At Full Tilt : County Officials Praise High-Speed Train During Test Run

Ventura County leaders took a test ride Wednesday aboard an innovative high-speed “tilt train” that may someday carry local passengers to Northern California in half the present rail time.

County transportation commissioners and staff members praised the X2000 train’s plush cars and smooth ride during a scenic 70-minute run from Santa Barbara to Moorpark.

“Where could you find a more beautiful ride?” asked Commissioner Nancy Grasmehr, after the train rolled along the Pacific coastline, then headed inland through the lush farmland of Camarillo.

The X2000, which has operated in Sweden since 1990 and received an Amtrak tryout recently in the northeastern United States, is unusual because it tilts around curves. This allows it to run at higher speeds than conventional trains, which must slow down around bends.

Serious financial and legislative hurdles must be overcome before the X2000 could begin running on Amtrak’s popular Coast Starlight route, which stops in Simi Valley and Oxnard on its way from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.

But supporters say the tilt train is an attractive option because it could lure many travelers who now drive or fly to the northern part of the state.

The rail trip from Los Angeles to San Jose, which now takes about 10 hours, could be completed in five or six hours aboard the X2000, the train’s proponents said.

County Supervisor Vicky Howard, who serves on the Transportation Commission, said many county residents would prefer to board a northbound train locally, rather than drive an hour or more to Los Angeles or Burbank to catch a plane.

“I hate to go to LAX,” said Howard, who met the train when it arrived in Moorpark. “To be able to pick up a train in Simi Valley or Ventura would be more convenient.”

Passengers on the tryout run praised the interior of the X2000 rail cars, saying it bears strong resemblance to a commercial jetliner.

Riders sit in spacious cushioned seats, similar to those in a plane’s first-class section. Controls for lighting and music are built into the armrest.

For business travelers, the rail car provides glass-enclosed conference areas, pay telephones and outlets for laptop computers.

The train is designed to run on electrified track. But because the California coast route is not electrified, the demonstration trip required a diesel locomotive to push the rail cars.

Its supporters say the X2000 is capable of running at up to 110 m.p.h. But because of rail regulations and track conditions, the train’s speed Wednesday did not exceed 79 m.p.h.

The X2000’s California tour, which began Friday in Sacramento and ended late Wednesday at Union Station in Los Angeles, was financed largely by its manufacturer, ABB Traction Inc., and by Southern Pacific Transportation Co., which owns the track along the coastal route.

Rival bullet-trains in France and Japan, which whiz along at up to 200 m.p.h., can outrun the X2000. But these systems require the construction of costly new tracks.

A key cost advantage of the X2000 is that it can operate along existing tracks, said Mike Ongreth, a Southern Pacific vice president who was aboard Wednesday’s demonstration run.

Ongreth said a new bullet-train route between Los Angeles and San Francisco could cost up to $7 billion. In contrast, roadbed and signal improvements to run the X2000 on Southern Pacific’s coastal line would cost about $360 million, he said.

The project would require government funding to cover such costs, Ongreth said.

Although some state lawmakers believe high-speed train service along the coast deserves study, California Department of Transportation officials do not favor the X2000 system.

The tilt-train technology “doesn’t have a practical application in California” because most of the state’s rail routes follow a straight course, Caltrans spokesman Jim Drago said last week.

Caltrans is investing in another type of rail system and is focusing on a different route that would connect Los Angeles and Sacramento through the San Joaquin Valley.

“I think Caltrans is wrong,” Ongreth said. “I think the facts will prove (the X2000) is highly practical.”

How the ‘Tilt Train’ Works New technology-flexing axles and a hydraulic tilting system-enable the X2000 “tilt train’ to lean around curves and maintain speeds up to 110 m.p.h. This could cut the 10-hour trip from Los Angeles to San Jose in half. Using the existing tracks of Amtrak’s coast route, it would run through Ventura County. The Axles The rigid axles of a conventional train keep the wheels straight, even on curved tracks. The axles of the X2000 flex, and align the wheels with the rails, allowing the train to maintain higher speeds through curves. Hydraulic tilting system: Speeds up to 40% higher than conventional trains produce greater centrifugal forces. To assure passenger comfort,, the X2000 compensates with a car body tilting system. Sensors and microprocessors feed information to the cars, enabling them to tilt appropriately on curves. Source: ABB Traction, Inc.