Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
<p>[quote user="RME"]I am lamentably unaware of the topo between Hamburg and Munich, or if the line has been substantially 'improved' in profile since steam days. [/quote]</p> <p></p> <p></p> <div>I can't help with a curve by curve analysis.But here is some additional information. The linked map shows the speeds in km/h (0.621 mph) the sections were designed or upgraded for. <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/ICEtracks.png">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/ICEtracks.png</a></div> <div> </div> <div>The ICE Hamburg to Munich runs via Hannover, Goettingen, Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, Fulda, Wuerzburg, and Nuremberg. The shortest run time is 5-3/4 hours. In the 1980s it was about 8-1/2 hours.<br /><br /></div> <div>From Hamburg to about 19 miles behind Hannover we are on the relatively flat North German Plain.</div> <div> </div> <div>The high-speed rail line Hannover to Wuerzburg has  minimum curves of 23,000 ft in exceptional cases 16,700 ft. As the line is used by freight trains too the grade is limited to 1.25%. The height lies between +164 ft and 1234 ft.</div> <div> </div> <div>The track section between Hannover and Goettingen is relatively flat for 19 miles, the rest has 8.7 miles in tunnels.</div> <div> </div> <div>The section Goettingen to Kassel is 28 miles with 13 miles in tunnels.</div> <div> </div> <div>The section Kassel to Fulda is 56 miles long with 29.7 miles in tunnels, and about 33 miles on viaducts.</div> <div> </div> <div>The remaining Fulda to Wuezburg is 59 miles long, 35.4 miles in tunnels, 5.6 miles on viaducts</div> <div> </div> <div>Wuerzburg to Nuremberg is upgraded track as is Hamburg to Hannover.</div> <div> </div> <div>The high-speed line Nuremberg to Munich is partly hilly from Nuremberg to Ingolstadt and constantly climbing to Munich.</div> <div> </div> <div>Nuremberg - Ingolstadt:  77,4 km long, 27 km in tunnels, 43 km curves with a minimum of 4085 m, 2% grades, profile 330m - 450m - 375 m - 500 m - 370m</div> <div> </div> <div>Ingolstadt -  Munich: 80,7 km long, profile 370 m - 520 m</div> <div> </div> <div>I hope this helps a bit to understand the topography of the Hamburg to Munich together with the following link:<br /><a href="http://www.georelief.de/isotope/i/id-4280000002020_big.jpg">http://www.georelief.de/isotope/i/id-4280000002020_big.jpg</a></div> <div> </div> <div>Most German high-speed rail lines are designed for mixed traffic. The line Stuttgart to Ulm (in design phase) with grades up to 3.1% will only be used by light freight trains equipped with disk brakes.</div> <div> </div> <div>All this doesn't come cheap. On hilly lines 1 minute less journey time cost up to $100 million depending on alignment design elements here in Germany.<br />Regards, Volker</div>
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag