Railway test circuit Velim

Railway test circuit Velim ( _cz. Železniční zkušební okruh u Velimi or _cz. Železniční zkušební okruh Cerhenice) is a closed railway used to test railway cars and locomotives.

The circuit is part of the Test Center Velim ("Zkušební centrum Velim"), owned by Railway Research Institute ("Výzkumný ústav železniční", VUZ, ^{[http://www.cdvuz.cz/?en]} ), a subsidiary of Czech Railways ("České dráhy"), the railway operator in the Czech Republic.

The circuit was built near the city Poděbrady in the Central Bohemian Region of Czech Republic. It is located between villages Vrbová Lhota, Ratenice, Cerhenice (with headquarters of the test center), Velim, Pňov-Předhradí and southern suburbs of Poděbrady. Village Sokoleč lies inside the large circuit. The construction was finished in 1963.

The circuit has become the main testing location for most new locomotives and trains built in or destined for use across Europe.

Technical details

The test center consists of two independent circuits:
* small circuit with length 3.951 km and maximal allowed speed up to 90 km/h.
* large circuit with length 13.276 km and maximal allowed speed up to 230 km/h for tilting trains and up to 210 km/h for the others.

Both circuits provide railway electrification systems used in the Czech Republic:
* 3000 V DC
* 1500 V DC
* 25 kV, 50 Hz AC
* 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC

The circuit allows to test characteristics of the cars, noise levels, ability to communicate using ETCS and GSM-R and to simulate failures and changes in power system.

External links

* [http://www.cdvuz.cz/?profile Overview of the test circuit] (en)
* [http://www.cdvuz.cz/index.php?photogallery_velim Photo gallery]
* [http://www.cdvuz.cz/content-images/zkusebni-centrum-velim01.jpgSchema of the circuit]