Tilt Technology of Train

Tilt Technology of Train

                              Trains have  the capability to tilt their body inwards the curve are called tilting trains. The tilt inwards reduces the lateral acceleration felt by passengers, allowing the train to pass curves at higher speed while maintaining ride comfort. A high-speed tilting train can operate at 200 km/h for upgraded track and 250 km/h or even faster for new track. The first tilting train in regular public service was the 381- series electric multiple unit train between Nagoya and Nagano operated by the Japanese National Railways (JNR), which entered revenue service from 10 July 1973 on the Shinano limited express.

             Acela Express in USA is using tilting technology that allows the train to travel at 240 km/h on upgraded track. It is the fastest trainset in America run between Washington, DC and Boston. Another example is the Japanese Shinkasen N700-series with a maximum speed of 300 km/h. It can tilt upto one degree and can maintain 270 km/h of speed run between Tokyo and Osaka.

                                                                           

                       But building new tracks with large curve radii is costly and can only be justifide where the passenger base is large. Tilting has today become a mature technology accepted by most operators, but the popularity is impacted by low reliability and motion sickness on certain services.