Recently the Saudi's announced they had a new passenger train across the desert to Riyad from somewhere but that it's top speed was only 110 mph??
So whats up with the Saudi Passenger Trains only doing 90-110 mph across the desert. I would think they would want to do at least 150 mph in that landscape? Is it the heat?
They do plan to increase speed in the future.
I don't know, but maybe if the train has a really great A/C system nobody's in a rush to get off?
It is Saudi Arabia after all.
Firelock76It is Saudi Arabia after all.
For one Semester in college I had a Saudi room mate, hilarious. I think just the observation on that guy was an education in and of itself.
He told me the 40,000 Princes in the house of Saud story (that is funny).
Incredibly naive about the Saudi Royal Family, you could tell the poor guy was drinking whatever kool aide they were serving in that country and he didn't read the foriegn press much outside Saudi Arabia.
I think the very best part was watching his Father use various third parties on campus to spy on the guy and what he was doing day to day. I mean I was just a dumb ex-Infantryman and it was so fricken obvious what was going on you almost had to be brain dead to miss it. His Father wasn't making any attempt at camoflage and was even calling the dorm room direct from Saudi Arabia three times a week about reports he heard back from his sources in Wisconsin.
The poor guy is away in a foriegn land (Wisconsin of all places), why are you extending the monitoring regime all the way to Wisconsin for pete's sake? Let him live free and make his own decisions for a couple of years. Too much to ask of that culture though. Granted he abused alchol but I had to wonder was the alchol abuse due to his overbearing Father or was his overbearing Father a symptom of the Alchol use?
Ah, well, happy I live in the United States. :)
Well, I know one Saudi who seems like a really fine and intelligent person to me.
His name is Adel Abdou, he teaches Physics, including acoustics, and has published:
CMStPnPI would think they would want to do at least 150 mph in that landscape? Is it the heat?
Sun kink, particularly given the relative lack of stable subgrade and wide potential temperature swing, is a very real possibility. But I suspect much more of an issue would be drifting sand. Including its potential effect on conductivity for signaling and train control.
In addition to drifting sand, I can imagine a lot of sand is kicked up by a fast train, that would get into and wear mechanical and electrical components.
MidlandMike In addition to drifting sand, I can imagine a lot of sand is kicked up by a fast train, that would get into and wear mechanical and electrical components.
I haven't seen their passenger trains but when the Saudi's buy diesels from the United States they seal the carbody and have special filters for the exhaust fans and air intakes. Some of the sand is as fine as talcom powder so I wonder how effective the filters are or how often they need replacing.
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