Train Rapide Internationale

The Train Rapide Internationale is an international cooperation project in the field of railways undertaken between various nations of the Alçaeran Union in order to establish a standardised international high-speed train network between the largest cities of participating nations.

Predecessor - The Train Rapide

The roots of the TRI are in the high-speed network built by Service Paristani de Chemin de Fer in the nation of New Paristan to link the nation's largest cities, hence easing the traffic problems on the existing rail and road networks as well as lessening the need for polluting local flight services.

The Paristani trains, Train Rapide, and their network, featured many innovations: from early on, it was decided that the high-speed trains would operate on separate tracks, optimised for high-speed running. Since the trackline would be separate from normal tracks, it was also decided that the TR network would abandon SPCF's traditional track gauge of 1200 mm, and the high-speed network would be built with the gauge of 1600 mm instead, making it more compatible for international connections, as all former colonies of Celdonia in the continent use the 1600 mm gauge.

Collaboration

The Train Rapide network was soon completed, gained a lot of popularity and proved to be highly effective with service speeds of roughly 300 km/h. This attracted the attention of the national railway companies of Tavast-Carelia and East Hackney. Taking the most sensible course of action the three nations agreed to collaborate on the project, sharing construction plans for the trains as well as the track network. Very soon the collaborative project attracted attention from other nations of the Alçaeran Union, and plans were formed for a high-speed railway network, based on the Train Rapide, that would link all continental AU nations together.

It was decided that AU member nations would be free to participate in the international TR project (which soon got the name Train Rapide Internationale, TRI), and that the construction plans for the TRI trains would be freely available to all members. The basic design of the TRI was based on the Paristani TR, but with some technological improvements. The idea was that TRI trains of different nationalities would have a high degree of compatibility, so that trains built in different nations would share as many interchangable parts as possible.

Construction of the track network was planned in three phases, with links being constructed first from Hackney Wick and Porvoo to Montmartre, then Saturn City (Segasaturn), New Ronin City (New Ronin), Maliboro (Chaos & Lambodia) and Tankerton (Tankerton) linked to the network, and in the final phase a link built to Chimes (Clapton Pond), Davidstown (Detome) and finally the large distance to Gabran (Rehochipe).

Technical Data

A standard TRI train is a ten-car set with two motor cars on each end and an articulated assembly of eight passenger cars in the middle, with the adjacent end of two cars carried by a common bogie. All international-service TRI trains operate on 25,000-volt direct current delivered from overhead wires, although there are some differences in trains used on national services, including diesel-powered trains based on the TRI used on the railways of East Hackney. Below are the technical details of a standard international-service TRI unit, as built by the SPCF:

Wheel arrangement 

Driving unit Bo'Bo', additional driving trailer behind the locomotive

Length overall 

200.19 meters (656'9")

Total wheelbase 

Driving unit 17 m (55'9"), driving trailer 21.7 m (71'2")

Bogie wheelbase 

0.920 m (3'0")

Working weight 

418t

Maximum speed 

300 km/h (186 mph)

1-hour rating 

6450 kW (8646 hp)