinburgh - Aberdeen], Midland Main Line [London (St Pancras) - Leicester - Nottingham - Sheffield] plus various 'Cross-Country' services which link up many major British regional towns and cities but avoid London.

A small fleet of HST power car derivatives (with different passenger carriages) are also used in Australia. Based in the city of Sydney they serve many destinations within New South Wales plus the neighbouring state capitals of Melbourne and Brisbane. However in Australia they are restricted to just 160km/h (100mph)

In 1987 the HST became the fastest diesel-powered train anywhere globally, reaching an absolute maximum speed of 148mph (238km/h). As an aside, Britain also holds the global record for the fastest steam-powered train. This was achieved in 1938 when a streamlined locomotive named Mallard achieved 126mph (202.7km/h).

Despite its age the HST remains the most popular British train for long distance 'trunk' services on non-electrified routes.

One reason for this is that these trains are formed of two specialist diesel engines (one at each end of the train) and a rake of unpowered Mklll passenger carriages whilst newer trains spread the diesel traction package along the train, and no matter how much the train operators downplay this passengers do notice (and dislike) the noise and vibrations from the diesel engines below them.

Unlike most trains seen on this page (which are electrically powered by means of an overhead power supply system) the HST uses a traction system known as 'diesel-electric'. The liquid fuel (diesel) acts as the prime energy source but rather than directly power the train's wheels it powers an onboard electricity generating unit, with the final drive at the wheels being electric. The concept is similar to that of hybrid buses.

Mention should also be made of the British InterCity 225 trains which date from 1990. These also travel at 125mph but were originally intended to operate at 140mph (225km/h) - hence their name. The reason why they are restricted to 125mph is that the East Coast Main Line (which is where they operate) is not equipped for in-cab signalling - which due to the impracticality of observing lineside signals at high speed is required for trains travelling at the higher speeds. These trains currently hold the British speed record for an electric train, this being 162.6mph (261.7km/h). They are formed of one class 91 electric engine, a rake of unpowered MklV passenger carriages and an unpowered 'driving van trailer' (which also has driving controls) at the other end of the train. The engine always remains at one end of the train, so for half of their journeys it is pulling the train from the front and for the rest, it pushes the train from the back.

These engines are normally used with an aerodynamic raked end facing outwards and a flat 'blunt' end facing the rest of the train. The blunt end also features a drivers' cab, although when driven from here they are limited to just 110mph (177km/h). The reason for equipping the blunt end with a driver's cab is that when they were built it was intended that at night they would be detached from passenger trains and used to haul freight trains, however this rarely happened and now that the railway has been split into separate freight and passenger operating divisions with the freight people having their own dedicated engines so it is even less likely to happen.

New, Faster, More Frequent Trains = More Passengers!

In the early 2000's a new fleet of visually similar tilting and non-tilting diesel multiple unit trains were introduced to the British railway network. ('Tilting' trains are looked at further down this page). Internally the trains feature a mixture of 'at table' and 'aircraft' seats (the latter with the customary fold-down tables in the backs of the seat in front), computer powerpoints throughout both first and standard class, an electronic seat reservation system and headphone sockets for the at-seat entertainment system. Although well known on aircraft some of these facilities had not been seen previously on a British train.

Designed to reduce journey times by means of faster acceleration and a top speed of 125mph (on suitably upgraded sections of line) these trains were part of a major investment programme designed to transform under-performing services which through a lack of investment were becoming somewhat 'tired'. The ultimate aim was that over 10 years there should be a 50% increase in passenger numbers. The wider plan also included a major national marketing campaign, a new-style 'easy to understand' numbered route network with a system map and clockface timetable similar to those used on urban transport systems, and more services going to more destinations than before.

Initially these trains were intended for the regional "Cross-Country" InterCity services which generally avoid London and instead use Birmingham as a 'hub', plus the London - North Wales service, although some now also serve other routes too. As an aside, since these trains were introduced further batches were built, but only to replace other types of train on other routes and not to strengthen these services.

A significant proportion of their sphere of operations sees these trains travelling on sections of railway which benefit from having been fitted with an electric power supply, but despite the new trains also featuring an electric drive system they only power this from underfloor diesel engines which power on-board electricity generating equipment. Some passengers claim that as a result they experience much increased noise and vibration when compared with electric multiple units and the non-powered coaching stock they replaced - the new trains generally replaced traditional style locomotive hauled and HST trains. To save on brake shoe wear when slowing the train these trains use something known as 'rheostatic braking'. is system brakes the train by using the electric motors in reverse, generating electricity which is then dissipated as heat through resistors situated on the roof of each coach. By way of contrast, many electric trains return (recycle) the regenerated power back to the overhead wires for other trains to use.

Err TOO MANY Passengers?! - & Too Little Track Capacity.

By October 2002 enough of the new trains had been delivered and brought into daily use for the timetables to be recast to take advantage of their superior performance by providing more frequent, faster services.

Much to the surprise of the train operator (but not passengers) the faster, more frequent services were so popular that patronage rose 24% in the first month and 40% in the second month. So the 10 year plan was almost achieved in just 3 months! - and that was with an unpopular airline-style ticketing system which encourages advance booking & discourages passengers from just travelling 'on-spec' (ie: discourages 'turning up and travelling' - which is what people often do with a private car).

Regrettably it is possible to have too much of a 'good thing'. With either just four or five carriages each, the new trains were considerably shorter than the trains they replaced and even though the plan was to counter this by operating more frequent services severe overcrowding became an issue - especially in areas where trains carry large numbers of commuters (who usually have season tickets and want to travel on specific timed trains and for whom the concept of booking in advance is simply unacceptable) and at the extremes of the network / other areas where frequencies were not increased. Right from their introduction some critics were suggesting that the trains were too short and should have been at least seven carriages long, but because of the way everything was being financed and the speculative nature of the plans it had been decided to start with short trains and then lengthen the four carriage trains to five carriages when the business case could be made and funding agreed.

Furthermore it was soon found that after many decades of under-investment in the railway system and a general long term policy of closing lines / reducing capacity the infrastructure (ie: the tracks & signalling system) could not cope with the new high-frequency timetables, and with too many trains causing on-track congestion it was soon decided the only solution lay in reducing train frequencies, which occurred in January 2003. Of course this only served to increase overcrowding on many of the remaining services.

Nevertheless, despite these problems and the Department for Transport (who have ultimate control on routes and services on the mainline railway system) enforcing other changes to services operated by these trains - changes which critics suggest in many cases de facto make services less attractive - hindsight has shown that the 10 year plan proved widely conservative with passenger numbers nearly doubling - from 11 million to 21 million passengers per anum. It is a matter for conjecture whether this figure would have been even higher if the trains had been longer from the outset, if the railway infrastructure had been looked after properly (a comment which includes with an aim of meeting train operating requirements) and if no routes had been forcibly handed over to other train operators - some of whose trains are more suited to shorter distance suburban than regional InterCity style journeys.

Apparently some critics suggest that the 10 year plan which included the introduction of these new trains was less than successful, yet it has to be asked how this can be when passenger numbers increased so significantly?. Whilst it could be argued that for long journeys passengers would prefer proper InterCity trains with traction units confined to the train 'ends' (ie: like the venerable HST rather than under each carriage) they still prove to be reasonably popular (especially to passengers who are used to the noise and vibration of travelling in motor cars and motor buses) and more trains of this design have been built for other services elsewhere in Britain. What has been proved beyond any shadow of doubt is that even when many aspects of the 'package' are less than totally optimal the British people still remain very favourably disposed to long distance rail travel - albeit only where the choice still exists / lines remain extant.

Examples from Overseas.

Much of the rest of this page looks at examples from overseas. In part the idea is to provide a brief overview of overseas high speed long distance rail systems, plus to show ideas as to how our railways can be improved by copying solutions used overseas - such as the children's play areas and folding tables. Apart from the comment immediately below one topic not broached on this page is fares. In some countries it is normal for the highest speed / most luxurious trains to be more expensive to travel on. Sometimes this is by means of a different fare scale, other times by means of an extra charge (supplement).

When looking at how railways around the globe are introducing high speed services it might be worth bearing in mind that although high speeds are felt desirable as ways of shrinking journey times and providing environmentally sounder alternatives to road & air travel there is also an aspect of inter-nation (which is evolving into inter-continent - mainland Europe / Asia) rivalry in seeing whose railways can be the fastest...

Of course we in Britain are totally 'above' such rivalries and apart from one relatively small section of new-build railway - the construction of which was more about European politics than benefiting millions of British people - we (erm) 'happily' have our speedometers firmly glued at the same much heralded 'high' (sic) speed which we started using in 1975 - ie: 125mph (201km/h). Indeed, despite their much hyped higher top speed even the Japanese commuter trains which use part of the new High Speed line through Kent will not normally travel faster than 125mph! - unlike the fares, which upon their introduction rocketed up, even for passengers unable to use the faster trains. grr.

Examples from European trains.

The fastest trains which currently operate in Britain are the French-derived "Eurostar" trains which when travelling on specially constructed sections of railway travel at up to 186mph (300km/h).

Originally designed for services between Britain and France / Belgium via the Channel Tunnel these trains also operate some internal services within France and for a while also worked on some internal British services out of London's Kings Cross station. However for the British services they used the existing 'classic' railway infrastructure (the East Coast Main Line) where their maximum speed was restricted to just 110mph (177km/h).

As with the British trains seen above they include some at-table seating even in carriages with predominately aircraft seats; this is so that everyone will be seated 'inwards' - otherwise some seats would face the carriage end walls.

Many people say that these trains are the most comfortable and offer the best ride quality of any train currently in use in Britain.

The Eurostar trains are one of the several variants of the French TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) family of trains. The first TGV route linked the cities of Paris and Lyon, with public services commencing on 27th September 1981. Initially the trains travelled at speeds of up to 270km/h (168mph), with these speeds only being reached when travelling on the brand new railway infrastructure which had been specially constructed to permit such speeds. Later builds of the TGV trains and dedicated high speed infrastructure has seen the top speeds being raised to 300km/h (186mph) and (more recently) 320km/h (200mph). During their mid-life refurbishment most of the original trains were upgraded to 300km/h (186mph) capability, except for the few trains which operate on routes that only travel comparatively short distances on the dedicated high speed lines - such as those on services to Switzerland via Dijon - these still retain their original top speed of 270km/h (168mph). This is because the French National Railways (SNCF) did not consider it financially worthwhile to upgrade their maximum speed for a marginal reduction in journey time.

Including the Eurostar trains there are seven types and derivatives of the TGV train, including TGV Duplex which are double deck, the 'Thalys' PBA and PBKA trains (Paris, Brussels, [Köln - Cologne], Amsterdam) and TGV Postaux, which are used by the French post office. Plus there are the TGV-K, which are used in (South) Korea.

The specially built tracks used by TGV and other high speed trains on which they attain their highest speeds are known (in French) as LGV - Ligne à grande vitesse, which can be translated as 'high speed line'. Originally a LGV were defined as a line which permitted speeds greater than 200km/h (124mph); this guideline was subsequently revised to 250km/h (155mph) whilst the newest French LGV have been designed to permit speeds of up to 320km/h (199mph).

The success of the TGV is such that over 250,000 passengers a day travel on what is now a fleet of (approximately) 460 TGV trains and their derivatives. On 28th November 2003 SNCF celebrated carrying their billionth TGV passenger since services first began back in 1981. Despite the high speed this has been achieved with a remarkable safety record with there having been just a handful of minor mishaps.

In part their safety record is attributed to the TGV family of trains being articulated. Articulated suspension has the effect of 'hinging' the carriages to each other, giving greater stability at high speed. In the rare occurrence of a derailment the trains tend to remain in a straight line and upright. These benefits were also found with the British Advanced Passenger Train (APT) in a derailment in April 1980.

On many routes the introduction of the TGV has led to significant reductions in numbers of passengers travelling by air - for instance: on the Paris / Lyon route where TGV Duplex (double deck) trains run at 30 minute intervals - fewer short-haul flights actually benefits air travellers because it frees up airport capacity for longer distance trans-continental flights. There is much sentiment here in Britain that this represents the type of national transport policy which we should have emulated 'years ago', perhaps even as an alternative solution to increasing overall capacity at our airports.

In April 2007 a TGV train created a new high speed record for a train on conventional rails, reaching 574.8km/h (357mph) and significantly overtaking the previous TGV speed record of 515km/h (320mph), which had been set in 1990. The new record was set on a recently built route between Paris and the eastern city of Strasbourg where regular services see TGV trains cruising at the slightly higher speed of 320km/h (almost 200mph). The train used for this speed attempt had been specially modified, with larger wheels on the two power carriages and just three intermediate (double deck) carriages. In addition, to help with the record speed attempt the overhead electric power supply had been specially uprated from the usual 25,000v ac to 31,000v ac.

By way of contrast the absolute train speed record is 581km/h (361mph), this having been set by a Japanese Maglev (magnetic levitation) train in 2003.

In 2008 the French unveiled the first prototype of a successor to the TGV.

To be known as the AGV (automotrice à grande vitesse or high-speed self-propelled carriage) the AGV will replace the dedicated power cars at the ends of the train with motors distributed under the floors of the passenger carriages. The space saved will enable the train to offer a higher seating capacity.

The AGV will also consume 30% less energy than previous TGV designs, and the commercial service speed will be slightly higher at 360km/h (224mph).

The first production AGV trains are expected to be in Italy, in 2010, although testing and staff training means that it will be 2011 before they enter service.

What could be said to be Europe's first high-speed rail routes were in Italy, which in the 1930's were two 'Direttissima' lines. (Direttissima is Italian for most direct)On these the maximum speed was a very creditable - for the day - 180km/h (112mph).

In 1978 Italy opened what is often regarded as the first 'modern era' high-speed rail route, the Rome - Florence 'Direttissima'. However this Italian line was brought into use in stages - with the final section opening in 1992 - by which time the initial French TGV line had opened, and with the French line being a fully completed 'product' right from the start so it was the French who achieved the global accolade for 'being first'.

Initially designed for trains travelling at up to 250km/h (155mph) it is currently proposed to upgrade this line so that the maximum speed can be raised to 300km/h (186mph). This will include the installation of an 'in-cab signalling' system where the signal displays will be seen in the driver's cab.

As with several other European countries Italy is building a network of high speed lines which serve the most trafficked routes, with slower regional trains continuing to use the existing 'classic' lines. In Italy it is also planned that during the night the high speed lines will be used for high speed freight services.

Italian Pendolino tilting trains are looked at in the tilting trains section below.

Present-day Italian high speed trains use the acronym TAV, which stand for Treno Alta Velocità (Alta Velocità = High Speed) with the AV being proudly displayed on the streamlined power cars / engines.

In Italy the name 'Eurostar Italia', is used as an marketing name for many InterCity trains, and is entirely separate from the TGV derived Eurostar trains which travel through the Channel Tunnel.

The fastest Italian trains are capable of 300km/h (186mph).

The German high speed trains are called the ICE - InterCityExpress. They were first introduced in 1990/1, since when a family of five different types of ICE train has evolved including diesel powered and tilting versions. There is significant diversity between some of the different types of ICE train, with the first batch having power cars at both ends, the second batch having a power car at one end only and a normal unpowered carriage fitted with a driver's cab at the other end (which means that for some journeys the power car is at the front pulling the trains and for other journeys it is at the back pushing the train) and the remaining three batches being of the distributed power 'multiple unit' variety.

ICE 1 and ICE 2 trains have lower top speeds than many of the other European high speed trains seen on this page - when using specially built high speed infrastructure their intended top speed is 280km/h (174mph), although they are mostly restricted to 250km/h (155mph). The tilting trains are looked at further down this page. Life gets complicated for the third batch of trains, as whilst they are licensed for 330km/h (205mph) and have reached 368km/h (228.68 mph) on trial runs, in Germany they are restricted to 300km/h (186mph) - this being the maximum design speed of German high-speed lines - whilst on the newer French LGV lines they are allowed to travel at up to 320km/h (199mph). The reason for even the newest German high speed lines having a lower top speed limit than the newest French LGV lines is attributed to the decentralised nature of the German railway system where the vehicles, tracks and operations are not designed as an integrated whole.

Unlike the later versions ICE 1 trains offer both compartments and open seating configurations. One of the compartments was kitted out as a dedicated conference compartment which was equipped with a large table, four freely movable chairs, an electronic typewriter, a fax machine, a telephone and mains power sockets. To use this compartment at least three seats had to be reserved and first class tickets were necessary - although after a while the 'first class tickets' rule was rescinded. When there were no reservations the conference compartment could be used by other passengers at the discretion of the trains' head conductor.

When first introduced ICE 1 trains featured at-seat audio which used standard 3.5mm audio jacks and eight audio channels. In addition, some seats featured video monitors in the backrests (for both first and standard class passengers). Furthermore every seat had its own reading lamp and there were information monitors in the entrance areas which switched between displaying the train's route and the current speed. Because they were conceived in the 1980s the trains did not provide at-seat laptop power sockets and whilst there were some power sockets dotted around the train they were intended for the train cleaners and were usually disabled during the journey. In 2005 these trains were refurbished at which time the following were removed: the audio / video systems; the public telephone booths; the foot-rests in second class; the terminals for timetable information and the buttons in first class that were used to call the conductor. To mitigate overcrowding and increase the capacity of the trains the second class seating pitch was reduced and an extra 60 seats added per train. As the window arrangement was not changed this results in some "wall window seats" ie: window seats without windows next to them. Other changes meant that the backrests in second class compartments no longer recline and those in 'open' carriages only by a limited amount.

ICE trains are often to be found outside of Germany too, with the ICE 3 coming in multi-voltage versions which can also be used in France, Austria, Holland, Belgium. ICE trains also travel to Switzerland, and even provide domestic services within Switzerland. The diesel version is used on services to Denmark, and because the tax on diesel fuel used by trains is lower in Denmark (than in Germany) so it is policy to make sure that these trains have their fuel tanks filled in Denmark.(!) ICE trains are authorised to visit Britain too, using the Channel Tunnel and British high speed lines, and although this has not yet happened there are oft-heard rumours that the Germans would like to operate through trains to London - perhaps using a different ticketing system which is less rigid and allows passengers more flexibility in times when they may travel. As an aside, it may be of comparative and regrettable interest that at the present time we do not have any home-grown trains which we could use on through services to Germany, let alone as far as Berlin.

Trains within the German ICE 3 family have also been sold to the Spanish, Chinese and Russians for use on new high speed lines within their respective countries. The Chinese version is 30cm (11.8in) wider than the European version to fit more standard class seats in a 2+3 layout, although 1st class passengers have 2+2 seating, and there are also 16 deluxe class seats - although only 8 of these are available to the public. They will travel up to 350km/h (217mph). The Russian versions have been widened by 33cm (13in) to suit Russia's wider loading gauge and although initially they will be restricted to 200km/h (124mph) an upgrade of the tracks for up to 330km/h (205mph) is planned.

The Spanish have also been investing very heavily in a high speed rail system, with an ever enlarging network of routes linking major cities with Madrid, the capital. The Spanish trains are marketed as the AVE, which is an acronym for Alta Velocidad Española (ie: 'Spanish High Speed') with the word 'ave' also meaning 'bird' in Spanish. There are three types of AVE train, these are based on French TGV, Talgo VII train (see below) and German ICE 3.

Using brand new infrastructure to link Madrid with the city of Seville and travelling at speeds of up to 300km/h (186mph), the first AVE line opened on 14th April 1992. Passengers using this service benefit from a punctuality guarantee which states that if trains do not arrive within a 5 minutes of the advertised time then a full refund of the fare paid will be made. Less than 0.16% of trains arrive late enough to invoke this guarantee. However this punctuality promise is more lax on other AVE lines (eg: 15 minutes on the service to Barcelona).

More recent builds of AVE train are capable of higher speeds, with the AVE Class S-103 trains (which are based on German ICE 3 trains) being certified to run at 350km/h (217mph) - although at the present time they are restricted to just 330km/h (205mph). During testing between Madrid and Zaragoza, on 16 July 2006, one of these trains reached 403.7km/h (250.8mph), in the process creating both the current national rail speed record for Spain, and also the current global speed record for a normal series train in standard configuration ie: trains which have not been specially modified, unlike the French, etc trains which have set speed records.

The construction of the AVE was made with international compatibility in mind, so that once tracks from the two nation's high speed networks meet (the classic lines already do meet) then high speed TGV trains from France will be able to use the Spanish system (and vice versa). To achieve this the AVE eschews the 1,668mm (5' 6") broad gauge system which predominates on the Iberian peninsular and uses standard gauge 1,435mm (4' 8½") trains.

The history of 'higher' speeds within Spain goes back to the 1940's with the distinctive 'TALGO' trains that travelled on 'classic' lines. Talgo is the Spanish acronym for Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (Lightweight articulated train of Goicoechea Oriol) which is so named after the train's inventor and financial partner. Talgo trains are best known for their innovative short length articulated railway passenger carriage design in which the wheels are mounted in pairs, but not joined by an axle, and between rather than underneath the individual coaches. The trains use aircraft and motor industry technologies to reduce their weight by 25% compared with 'normal' trains, plus by being as much as 1 metre lower than normal trains they feature a lower centre of gravity which meant that they are able to traverse curves at higher speeds without derailing. In the 1940's the prototype Talgo train repeatedly set new global records for train speeds.

As time and technology progressed there have been several batches of Talgo train. Talgo III was introduced in 1964, and in 1968 the RD variant which was equipped with variable gauge wheelsets and variable gauge axles enabled the introduction of through trains between Madrid and Paris, as well as Barcelona to Geneva. The gauge is altered by slowly driving the train through a gauge changer or gauge changing facility. As the train passes through the wheels are unlocked, moved closer, or further apart, and re-locked. Variable gauge systems are also used in Japan and on international links between Spain/France, Finland/Sweden, Poland/Lithuania and Poland/Ukraine.

The latest types of variable gauge Spanish trains use both the standard gauge high speed lines and Iberian gauge classic lines (as appropriate for their journeys) on domestic services too. In tests their top speed was 275km/h (171mph) although in passenger service they do not exceed 250km/h (155mph) on the high speed lines and 220km/h (137mph) on the Iberian gauge 'classic' lines.

Although some Talgo trains are locomotive hauled the high speed Talgo 350 / AVE class 102 train comprises of streamlined traction units at each end of the train, as well as rake of Talgo VII intermediate coaches with improved brakes and additional primary suspension and the carriage with double wheels 'inside' the train rather than at the ends. The traction units (power cars) are of a distinctive aerodynamic design which reduces noise created by air resistance at higher speeds. This design is said to resemble a duck's beak, and in Spanish these trains have been nicknamed Pato, which is Spanish for duck.

In addition to Spain and directly connected international services Talgo trains are also used in Kazakhstan for the overnight train Almaty - Astana and on the North American Amtrak Cascades service which travels north / south along the west coast linking the Canadian city of Vancouver with the US cities of Seattle, Portland and Eugene. There are plans for a TGV style service all the way from San Diego as far as Seattle and probably Vancouver too. However funding this remains a stumbling block.

A short video taken whilst travelling on these Talgo III trains has been placed on the 'youtube' file-sharing website and can be reached by clicking either the projector icon or this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dqaOfgq7L4.

The Spanish also operate high speed medium distance commuter trains which have typical journey times of between 30 and 90 minutes. These travel at up to 250km (155mph) in the process showing the significantly slower British 'Javelin' train which performs a similar function towards the south-east of London a clean pair of heels. The slow-coach Javelin trains normally travel at up to 125mph (201km/h), despite being advertised as travelling at 140mph (225km/h), this being a speed they will only attain if running late when compared with the timetable.

As part of the European high-speed rail network Belgium has three high speed lines which support 300km/h (186mph) operation, and one that supports speeds up to 260km/h (161mph). These are used by Thalys, Eurostar, ICE and TGV services. Holland is also part of the network and their one line was also designed for trains of up to 300km/h (186mph).

As with the Austrians, the Dutch have not built their own higher speed trains, but instead have a small fleet of ICE 3 trains which technically are 'theirs'.

When completed the first high-speed line in Turkey will link the cities of Istanbul and Ankara.

On the partially complete section trains travel at 200km/h (124mph) but once fully completed it is expected that the entire route will operate at up to 250km/h (155mph).

Turkey has longer term plans for a nationwide network of high speed lines operating at 250km/h (155mph).

Other longer-distance trains.

Switzerland is renown for its beautiful scenery and what better way to see it than by travelling in an observation coach?

Apart from special trains aimed at the leisure industry a handful of 'ordinary' trains also include these special carriages - albeit for first class passengers only. The views are spectacular (even with a motorway in the view - and better still without!).

These Swiss trains operate at 'normal' speeds but are featured here because (as with the German 'Inter-Regio' train also seen here) they offer the travelling public some distinctive features which could be worthy of note.

Switzerland does not have any high-speed trains of its own, although it is served by those of other nations. However these only travel at 'normal' speeds. Instead it has opted to reduce journey times by upgrading existing 'classic' lines and using tilting trains.

In Switzerland the 'big ticket' investments are being made in the building of 'base' level tunnels under the Alps which will avoid the need for trains to climb one side and descend the other side. As of 2007 one of these routes has been completed sufficiently for services to start using it, and for passenger trains the maximum permitted speed is 250km/h (155mph) - which puts it in the 'high speed' category. However these base tunnels are extremely expensive to build and therefore will only serve a few routes.

Austria is also building a base tunnel which will be designed for the same top speed as the Swiss tunnels.

Examples from Beyond Europe.

Outside of Europe high speed trains operate in just a handful of countries - these being the USA, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China. Although Australia uses some trains which are based on the British HST they travel at considerably lower speeds which cannot be classified as "high". Today the fastest passenger trains travel at 160km/h (100mph), which was first achieved in the early 1980s. The current Australian railway speed record is 210km/h (100mph). This was created in 1999 and was set by a 1067mm (3' 6") gauge Queensland Railways electric tilting train. However this speed is more of a reflection of the fastest that the train was allowed to travel rather than the absolute fastest it would be capable of reaching. Over the years there have been several proposals for 'something' high speed (possibly upgraded conventional railway using tilting trains, a TGV style train using specially built infrastructure or a magnetic levitation train) to link Melbourne with Canberra and Sydney, however so far they have always floundered. In December 2008 the Australian Government announced that a Very Fast Train was the government's highest infrastructure priority, but until construction actually begins it remains to be seen if this will come into fruition.

One would have thought that North America would be the host of many high speed railway services, however whilst at one time the US was amongst the leaders in global passenger rail technologies the distances are so great that the rise of the aviation industry resulted in a very steep decline in passenger rail travel ('transportation' in 'American' English). However there are some transit corridors where journey times are such that passenger rail travel can retain a competitive edge over air travel, and it is in these that investments have been focussed. As North America's fastest trains are also tilting trains they are looked at in the section below which looks at tilting trains.

Japan's Shinkansen high speed trains are legendary. Their punctuality puts most other railway systems to shame. Partly this will be because the Japanese know that it is often cheaper to spend a little more money with the initial investment and use better quality components (eg: heavier duty track [rails]) as well as a certain amount of duplication so that if a component does give trouble its duties can be carried out by other components also on the train. Many Japanese railways are not profitable at the farebox but through clever marketing and things such as income from real estate (eg: shopping centres at stations) the overall businesses are able to maintain their financial integrity.

Such are the numbers of people travelling that a few Japanese commuter routes are served by double deck (bi-level) Shinkansen trains, which even with very high density 3+3 seating still often run at 200% capacity! (ie: as many passengers standing as sitting).

Currently under development are trains which will travel at 360km/h (224 mph).

The (South) Korean Korea Train eXpress (KTX) links the capital Seoul to Busan and Mokpo. The initial KTX-I trainsets are largely based on the French TGV with 12 being built in France (where they are also known as the TGV-K) and the other 34 being built locally. They have a top speed of 350km/h (217mph), although in normal service they travel at 300km/h (186mph). The initial system took a dozen years to build, opening at the end of March 2004. The line was much more expensive than originally estimated, with construction costs soaring from an expected 5 trillion Korean Won to an actual 18 trillion Korean Won. Less than two years after the system opened the market share of rail on the Seoul-Busan corridor had increased from 38% (2003) to nearly 61% (2005), with air travel dropping from 42% to 25% and road travel falling from 20% to 14%. By 2007 the system was making good daily operating profits and had achieved financial breakeven.

Korea is continuing to expand its system and is poised to introduce the KTX-II trains, which are based on the locally designed and built HSR-350x (Hanvit 350) which on 16th December 2004 achieved an experimental top speed of 352.4km/h(219mph). As in France, the new trains will operate at the slightly higher speed of 330km/h (205mph).

The first Argentinian high-speed rail service will link the cities of Buenos Aires, Rosario and Córdoba. To be known as Tren de Alta Velocidad (TAVe). Trains will travel at 320km/h (199mph). Unlike most other newly constructed high speed lines the Argentinian system will mostly consist of a single track, although there will be a 55km (34 mile) double-track section between Buenos Aires and Rosario which will act as a passing loop to allow trains on this section to pass one another at high speed. The trains will be variants of the double deck TGV Duplex trains already used in France. Once open the estimated Buenos Aires - Rosario journey time will be just 85 minutes (for comparison an intercity passenger bus takes about four hours) with Córdoba reached 90 minutes later.

Also proposed is a second line to link Buenos Aires with the coastal resort city of Mar del Plata. At one time this was served by trains travelling at up to 150km/h (93mph), which in its era was considered to be very high speed and taking 3 hours 45 minutes to complete the approximately 400km (250 mile) journey. Nowadays trains take considerably longer than this, but with a TAVe travelling at a maximum of 320km/h (199mph) the journey should be completed in under two hours (including intermediate station stops)

There have been adverse comments because of the cost of the TAVe project which is cited as being disproportionately expensive relative to the number of people who will benefit from it, and that its funding is abstracting from investment on heavily used but under-funded urban railway services in Buenos Aires. In February 2009 the entire project was been placed "on hold" due to the financial crisis.

The first Brazilian high-speed rail service will link Brazil's two largest cities - São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Known as The Rio-São Paulo High Speed rail (Portuguese: Trem de Alta Velocidade Rio-São Paulo; Abbreviation: TAV RJ-SP) the line is hoped to be open by 2014 when Brazil hosts the 20th FIFA World Cup (soccer / football) tournament. The distance of 412km (256 miles) will be covered in one hour and 25 minutes at a maximum speed of 360km/h (224mph) by trains carrying 855 passengers at 15 minute intervals. Then more lines will be built.

The High Speed Dilemma.

When considering and comparing the top speeds achieved on some railway services it is worth bearing in mind an often overlooked impediment - the atmosphere. For sure it is important that the trains and tracks are built to meet appropriate mechanical and safety standards so as to be able to cope with any stresses experienced when travelling at high speed, and of course internal ambiance / passenger comfort are very important too, but of equal importance is that the faster the train travels the greater the resistance it experiences from the air. Indeed, at some of the top speeds which trains travel the air becomes like thick treacle, and even with aerodynamic streamlining the only way that the trains manage to overcome this is through considerably increased energy consumption.

What this means is that until the time comes when trains are able to create a mini-vacuum in front of them so as to minimise airbourne resistance so the significantly increased energy requirements required to slice through the air will remain a constraining factor on top speeds.

Many very high speed trains (eg: French TGV, Japanese Bullet Train etc,.) achieve their very high speeds by means of brand new specially designed dedicated tracks which, to coax the maximum performance from the trains, feature gentle gradients and curves. On 'ordinary' tracks these trains are frequently restricted to the same speeds as conventional trains.

However, these new lines are expensive to construct and can only be justified on the busiest of routes. Even then, in countries such as Britain the investment has not been made (with the notable exception of the prestigious Channel Tunnel Eurostar route - aka: 'High Speed 1' - which is of next to no benefit for most British people) because of a lack of will to do so and instead the policy has been / still is to (half-heartedly) upgrade existing tracks. Meanwhile, in countries such as France and Germany, which have / are still building new lines they are now reaching a point where the most profitable / major routes are either built or soon will be; and whilst there is plenty of demand for even more new lines the routes involved will be less profitable plus increasing environmental concerns are putting up the construction costs. As a result these countries too are looking at their existing networks to see where higher speeds could be won through upgrading, perhaps with just short new sections of track at the most severe locations.

The principal restraining factor that stops trains travelling faster is the speed at which they can take bends. Whilst 'banking' the track (like motor racing circuits) helps, the 'nub' of the problem is that centrifugal forces mean that passengers will feel discomfort on the bends. With 'tilting' trains that lean into the curve a solution has been found that enables bends to be taken at up to 35% faster than with conventional trains. Upgrading the track for tilting trains is far cheaper than building new high speed lines, plus there is less wear on the rail tracks, which translates into cheaper maintenance. Tilting is seen as a good compromise between regular and true high speed trains in mountainous regions (such as Switzerland) and where lower population densities result in lower passenger flows (such as in Sweden, Norway and Finland).

However, experience has shown that whilst tilting trains can help reduce the effects of centrifugal force on the human body, they can still cause nausea as they do not reduce the Coriolis effect on balancing systems. The effect is felt under maximum speed and tilt, when the combination of tilting outside view and lack of corresponding sideways force can be disconcerting to passengers, Researchers have found that if the tilting motion is reduced to compensate for 80% or less of lateral apparent force passengers feel more secure.

Tilting trains in Britain.

Britain's first tilting train was the gas-turbine APT-E (Advanced Passenger train - Experimental). Built in 1972 it consisted of just four cars; two power cars, one at each end, and two 'passenger' cars full of instrumentation. Because the APT was to use tracks also being used by slower trains so superelevation (banking or "canting" of the track around curves) could only be utilised to enable speeds up to 125 mph. Therefore in order to permit the desired top speed of 155mph (249 km/h), and thereby cut journey times, British Rail's engineers at the Derby Research Division developed an advanced active tilting technology, using hydraulic rams controlled by spirit level sensors to tilt the passenger cars into the curves so that no lateral forces would be felt. This was a very ambitious project and was led by a group of engineers, many of whom had an aero-engineering background. Not only was the train designed to tilt but it was also articulated and had hydrokinetic (water turbine) brakes. The latter feature is often overlooked but was in fact just as significant as the tilting concept, because it enabled the train to stop within the existing signal spacings. The fact that under operating conditions it failed to do so, was one of the main factors in the train being withdrawn.

The experimental train APT-E having proved the concept, three electrically powered 155mph tilting APT-P Advanced Passenger Train (prototype) were built. These trains were designed as two half-trains with twin power cars in the middle, sharing one pantograph. There was a passage through the power cars, but it was noisy, cramped and not normally permitted for passengers; therefore, each end of the train had to duplicate facilities. There were a number of reasons for this design compromise. Two power cars were necessary to maintain the design speeds over hilly sections of line with 12 coaches. Normally these would be situated at the front and rear of the train (as with the HST and TGV etc), but due to the design of the overhead line a "wave" was set up in it by the front pantograph, thus causing problems for current collection from the rear unit. The obvious answer was an on-board 25,000volt link to the rear power car, but this was considered unfeasible at the time. The final option was to put both power cars at one end of the train, but, at the high speeds (and with the tilt feature), concerns were raised over excessive buckling forces when the train was being propelled.

However the trains remaining dogged by many problems - some of which were technical, some 'man made' (industrial action etc.,) and with the project running late, over budget and under very powerful political and managerial pressure to show results public services using prototype APT's began on 7th December 1981.

Operating just one return trip daily with the outward journey running at the crack of dawn on a bitterly cold, frosty, snowy morning the initial public service was marred by a series of unlucky failures which attracted such hysterical negative press attention that even with further trials in the summer of 1982 (when the APT-P trains had been quietly reintroduced into service, and ran regularly with the problems having been apparently corrected) ultimately the whole project was abandoned. The media simply did not care that all wheeled transports - both road and rail - were also suffering weather-related delays and problems on those few fateful wintry mornings..... by way of comparison, the media's reaction was far less hostile when extreme wintry weather in December 2009 resulted in five (5) TGV derived Eurostar trains breaking down in the Channel Tunnel with some passengers trapped (in the semi-dark) for many hours. Perhaps back in 1981 the media was 'doing the bidding' of a government which was actively hostile to the railway system and wanted to contract the system - not see it thrive.

One specific complaint levied by those journalists who were carried on the fateful first APT journey was that a side-effect of the tilting induced a feeling of 'queasiness', as in sea-sickness. Knowing the journalists' liking for alcoholic beverages some wags suggested that this was the cause of their feeling unwell, however in fact it turned out that perfectly compensating for lateral forces around curves could induce motion sickness, since the eyes could see turning but the body did not feel it - once this became apparent a solution was found by reducing the tilt by a few degrees so the curves could be felt.

Perhaps if the passenger trials of the APT had been introduced into public service more quietly, and had not involved either services into London or any media invites, then there would have been a better chance of debugging the faults before they attracted such glaring media attention. And the trains would probably have been operating successfully today.

Instead what should have been Britain's super train of the 1980's (and beyond) has now been reduced to being a museum curio.

The APT project as a whole took over 14 years to develop and involved the introduction of 1,000 new parts with the train using as much if not more aeronautical technology than railway technology. Although it was scrapped some of the technology was able to be ported to other trains, nevertheless its loss set the railways back years, and indeed even now, December 2009, journey times are slower than they would have been using the APT-S (Advanced Passenger Train - Squadron.

With Britain 'giving up' the Italians bought up (some of) the technology and made it work on their Pendolino trains. Now the technology has come back to Britain with two fleets of trains introduced in the early to mid 2000's. The first is a tilting version of the diesel 125mph Virgin Voyager train whilst the other is a variant of the Italian Pendolino tilting trains which are used on the prestigious London (Euston) - Birmingham - Manchester / Liverpool / Carlisle - Glasgow West Coast Main Line. The latter were originally designed to operate at 140mph (225km/h), but following delays and financial overruns in the upgrading of the physical infrastructure (ie: the tracks and signalling) to cope with such speeds it has been decided to restrict them to just 125mph (201km/h).

Nowadays tilting trains (of various designs, using different tilt technologies) also operate in Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, the USA plus other countries. Perhaps if we in Britain had of had more faith in the APT then successful operation on our domestic services would have lead to export sales for us too; Britain was the birthplace of railways, for many years our factories thrived on building trains for both home and export markets and it is perhaps unfortunate that the forward looking vision of the APT's creators for a fleet of tilting trains on the prestige West Coast Main Line is being realised 25+ years late by our buying technology developed overseas.

Some sources suggests that one of the first successful tilting train designs was the Spanish Talgo. This was developed in the 1950's as a lightweight, fast train, and was (initially) mostly used within the Iberian peninsula.

However it is the Italians who could be said to have had the greatest sucess with tilting trains, not just within their own borders but with derivatives of their Pendolino now operating in Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, China and planned soon in Romania, Ukraine and Russian Federation as well. Spain also uses trains which are physically similar but were built without the tilting system. These are used on high-speed medium distance services and retain the 250km/h (155mph) top speed capability.

The word Pendolino comes from the Italian word pendolo (pendulum) with the -ino diminutive suffix added at the end. Perhaps therefore it could be translated as 'little pendulum'. It is also a trademarked brand name that originally belonged to Fiat Ferroviaria, the division of FIAT of Italy but since their 2002 acquisition now belongs to the French firm Alstom.

Although the Italian tilting train trials had already seen the construction of several experimental trains (some of which featured fixed carriages and tilting seats!) it was in 1969 that the first working design was built and named Pendolino. Further primarily experimental trains followed, with examples being used in both Italy and Spain. In 1982 the Italians purchased the patents for the tilting bogie used in the ill-fated British APT project, and together with other improvements this led to the introduction of the first Pendolino trains to enter regular service. These trains proved the technology as being viable, travelling between Rome and Milan in under four hours, at speeds up to 250km/h (155mph).

Since then several families of Pendolino train have been built - for both home and export markets. In Italy Pendolino trains are used on several services, including those branded as 'Eurostar Italia' and Cisalpino, the latter being international services to Germany via Switzerland.

Germany has several fleets of regional and express tilting (diesel) multiple unit type trains which use Pendolino tilting technology. Known as the RegioSwinger the 160km/h (100mph) regional trains are diesel operated, have also been sold to Croatia too. Also included in the types of train for which the Italians supplied the bogies and the tilting technology so could be called Pendolino's (but are not) are the tilting ICE T and ICE TD trains. The ICE T (electric) train has a maximum speed of 230km/h (143mph) whilst the ICE TD (diesel) trains have a maximum speed of 200km/h (124mph).

It may be noted that whilst capable of high speeds tilting trains tend to have lower top speeds than the fastest trains seen in the section above.

Sweden has also developed its own high(er) speed trains, rather than buying from other nations. Because there is not enough traffic to justify building brand new high speed lines so the Swedish opted to use tilting trains on 'classic' lines which are subject to many curves. Known as the X2 their normal top speed is 200km/h (124mph), although 276km/h (172mph)has been achieved in a test.

Technically these trains are described as being of the 'multiple unit' variety, however in reality this is not so, although it has been designed to look like a passenger carriage the traction equipment is located in an electric locomotive at one end of the train. This also means that the trains operate on the push-pull principle, with for many journeys the passenger carriages being propelled from the back. but does not actually carry any passengers.

Variants of the X2 have been sold to Norway too. For Norway they have been reconfigured to act as true distributed power multiple-unit trains and have also been redesigned visually.

The Norwegians have several fleets of these trains, both of which have a maximum speed of 210km/h (130mph) which they only reach when travelling on a new stretch of 'medium speed' railway built to serve a new airport 50km (30miles) from Oslo, the capital city. Away from this line they are restricted to 160km/h (100mph) although the twisting nature of much of Norway's rail network means that they are often unable to even attain this speed. Although visually similar only the trains which operate longer distance services throughout much of Norway have the ability to tilt. The trains on the airport service do not need this.

Examples from Beyond Europe.

As with the Shinkensan trains seen above, tilting trains abound in Japan. Below are two of the many possible examples. They do seem to be leaning somewhat precariously - at first glance its a wonder that they are not going to topple right over!

Tilting trains are used on a few longer distance routes in Queensland, Australia, linking the state capital Brisbane with coastal communities elsewhere in Queensland. There are only a few trains, some diesel, some electric and because of the low population density the trains travel less frequently than would be acceptable in some areas. Furthermore, although deemed 'fast' the speeds are relative, as they have been recorded at 210km/h (130 mph) the normal maximum service speed is 160km/h (100 mph). It should be noted however that these are narrow gauge trains and use tracks which are just 1,067mm (3ft 6in) apart.

Canada's fastest train is the former CN TurboTrain, which was introduced in 1968 and in April 1976 reached 140.6mph (226.2km/h).

The TurboTrain was used on 'classic' lines linking the cities of Québec, Montréal, Ottawa and Toronto. To make them lighter these trains were largely built out of aluminium and used gas-turbine engines. In addition to being tilting trains they also featured guided axles which enabled the train to take curves at speeds 40% greater than conventional trains. The Canadian Turbotrains were withdrawn in 1984.

Between 1968 and 1976 the TurboTrains was also used in the USA, but whilst they were less successful commercially on 20th December 1967 a three car TurboTrain achieved the global speed record for gas turbine-powered rail vehicles with 170.8mph (275km/h) on the DOT's high speed test track on Penn Central's main-line between Trenton and New Brunswick, New Jersey. This is still the North American speed record for the fastest production train.

In 1981 Canada introduced the tilting LRC train. This was of conventional design having separable carriages instead of articulated trailers that can be intermingled with conventional non-tilt carriages. LRC is a bilingual acronym for Light, Rapid, Comfortable / Lèger, Rapide, et Confortable. These trains was designed to provide 125mph (201km/h) service on Québec City - Windsor Corridor, and many sections of the Corridor are signed for higher speeds when the LRC's tilting system is activated. However, during development the locomotive weights increased to the point that service at this speed would produce too much wear on the rails, so whilst LRCs have reached speeds as high as 130mph (208km/h) on test runs, track wear concerns and signalling issues limit this to 100mph (160km/h) or less.

The LRC family included both locomotives and passenger carriages designed to work together or separately. The latter option represents the current situation, as whilst the last LRC diesel engine was withdrawn from service in 2001 the passenger carriages continue to form the backbone of VIA Rail's services - albeit often with the tilting mechanism disabled.

Updated versions of the LRC carriages and their tilt systems are now used on the Amtrak Acela Express electric high-speed trains seen below, the British Class 221 Super Voyager trains seen further up this page and on the experimental JetTrain recently proposed for several routes in Canada, the United States, Britain and Australia. (JetTrain not seen on this page).

The USA's fastest trains are the Acela trains which operate on the North East Corridor that links Boston, Mass. with Washington, DC via a heavily populated string of conurbations including Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, New York City, the Connecticut coast and Providence. These American high speed train reach speeds of up to 150mph (241km/h), which is very commendable (and betters the situation here in Britain) considering that the Acela travels at these speeds on pre-existing 'classic' infrastructure. Because much of the route is very twisting the Acela trains are equipped with "tilting" technology. Indeed the line is so curvaceous that trains travelling between New York and Boston travel the equivalent of over 11 full circles!

Elsewhere in North America very high speed trains have been investigated in Florida and for use along the west coast to link the cities of Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada) with San Diego at the Mexican border, travelling via Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc., In addition a French TGV has been proposed for a Canadian service on the Québec - Montréal - Ottawa - Toronto route. In some cases these trains would use specially built dedicated high speed infrastructure too. 'We shall see', as the saying goes.

Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Trains.

As technology advances another type of very high speed train has been developed which replaces the traditional steel wheel on steel rails aspect of the railway with powerful electro-magnetics so that the trains float above the track on a cushion of air. This reduces friction, gives a very smooth quality of ride and makes such vehicles relatively quiet. Magnetics are also used for propulsion and braking.

Known as the Maglev (ie: 'magnetic levitation train') the advantage of this technology over conventional steel wheel technologies is that there are massive savings in maintenance and there is the possibility of full 24-hour service - conventional railway tracks must have every stretch inspected every 72 hours (or even more frequently) and as this involves railway staff walking along the tracks it requires the lines to be closed to moving trains. This is usually done at night - and partly explains why conventional railways cannot offer 24 hours / all-night services. Maglev does not have this issue, as the system should only need periodic maintenance shutdowns - although most travellers and safety officials would probably feel happier if (at a minimum) this was done on a weekly basis.

The first commercial maglev line opened on the 29th December 2003, and provides an ultra high speed service linking Pudong International Airport with Shanghai, China. Despite the distance being over 30km the journey takes less than eight minutes. Bearing in mind that this journey time includes acceleration and braking, this is very fast! The "Transrapid" system uses German technology and is capable of cruising at 300mph+, although on such a short line that speed is not reached. For more information visit http://www.transrapid.de or http://www.transrapid-usa.com.(links to external sites which open in new windows).

In February 2005 the UK Ultraspeed consortia put forward proposals for a British Maglev network linking 75% of the British population along the London - Birmingham - Liverpool - Manchester - West Yorkshire (Leeds) - Teeside - Tyneside (Newcastle-Upon-Tyne) - Edinburgh - Glasgow corridor. More information can be found at their website http://www.500kmh.com (links to an external site which opens in a new window).

It is often suggested on some of the 'alternative' news & information websites that deep underground there is a very high speed inter-continental Maglev system which travels in vacuum tunnels and (possibly / probably) uses advanced magnetics as a propulsion system. Information regarding the system's top speed varies with some sources suggesting that it travels at 4000mph (6440km/h) and others at double or even triple this speed.

Reports suggest that passengers experience mild 'g' forces during acceleration (and deceleration) with people who are susceptible to travel sickness sometimes feeling a little queasy. At the present time no evidence can be offered as to the veracity of this information, however even so the possibility that this really does exist is not totally disbelieved. One reason for this is because there are too many other equally 'wild' news items where there is only circumstantial evidence - such as totally independent people saying the same things, etc - which when looked at together suggests that many secrets about what is happening below the ground / above our skies are being withheld from the massed public.