SANTOSH 9702: rail

Showing posts with label rail. Show all posts

Saturday, April 25, 2026

How are countries developing high-speed rail networks?

Maglevs

A maglev, short for MAGnetic LEVitation, is a type of train that uses magnets to hover above the track. This removes the friction from wheels on rails that limits the speed of ordinary trains. Maglev trains can therefore travel faster, as well as more smoothly and quietly, than wheeled trains. They have been tested at speeds of up to 603 km/h (374 mph). Maglevs also use much less fuels.

A maglev train works because “like” magnetic poles push each other apart and "opposite" magnetic poles are attracted to each other. Powerful magnets fixed to the track push and pull magnets fixed to the train in such a way that the train continually moves forwards.

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Where is the shortest metro rail network in India?

As of now, Agra Metro in Uttar Pradesh is the shortest operational metro rail network in India, with active route length of approximately 5.2 km. It was inaugurated recently in March 2024.

2nd one is Jaipur Metro in Rajasthan, which is operational approximately 11.97 km and get power supply via Overhead line Cable AC current.

3rd smaller metro network is the Gurugram Metro in Haryana which is around 12.85 km operational, which is a part of Delhi Metro Rail Limited.

Kanpur Metro which is operational around 16 km,

Kochi Metro in Kerala. South India's Shorter metro rail network which is around 28 km and also, the Kochi metro project is the India's first metro system in the country which connects rail, road and water transport facilities.

Several Metro Route have proposal, extending the line or under construction, planned. When compared to Tier 1 metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai, these Tier 2 cities may have smaller in size metro connectivity but not huge network connectivity.

However, it lacks extensive network connectivity due to limited urban expansion and restricted city coverage.

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

What is the use of the rails in the middle of some tracks?

These are called Guard rails.

Guard rails are placed parallel to regular rails along areas of restrictive clearance, such as bridges or tunnels. They are used to minimize chances of derailment and ensure that wheels of the trains are aligned in case of derailment. If the train derails, the wheels fall off the regular rails and the train can move pretty far sideways because of which the train could fall off the bridge.

You can see them on regular train tracks too, but only on overpasses or bridges or places where derailment would be quite a possibility. They are placed inside the inner rail, where they engage the back of the flange of the wheel on that side.

Saturday, November 15, 2025

Is it true that Indian soil is too soft for bullet trains? Why?

India is a vast country with varied landscapes and topography and the soil varies from region to region place to place.

Painting the entire landmass of India with one brush and characterizing its soil type as a monolithic is not really smart. The soil varies from place to place.

This is the Qinghai railway. Connects Beijing with Lhasa.

it’s currently the highest railway in the world.

550 kms of the Qinghai railway is built on Permafrost.

Go do research on constructing anything on permafrost.

While not a high speed railway, the challenges of constructing a railway on permafrost is way more challenging.

Both Russia and China have railways built on permafrost and the construction is way more challenging as you have to reinforce the ground underneath before you can build on it and make sure the hardened soil doesn’t melt away.

So as you can see, even if I were to take your assumption of a monolithic soil type in entire India, engineering can overcome it and I highly doubt your premise is correct.

Manhattan in NYC has glacial till soil as top layer and so does many other boroughs.

This is the Manhattan skyline