X2 train
Encyclopedia
X2 is the Swedish high speed train
system operated by the operator SJ
(Swedish Railways) under the X 2000
brand name. It has a top commercial speed of 200 km/h, but has reached 276 km/h in a test. The reason the X2 was chosen was that Sweden (like most other countries) has very curved railways, and not enough traffic to justify building special high-speed railway lines (at least before 1990). As a result, a Swedish tilting train
had to be developed. A tilting train provided the advantages of high speed and comfort for the passengers, as tilting trains can run through narrow curves up to 15% faster than non-tilting trains. The X2 was designed and built by Asea (later ABB Asea Brown Boveri, Adtranz
ABB Daimler Benz Transportation and now Bombardier Transportation
). The drive unit for the X2 is designated as a multiple unit
although since the drive unit does not carry any passengers it should be considered as a locomotive
.
SJ ordered 20 trainsets in August 1986 and planned to order further 30 trainsets. However, this figure was later reduced to only 43 trainsets.
The max power continuous output of the locomotive is 3.200 kW, which is comparatively low for a fast train. It also enabled SJ to say that it does not consume more power at 200 km/h than older Rc- locomotive hauled trains at 130 km/h.
service level, but have periodically been used for Linx traffic as well as regional services, for which fewer coaches were used to improve acceleration.
An X2 train was also loaned to the American rail operator Amtrak
in 1992-93 and to the Australian operator Countrylink
in 1995 for evaluation, but neither operator bought any X2- trains.
The X2 was also tested in Norway and Germany.
The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) later ordered a new generation EMU:s for regional- and long distance service (38 three- and four-car —Class 71) A regional trainset was ordered for the Oslo city- Gardermoen Airport line (48 km). The Norwegian trains had no locomotive and they were designed with a completely new car body with smooth stainless steel sheets and windows at the same level as the steel sheet for lower air resistance. The new Norwegian EMU:s also had new generation bogies with much smaller electric motors (distributed power). The front ends are also completely different, and the airport express trains lack tilting equipment. The units were built at Strømmen close to Oslo, during 1997–2000.
Technical data X2 locomotive
Technical data X2 passenger coaches
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
system operated by the operator SJ
SJ AB
SJ is a government-owned passenger train operator in Sweden. SJ was created in 2000, out of the public transport division of Statens Järnvägar, when the former government agency was divided into six separate government-owned limited companies.-Overview:SJ's operations fall broadly into subsidised...
(Swedish Railways) under the X 2000
X 2000
X 2000 is the brand name of Sweden's tilting 200 km/h high-speed train class X2, which was constructed by Kalmar Verkstad in Kalmar, Sweden and operated by SJ. It was launched in 1990 as a first-class only train with a meal included in the ticket price, and free use of the train's fax machine...
brand name. It has a top commercial speed of 200 km/h, but has reached 276 km/h in a test. The reason the X2 was chosen was that Sweden (like most other countries) has very curved railways, and not enough traffic to justify building special high-speed railway lines (at least before 1990). As a result, a Swedish tilting train
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
had to be developed. A tilting train provided the advantages of high speed and comfort for the passengers, as tilting trains can run through narrow curves up to 15% faster than non-tilting trains. The X2 was designed and built by Asea (later ABB Asea Brown Boveri, Adtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....
ABB Daimler Benz Transportation and now Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
). The drive unit for the X2 is designated as a multiple unit
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...
although since the drive unit does not carry any passengers it should be considered as a locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
.
SJ ordered 20 trainsets in August 1986 and planned to order further 30 trainsets. However, this figure was later reduced to only 43 trainsets.
Technical
The X2 was designed for old main lines with narrow curves and with continuously welded rails (the train has a maximum axle load of 17 tonnes, which causes large forces on the track). However, since 1990 a lot of new high speed lines have been constructed in Sweden, both upgrades lines and new lines. These upgraded or new lines always have ATC, continuously welded rails on concrete sleepers and no crossings with road and rail at the same level. The tilting function is not used on these lines.The max power continuous output of the locomotive is 3.200 kW, which is comparatively low for a fast train. It also enabled SJ to say that it does not consume more power at 200 km/h than older Rc- locomotive hauled trains at 130 km/h.
Operation
The X2 trains have mostly run the X 2000X 2000
X 2000 is the brand name of Sweden's tilting 200 km/h high-speed train class X2, which was constructed by Kalmar Verkstad in Kalmar, Sweden and operated by SJ. It was launched in 1990 as a first-class only train with a meal included in the ticket price, and free use of the train's fax machine...
service level, but have periodically been used for Linx traffic as well as regional services, for which fewer coaches were used to improve acceleration.
Exports
At the beginning, SJ believed there would be enormous numbers of exported X2-trains. Norway, Finland, Germany, Austria, France, China, Australia, Portugal and the US were mentioned as candidates. Only one X2-trainset was exported (China).An X2 train was also loaned to the American rail operator Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
in 1992-93 and to the Australian operator Countrylink
CountryLink
CountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...
in 1995 for evaluation, but neither operator bought any X2- trains.
The X2 was also tested in Norway and Germany.
The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) later ordered a new generation EMU:s for regional- and long distance service (38 three- and four-car —Class 71) A regional trainset was ordered for the Oslo city- Gardermoen Airport line (48 km). The Norwegian trains had no locomotive and they were designed with a completely new car body with smooth stainless steel sheets and windows at the same level as the steel sheet for lower air resistance. The new Norwegian EMU:s also had new generation bogies with much smaller electric motors (distributed power). The front ends are also completely different, and the airport express trains lack tilting equipment. The units were built at Strømmen close to Oslo, during 1997–2000.
Technical data X2 locomotive
| General | |
| Operator | SJ |
| Manufacturing year | 1989-1998 |
| Number of manuf. | 43 |
| Supplier mechanical part | KVAB |
| Supplier electrical part | Asea/ABB |
| Axle arr | Bo-Bo |
| Weight | 70,0 t |
| Axle load | 17,5 t |
| Max tractive eff | 160 kN |
| Max speed | 210 km/h |
| Body | |
| Length | 17.750 mm |
| Bogie distance | 8.975 mm |
| Height over pantograph | xxx mm |
| Body width | x.xxx mm |
| Coupling | automatic |
| Surface | corrugated stainless steel |
| Colour | silver |
| Bogies | |
| Track width | 1.435 mm |
| Axle distance | 2.900 mm |
| Wheel diameter,new | 1.100 mm |
| Primary suspension | rubber pad |
| Secondary suspension | coil |
| Brake | shoe, regenerative |
| Bogie Weight | NA |
| Min hor radius | NA |
| Electrical equipment | |
| Catenary voltage | 15 kV |
| Catenary frequency | 16 2/3 Hz |
| Max cont power | 3,26 MW |
| Traction motor | MJA 385-2 |
| Max power trainheating | 360 kW |
Technical data X2 passenger coaches
| UB2 | UA2 | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Operator | SJ | SJ |
| Type of coach | business class saloon | first class saloon |
| Tillverkare | KVAB, Asea | KVAB, Asea |
| Manufact year | 1989-xxxx | 1989-xxxx |
| Tare Weight | 47 t | 47 t |
| Manufact country | Sweden | Sweden |
| Number of manufact | NA | NA |
| Max allow. speed | 200 km/h | 200 km/h |
| Body | ||
| Length | 24.950 mm | 24.950 mm |
| Body length | 24.400 mm | 24.400 mm |
| Bogie distance | 17.700 mm | 17.700 mm |
| Body height | 3.814 mm | 3.814 mm |
| Body width | 3.050 mm | 3.050 mm |
| Floor height | 1.264 mm | 1.264 mm |
| Body material | stainless steel | stainless steel |
| Type of coupling | short | short |
| Colour | silver | silver |
| Type of entrance door | slide door, plug | slide door, plug |
| Bogies | ||
| Bogie Mark | NA | NA |
| Track gauge | 1.435 mm | 1.435 mm |
| Axle distance | 2.900 mm | 2.900 mm |
| Wheel diameter- new | 880 mm | 880 mm |
| Primary suspension | rubber pad | rubber pad |
| Secondary suspension | air | air |
| Brake | disk- & magnetic rail | disk- & magnetic rail |
| No of disks per axle | 2 | 2 |
| Bogie weight | NA | NA |
| Electrical equipment | ||
| Train heating voltage | 3 x 380 V 50 Hz | 3 x 380 V 50 Hz |
| No of phases | 3-phase | 3-phase |
| Air conditioning | yes | yes |
| Interior | ||
| Floor plan | saloon | saloon |
| No of seats | 76 seats | 51 seats |
| Seats abreast | 2 + 2 | 2 + 1 |
| Seat distance | 95 cm | 105 cm |