TGV questions.

[keith morgan]

I have just returned from holiday on the Costa Brava, Spain, thought i would do it differently this year and travelled by train.
The Eurostar arrived in Paris on time, we then crossed the city to join our TGV train at Gare de Lyon, the TGV never ceases to amaze me, not only its speed but its smooth running.
This service is planned in the future to run to Barcelona, but at the moment terminates at Figueres Vilafant, which was opened in Jan. 2012.
I have two questions to ask ------ has anyone any info when the link will be completed to Barcelona, also the new track appears to have a single concrete block supporting the rail and chair instead of a right across traditional sleeper, how is any creep controlled? could there be a tie rod joining the blocks which is buried under the ballast? your help please!

[Ploughman]

The sleepers are quite usual for all TGV lines and are called Twinblock.
There is a tie bar between the concrete sections.
3 links below.
http://www.railway-technology.com/co...radetech2.html
http://www.stanton-bonna.co.uk/main....rent_news_twin
http://www.pandrol.com/images/upload...304_p12-13.pdf

[swisstrains]

Hi Keith,
I see that Bryan has answered your question about the concrete twinblock sleepers.

I believe that the HS line between Figueres and Barcelona was originally planned to open in December 2012 but according to a news item in the latest "Today's Railways Europe" there is still quite a bit of work to be done. A 10 month contract for a new station in Girona was only awarded in August and work on a 7 month contract to lay 12.7 km of track in the Barcelona suburbs has only just started.

[keith morgan]

Thank you both for your replies, much appreciated.
I travelled by coach to Barcelona, and from the motorway i could see there is much work to be done installing track, although there appears to be a single line completed.
I also spotted a lone class 66 on the French side of the border, i'm not sure of the location.

[dave55uk]

Have just watched the "Video 125" production of the TGV cab ride from Marseilles to Paris. The commentary made mention of the trains running at a 4 minute headway. Now, roughly calculating, they 'do' about 3 miles a minute, so at the above headway, that's something like 12 miles. That's a big gap between trains. Wouldn't a 2 minute headway (6 miles approx.) be perfectly safe? Even at the speeds the TGV's do, surely they can stop well within 6 miles.

[keith morgan]

Crikey Dave, well done for working out the logistics, my own personal view is that 6xmins is fine!! any shorter than that would take super braking power.
The TGV's speed is deceptive, as a passenger you have no idea how fast the train is going.

While on the subject of speed, how things have changed,------ i travelled by train from northern Spain, leaving at 10.20am and arrived home in Stafford at 11.25pm!! including 3xhours changing trains in Paris, ------- 30 years ago people would have laughed at you if you had even suggested this.

[dave55uk]

In the aforementioned video, I believe they said the line was at capacity. I've done that very route, Marseille to Paris, non-stop, but on one of the single deck TGV's. (If memory serves me right, it was one of the orange ones). I still think a TGV at full tilt could stop comfortably within 6 miles.