Andrej, a consulting engineer specialising in rail technology, is talking about the TGV world speed record.

Listen to the talk and answer the following questions.

1.Overall, how heavily modified was the train?

2 How long was the record-breaking TCV?

3 Why was some of the bodywork modified?

4 Why was the diameter of the wheels changed?

The record speed exceeded the standard operating speed by a huge margin. lt was 80o/o faster at its peak. So you would imagine that the TGV used for the record run was heavily modified. In fact, that wasn't really the case. The train was modified to a certain extent but, with a few exceptions, it was essentially just an ordinary TGV. As you can see from this slide, one of the biggest differences was that the modified train was significantly shorter, in order to make it lighter. There was a 500/0 reduction in length, down to 100 metres. comoared with a 200- metre standard length. The coaches being pulled were perfectly standard - the only differences were that some of the seats had been removed to make way for all of the monitoring equipment that was carried on board. And some changes were made to the bodywork, to make it slightly more aerodynamic, which meant the drag coefficient was reduced by 15%. The wheels on the modified train Were marginally bi€er than the standard size. The diameter was increased by 19%, in order to reduce the speed of revolution, to limit friction and centrifugal force. And the power of the electric motors was substantially higher than the standard units - boosted by 68%. But none of the changes Was fundamenta|. So my point is, standard high-speed trains can be made to go faster by a considerable amount.

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