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Fastest Trains On Earth
inauguration of a new train
running between Los
Angeles and Sacramento,
California-a distance of
about 400 miles. To make
!he trip, American
commuters can plan on an
overnight jaunt ol
13V2-hours.
Lyons
M
odern technology is now
setting the stage lor the
prophesied union ol Western
Europe.
Even belore !he sleek
machine pulls out ol !he
station lor its run lo París,
ils streamlined appearance
suggests motion.
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is one ol
a new breed ol French
trains named !he TGV. short
for
trains
a
grande
vitesse-("very fas! trains") .
Tes! runs have shown
them easily capable ol
reaching 235 miles per hour,
making them !he lastes! on
earth. Temporarily, however,
they are "reined in " at a
maximum of 162 mph even
when they are on their own
newly laid track. When
they must travel on the
older tracks, they are limited
to a snail's pace ol
100 mph.
All this is expected lo
change, though, as more
specially constructed !rack
is laid. The new tracks have
concrete ties instead of
wood. Individual rails are
welded together into one
continuous. seamless raíl ,
and there are no grade
crossings -all human or
animal cross-traffic passes
underneath !he lenced-off
right ol way.
As more cities are linked
lo París and lo each other
by the new raíl system, the
eventual goal is to have
these trains darting lrom
station to station at 238
mph. And not only in
France! The trains already
go into Geneva.
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is
expected lo be only a
matter ol time before they
go lo Brussels, London
(whenever the tunnel is
finally built under !he English
Channel) and other
European cities.
Quiet and smooth are !he
bes! words lo describe the
ride. Passengers lounge in
reclining seats. For
relreshment there is a snack
bar in second class. In first
class cars, hostesses serve
several-course meals lrom
airline-style carts. Each !rain
has a sloping-nosed engine
at both ends and is
composed of eight coaches.
The coaches are no! meant
to be separated, since they
share one group of wheels
(a bogey) wherever two
coaches join. All eight cars
form one single
aerodynamically designed
unit. With only hall the
number of wheels ol a
conventional eight-coach
!rain, there is
correspondingly less weight
and friction. Adding lo its
streamlining, !he TGV rides
about two leet lower than
ordinary trains.
Looking out the large
tinted windows at the
beautilul French countryside
rolling by, we catch a
glimpse from time lo time ol
small groups of villagers or
larmers as they pause to
watch this orange, brown
and white blur streak
through !he pastoral setting.
Are these country folk
merely shaking their heads
over !he necessity lor
human beings lo be in such
a rush? Or is it a sense ol
pride they are leeling since
this lastes! !rain in !he world
bears the label "Made in
France"?
Any American railroad
buff can draw a sad
comparison with the rail
passenger service in !he
United States. At !he same
time the TGV was breaking
records, sorne fanfare was
being sounded about the
What is more, the energy
expendilure for a full TGV
on such a trip would be the
equivalen! of less !han two
gallons of gasoline a
passenger.
The French all-electric
TGV, originally conceived ol
more than a decade ago, in
the era of cheap gasoline,
has turned out to be a case
of
extraordinary toresight.
Not only is !he TGV
energy-efficient, but, al a
time of worrisome
unemployment, construction
and operation of this new
system is providing jobs in a
wide range of fields. By
making travel throughout
France easier. the new
trains are also helping to
overcome the dominan! role
París has played in
day-to-day French affairs for
nearly 200 years. While !he
Socialist government cannot
claim credit for !he TGV, !he
inauguration ol service fits in
conveniently with the
programs of the new
government.
- Clayton Steep
uine popular revolts against tyran–
ny, rather than purel y t he resul t of
communist expansionism. H is view
is t hat what i s taking place is large–
ly inevi table social reform which
must not be sti tled .
To judge from the election in
G r eece, t he F rench fever may
al ready be spreading. "A new wind
is blowing on the Mediterranean,"
headlined a French newspaper after
the landslide victory of the Greek
Socialists. "Yesterday France, to–
day Greece, t omor row Spain,"
triumphantly boasted newly elected
Greek Prime Mini ster Andreas
Papand reou .
also serve as an exampl e to an
emerg i ng New L eft in many
nations of Europe and elsewhere?
Referring to t he reforms now tak–
ing place in France, Jean-Franc,;ois
Revel , former editor of
L'Express
magazine, wrote in
The Wa/1 Street
Journal:
" I f thi s experiment is car–
ried to i ts l ogical conclusion, if it
spreads to other European countries,
it wi ll change international relations
much more profoundly than wi ll the
current discussions and differences
of opinion on t he f uture of the A tlan–
tic A lliance."
A " New Wind" Blows
The example of the Socialist victo–
ry in F rance cou ld have wide-rang–
i ng effects i n the rest of Europe
and therefore t he wor ld. I f M r .
Mitterrand succeeds in his pro–
grams, he coul d prove to the left–
leaning nati ons of W estern Eu rope
as well as nations of Easter n
Europe t hat t here is an al ternati ve
to communism Soviet-styl e or capi –
t alism
a
I'Américaine.
February 1982
Two hundred years ago, t he
French R evolu tion served as an
exampl e for revolutions in other
nations. Sorne are saying t hat what
is happening in F rance i s nothing
short of a revolution.
If
t hat i s so,
and if i t succeeds as t he Social ists
expect it wi ll, to what extent wi ll i t
The Plain Truth
staff, armed
wi th an understandi ng of B i ble
p r ophecy, says t o its readers:
W atch France!
o
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