High-speed rail

High-speed rail is a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, new lines in excess of 250 km/h and existing lines in excess of 200 km/h are widely considered to be high-speed, with some extending the definition to include much lower speeds (e.g. 160 km/h) in areas for which these speeds still represent significant improvements. The first such system began operations in Japan in 1964 and was widely known as the bullet train. High-speed trains normally operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates a large turning radius in its design.

Many countries have developed high-speed rail to connect major cities, including Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Uzbekistan. Only in Europe does HSR cross international borders. China has 19,000 km of HSR as of December 2015, accounting for two thirds of the world's total.

InterCity 125

The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train (HST) fleet, which was built from 1975 to 1982 and was introduced in 1976. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two Class 43 power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages (the number of carriages varies by operator). The train operates at speeds of up to 125 mph (201 km/h) in regular service, and has an absolute maximum speed of 148 mph (238 km/h), making it the fastest diesel-powered train in the world, a record it has held from its introduction to the present day. Initially the sets were classified as Classes 253 and 254. A variant of the power cars operates in Australia as part of the XPT.

After four decades, most of the HST fleet is still in front-line revenue service under privatisation, and while the InterCity 125 brand name is rarely mentioned officially by the private train-operating companies (TOCs), the InterCity 125 still forms the backbone of intercity services on several British main lines. Almost all sets are expected to be replaced by 2018 by the Intercity Express Programme. Under early plans for that programme, some HSTs were due to continue in use on London to Devon/Cornwall services, where there are no plans to electrify the lines. However, in March 2015 it was announced that the remainder of the Great Western fleet would be replaced with bi-mode Intercity Express sets, equipped with the required powerplants and fuel tanks to tackle the distances and inclines of Westcountry services.

High Speed (disambiguation)

High Speed is a pinball game.

High Speed or high-speed may also refer to:

Air, flight, and flight research

Electronics, integrated circuits, and computer interfaces

Free! (anime)

Free! is a Japanese anime television series directed by Hiroko Utsumi and produced by Kyoto Animation and Animation Do. The anime is based on the light novel written by Kōji Ōji, High Speed! (ハイ☆スピード!, Hai Supīdo!), which received an honorable mention in the second Kyoto Animation Award contest in 2011 and was later published in July 2013. The first season, titled Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club for international distribution, aired in Japan between July and September 2013, and the second season, titled Free! - Eternal Summer, aired between July and September 2014. An animated film, High Speed! - Free! Starting Days, was released on December 5, 2015.

Plot

Free! is set in the town of Iwatobi, which is based on the real town of Iwami, Tottori. Iwami has since used Free! to promote tourism to the town. The story starts with four boys—Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa and Rin—before they graduate from elementary school. They all participated in a swimming tournament and won, though they parted ways. Years later, Haruka and Makoto reunite with Nagisa when he enrolls in their high school. Not long after, Rin, who was thought to be in Australia, turns up and challenges Haruka to a race and wins. Afterward, Nagisa suggests creating a swimming club and using the school's run-down outdoor pool. Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, and later on, Rei, create the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club and work together to make the club a success. Rin's victory over Haruka means nothing to him as he realizes that Haruka had stopped swimming competitively and wasn't in top shape. He claims that he cannot get over the fact until Haruka competes against him for real. The members of the revived Iwatobi Swim Club later enter a swimming competition against Rin.

High Speed 3

High Speed 3 (HS3) is a proposed East-West rail link in northern England, connecting Liverpool to Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The concept is loose; the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee (March 2015) stated there was no firm definition of the route implied by HS3:

History

A plan to improve rail journey times in northern England, the Northern Hub, was developed from a 2009 scheme to improve the rail network around Manchester. Schemes to improve the Leeds-Manchester linespeed by 2014 were included in Network Rail's CP4 improvements, with an aim to reduce Manchester-Leeds journey times from 54 to 40 minutes. In 2011 the approximately £290 million electrification of the Transpennine Manchester Leeds line was given funding. Work started on the electrification in 2013, with full electrification between Manchester, Leeds and York expected by 2018.

In June 2014, at a speech given at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, the incumbent Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne proposed a high speed rail link between Liverpool and Newcastle/Sheffield/Hull. The line would utilise the existing route between Liverpool and Newcastle/Hull and a new route from to Sheffield will follow the same route to Manchester Victoria and then a new line from Victoria to Sheffield, with additional tunnels and other infrastructure. Osborne argued that the northern cities' influence was comparatively less than London's and that the link would promote economies of agglomeration.