- JetTrain
The JetTrain is an experimental high-speed passenger train built by
Bombardier Transportation in an attempt to make European-style high-speed service more financially appealing to passenger railways inNorth America . It uses the same LRC-derived tilting carriages as theAcela Express trains that Bombardier sold toAmtrak in the 1990s and a similar locomotive, but instead of being powered by an overhead catenary as is the Acela and most other high-speed trains, it uses a 3,750 kW (5,000 shp) Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150gas turbine .Like the Acela trains, it is capable of speeds in the range of 240 km/h (150 mph) depending on tracks and signaling.
In the early 2000s, Bombardier aggressively marketed the JetTrain to a number of customers in North America as a less-expensive way to build high-speed railways, but no such systems have yet been constructed, and the company appears to have stopped focusing on this campaign.Fact|date=April 2007
The system that came the closest to being built was Florida Overland Express for passenger service between Orlando and Tampa in the
United States , which was to open in 2009, but was denied funding by areferendum in 2004, after the start of detail engineering stages.Fact|date=April 2007In
Canada , Bombardier andVIA Rail presented a proposal to use the JetTrain on VIA’s busyQuebec City-Windsor Corridor , but were unable to obtain funding from the national government; some analysts believe it was the victim of the transition period during whichPaul Martin was replacingJean Chrétien as prime minister.Fact|date=April 2007 In January 2008, the premiers of Ontario and Quebec announced a feasibility study for the Corridor, giving high speed trains another chance.In the
United Kingdom , the Jet Train has been proposed as a replacement for the 125mph diesel-electric HST. ["Rail" Magazine, issue 550, page 33] Australian rail magazines have suggested the Jet Train as a viable option for high-speed rail in Australia to supplement the XPT and Tilt Train.ee also
*
Acela Express
*Bombardier Transportation
*Gas turbine-electric locomotive
*LRC (train)
*UAC TurboTrain External links
* [http://www.bombardier.com/ Bombardier official site]
References
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