Alstom V150

By Yi -
3 April 2007 was a remarkable day for the railway industry in France and the world.  On this day, the latest official world speed record for trains running on conventional steel rails was set by the train named V150 built by Alstom Transport and SNCF.  The name V150 simply comes from their goal for this record run, to reach a speed of 150 metres per second (here is a hint, 100 mph is equivalent to almost 45 m/s).

Why don't we begin with the official film of this record run (make sure you turn up the volume).  Note that although it looks like simply a shorter version of the TGV, 12 of its 16 axles are actually powered.


In the end, this train had reached a stunning top speed of 159.7 m/s.  Let's enjoy a few more pictures of this marvellous train.  The power cars on the V150 were converted back to regular TGV POS power cars and have been serving on the LGV Est line since its opening on 10 June 2007.


The V150 on public display after its record run


If you still crave more information about this train, here is the link to its Wikipedia coverage.  Let's talk about the fastest freight train in Japan next week.

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