Railways and Tramways of Australia

23 May

Southbound electric Tilt train approaching the Brisbane suburb of Northgate, 15 January 2018.

Super speed

The Australian railway speed record was set by a Queensland Rail Electric Tilt Train on 23 May 1999.

Tilt Trains commenced regular service between Brisbane and Rockhampton in November 1998. They use on-board computer technology to tilt the angle of the train’s body on curves. The cars are mounted on rollers, and hydraulic rams are used to push the cars, enabling the tilt. This enables speed to be increased by 25% while passenger comfort is maintained. They were built by Walkers in Maryborough, Queensland, using Hitachi technology.

The Tilt Train set an Australian railway speed record of 210 km/h. It was participating in speed trials on a straight section of track between Meadowvale and Avondale, north of Bundaberg. The train’s speed was measured by three on-board devices and a trackside device, and was also verified by police using radar speed measuring equipment. In regular service the Tilt Trains operate at speeds up to 160 km/h.

Prior to the Tilt Train record, the Australian rail speed record was 193 km/h, set by two XPT power units and three passenger cars between Culcairn and Gerogery in New South Wales on 18 September 1992. It held this speed for two kilometres. Four test runs were made and the speed was verified by police radar.

The XPT also held the previous Australian rail speed record prior to 1992. In an area near its later record, it reached 183 km/h between Table Top and Gerogery on 6 September 1981.

Before the XPT commenced service, Australia’s fastest train was the Prospector, which commenced service in 1971. Operating between Perth and Kalgoorlie, it had a maximum speed of 145 km/h.

Australia’s fastest trains are slow compared to high-speed trains in overseas countries. But for Australian tracks, they have reached some super speeds.

Bibliography

‘Brisbane trains: world record’, Transit Australia, vol. 54, no. 7, July 1999, p 161.

J Dunn, Comeng: a history of Commonwealth Engineering, volume 3: 1966–1977, Rosenberg, Sydney, 2010.

J Hoyle, ‘Australia enters the Tilt Train era’, Railway Digest, vol. 36, no. 12, December 1998, pp 22–5.

J Hoyle, ‘Breaking the 200 km/h barrier’, Railway Digest, vol. 37, no. 7, July 1999, pp 18–19.

J Hoyle & B Webber, ‘QR Tilt Train sets Australian rail speed record’, Railway Digest, vol. 37, no. 6, June 1999, p 15.

‘Queensland Tilt Trains services begin’, Transit Australia, vol. 54, no. 1, January 1999, p 3–6.

‘The making of an XPT speed record’, Railway Digest, vol. 30, no. 11, November 1992, pp 417–18.

‘The XPT tour’, Railway Digest, vol. 30, no. 11, November 1981, pp 331–2.