The Race To Create The Fastest Train | The Ultimates: Supersonic Trains | Spark

An exploration of extreme speed and power, focusing on the scientific research behind notorious war-time explosions, the worst collisions in sports car history, supersonic trains, thrill rides, strike planes, and attack helicopters.
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Content originally produced in 2003 and licensed from Cineflix to Little Dot Studios. Any queries, please contact us at: [e-mail]
#Spark #TheUltimates #ModernTrains

[@nigangte6984]

I really liked all the comments complaining about the terrible background sound

[@K-Effect]

I wish they would focus on making a good quality, calm and educational documentary. Instead they give us fast-paced action, rave music with added super loud sound effects and some jerk borderline yelling at you

[@maa1649]

Thats what i was thinking 🤨 🤔 to 😅

[@qjtvaddict]

Education is not something Americans value

[@guringai]

Well said!

[@Peizxcv]

This documentary is like 15 years old. I remember watching it on History Channel. Loved it back then when History Channel still create contents

[@railenthusiastabhishek1527]

The tilting technology in Alstom Pendolino is actually from UK itself. The system was first developed by the erstwhile British Rail Engineering Limited in the form of Advanced Passenger Train. Then BREL sold the patent of APT to FIAT. Then FIAT became a part of Alstom and that’s how Alstom developed Pendolino family of trains, to which the class 390 train belongs.

[@maestromecanico597]

Jeez this is dated. Those "new" Acela trains are in the process of being replaced after barely 20 years of service.

[@SparkDocs]

Hi Maestro, yes this video is from 2003, as mentioned in the description. We like to give a platform to documentaries and films that would otherwise be lost to time :)

[@fuqupal]

@@SparkDocs Thanks for clarifying that so I can unsub

[@maestromecanico597]

@@SparkDocs History is very important to me. Nevertheless,puff piece promotional prodigalities concerning Acela (affectionately referred to in the business as “the pig”) are best left forgotten.

[@martinfidel7086]

The new Acela train was not new in 2003 as the UK Advanced Passenger Train (APT) was on the rails on the 7th June 1978 ! it did the speed and the tilt

[@sullivan912]

@@martinfidel7086 The Acela was pretty much the APT with a new coat of paint.

[@babyface965]

1st clip shows ICE and shinkansen me: *autoclick* ... video shows american tech me: *auto exit*

[@aoilpe]

Stopped watching after 11 minutes because I could not hear you behind the music and noises... 👎🏼

[@Titot182]

This documentary is almost as ancient as Tiff Needell narrating it. No fatalities on the TGV? Wasn't there a few during that derailment in 2015? I also didn't know that Dickinson spaffed off to Deltics

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

Lol, ipod. Nice to see these old docus online.

[@RR-us2kp]

Who's doing that voiceover? Is that Tiff Needell?

[@mattcy6591]

What's an ipod

[@TheKaiTetley]

Is that a serious question? It’s something your grandmother used to listen to music.

[@mickgatz214]

ahhhh, The Need for Speed. :) Great Doco, thanx guys!

[@YeshuaAgapao]

Japan, France, German transporting passengers. America transporting payloads of war.

[@samsunglg6671]

The trip on the Acela isn't completely at full speed (150mph), most of the way it is way slower than it's limit running at the 2 digits pace. Picture how much faster the Acela can run if it has its own track moving at 150mph instead of sharing w freights.

[@samtrak1204]

Acela doesn't share track with freights.

[@samsunglg6671]

@@samtrak1204 on second thought, that could be the regular AmTr that shares w freight

[@1MrBryn]

Wait, was that Bruce Dickinson?!?

[@PlanetFinesse]

I thought he looked familiar as well!

[@martinhansen6466]

Yes.

[@Jimyjames73]

Basically what they said is going to happen has already happed as this was made back in 2003 & now it is 2021!!! 🙂🚂🚂🚂

[@nuc9901]

Japan had a unique advantage when they began the high speed train business. Unlike America where the Acela trains run on an existing standard gauge network, Japan's railway network was 3'6" gauge. That narrow gauge would never be adequate for real high speed passenger trains. And since they had to build a new network, they had the opportunity to design it for speed and safety. The French used a hybrid approach of high speed lines in the countryside tied to the conventional network to enter cities and their stations. We could do that, too, but it won't be cheap.

[@Conn653]

Glad to see this 18 year old film brought back to life! Does anyone have an update to this clip?

[@Nine-Signs]

only a written one Update: American trains did not get better.

[@bluebear6570]

America is more than 50 years behind when it comes to high speed rail service and they will never make it up.

[@axamesvc]

100-150 years minimum. However, America isn't the first in the world in a loooot of things including this one too.

[@cetGT3]

Tiff Needele

[@nuruddin1991]

No wonder in my head saying that I've heard this voice before.....

[@MrTaxiRob]

DEAR JOE: MOAR TRAINS PLZ

[@milton1969able]

I really liked reading all the comments explaining how this was an 15 year old tv thing so I didn't have to waste 45 mins of my life. Thankyou KZbin people.

[@abc-wv4in]

I know this is an old video, but I'd never heard of the NASA and Air Force tests. They should have painted that pointy train like a yellow pencil, LOL.

I come from the future. The Transrapid maglev crashed, too 😔 due to human error. It meant the end for that design. The Shanghai airport line remains the first and only of its kind.

[@michael029138]

What good is updating the equipment if you can't update the track for higher speeds? There are only a few places where the Acela can hit 150 mph for a short time.

[@binarysignals9593]

The acceleration and deceleration rates are more important for high density intercity routes. The top speed is usually just a fallacy, especially when the high speed isn't sustained for 50miles continuously.

[@guringai]

I'd feel better about high speed trains if they built in enclosures to prevent hurting wildlife. Tunnels in some areas, etc I tried the ICE trains in Germany at 250ks a couple of years ago, fantastic!

[@abc-wv4in]

Tunnels would be bad for that, though. No way to escape if inside. I've ridden the ICE once, too! I like train travel but there isn't much where I live.

[@iannjari6833]

As usual, Americans are still using football fields as measuring units

[@QueenDaenerysTargaryen]

Impressive👍👍

[@boredgrass]

a lot of music and bombastic announcements of coming bombast gave up. and turned to the "BIg bigger biggest" series which has content and presented with wit and humour. I am surprised, other Spark docus are very well done!

[@cheeriemayanecontiga9028]

Is it tiff from fifth gear who's been dubbing ?

[@martinhansen6466]

Yes. 🏎️

[@solstar4778]

Try that race from other cities L.A./Houston/Chicago/ St. Louis/Buffalo/Miami/ Seattle/San Francisco----maybe if the put the routs underground or elevate them ! Also the train wrecks mangle cars not bounce off

[@freddoflintstono9321]

THE Bruce Dickinson? From the SNL cowbell sketch? :)

[@martinhansen6466]

Yes, he is a big fan of trians.

[@glaticstorm32]

in a race where every second counts... *Train losses by 10 minutes. Its too close to call lol

[@qjtvaddict]

If she wanted to get to the airport she could have just umm took the train like smart people

[@hamjamradio8583]

"here we have the fibre optic coming down into something called an optical box" REEEEEEEEEE "we have here 25,000 pulses of light a second-" REEEEEEEEEE "being delivered-" REEEE "onto the track." REEEE

[@WorldAfterCovid19TV]

Interesting! 👍

[@ClarksonsinUSA]

It looks like rail road crossing would become to unsafe!

[@PlanetFinesse]

I thought I recognized him. It's fucking Bruce Dickenson of Iron Maiden

[@catthecommentbothunter6890]

0:32 a Diesel Electric locomotive named Flying scotsmans well that illegal🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@kiwitrainguy]

"The Flying Scotsman" was the name of the train that the diesel loco was hauling. Although there is a steam loco in the UK called The Flying Scotsman, that could explain the confusion.

[@My-Opinion-Doesnt-Matter]

21:50 24:22 how fast can a train go on those rails?

[@bergamote69]

In France since 40 years between Lyons and Paris the speed trains is from 270 to 300 kms per hour.

[@SamSitar]

i want to ride a jet train. they should extend that test track so it goes somewhere else.

[@johndasey8427]

The jet train has been scrapped it is no longer in existance

[@DonnaBrooks]

Wait, I thought aluminum didn't react to magnetism?! That's always been a way to test if something was made of steel or aluminum when sorting recyclables or buying cooking pots. If it's steel, the magnet will stick. If not, it's aluminum. So why does that piece of aluminum fly off to the side when he turns on the magnetism & lets go of it?

[@carlosmontalvo2922]

I never knew Amtrak had an experimental jet train until now

[@samtrak1204]

Antiquated rail infrastructure in USA will not support high speed jet train.

[@peterszar]

Am I wrong or is this the most energy inefficient vehicle in the world. The narrator stated the Acela draws 9,000kw of power. 1kw=1000 so multiply those numbers, that's a hell of a lot of power. For those without a calculator that's 9 million watt hrs.

[@axamesvc]

Acela is extremely outdated and already a shitty tech. In the distant future, Maglev (bullet) trains will be powered by solar energy, so there will be 0 percent of wasted energy.

[@kiwitrainguy]

I think they were talking about power not electricity. 9000 Kw = 12,069 horsepower which sounds realistic (but still a helluva lot).

[@bartduynstee1577]

the race between plane and train......................did they count in the cost of the taxi? maybe not so much cheaper after all.

[@user-bw3fj5dh3w]

Great lovely boss .train is my life .I love .Ice train.

[@perjensen3959]

Brilliant except when the backgound sound becomes the main sound.

[@mikecheckov5365]

im from the year 2052, came back to tell you all, teleportation portals will be invented in 2023, all primitive forms of mass transit become obsolete. In my year we have them on mars as well.

[@hanzkaran1966]

OKAY, SINCE WE ARE NOT IN YEAR 2052 YET, IS THERE ANYTHING WRONG IN SHOWING A VIDEO OR A DOCUMENTARY OF WHEN WAS THE FIRST MASS TRANSIT INVENTED AND HOW IT HAS EVOLVED FROM THEN AND TO THIS PRESENT DAY, YEAR 2021? WE ONLY HAVE 2 YEARS LEFT FOR THE INVENTION OF TELEPORTATION PORTALS IN 2023 AS YOU CLAIMED. IF YOU REALLY ARE FROM THE FUTURE, I THINK IT WILL BE BEST TO MAKE A DOCUMENTARY OF YOUR OWN, TELLING US HOW EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED IN YOUR TIME. DON'T JUST TELL US, EXPLAIN TO US.

[@mikecheckov5365]

@@hanzkaran1966 I cant, ive already broken the law in my original drunken comment, the temporal police are hot on my ass. I will be dead soon, born 2030, died 2021. Crazy world. I wish you all the best, history says this period is the most transformative time in human history. Enjoy it. PS - realistic sexbots soon!

[@maciekkra539]

Lets hope no one teleports you to Pluto by mistake.

[@kaiserhhaie841]

The fact that they have to take a cab to get to their primary modes of transport says a lot about how hostile America is to public transport. Cars everywhere.

[@TheFLOMAN76]

Hell yeah! Bruce Dickenson!

[@rockets4kids]

What these trains really need is more cowbell.

[@TheFLOMAN76]

@@rockets4kids Can't go wrong with more Christopher Walken!! Frankenstein, never scared him!.... Or Bruce!?..I'd wager. But how do we really know?! 🤔🤨😏

[@breakonthru7900]

Omg haha was that really him ?? I thot so anyway

[@TheFLOMAN76]

@@breakonthru7900 the one and only!

[@HoussemFathallah]

Horrible sound mix and background.

[@tombayless9759]

Cool

[@chicagonorthwesternrailfan5043]

The jet train isn’t even in service

[@brianfearn4246]

Even some Eurostar trains have eather been scraped or found there way into museums.

[@Mrsnichols1965]

Having proven that the plane and train are close in time from NYC to DC, the question is, how close in cost?

[@aoilpe]

And in CO2....

[@Mrsnichols1965]

@@aoilpe that will be a tough comparison. It's hard to know exactly how much power the train used, since there is no easy way to calculate energy used accurately. That said, it's likely the train wins that comparison.

[@blakena4907]

@@aoilpe I'd say the train wins in terms of least fuel used, and consequently less pollution produced, than a passenger aircraft. The sheer amount of fuel used on a single flight is likely a lot more fuel than the train can carry.

[@aoilpe]

Especially since the line is electrified...!

[@blakena4907]

@@aoilpe Yeahhh, that's my bad, man. I shouldn't have commented before I finished the video.

[@bxyify]

Why cant you get your sound right. The narrator is constantly screaming over the background noise.

[@armonrakhman3791]

Meglav! Go German technology!

[@qjtvaddict]

What makes HSR better than airplanes is not speed it’s connectivity in between cities and the cross platform transfers between high speed trains and local trains (regional trains) unlike planes small towns can easily be served by trains and in some cases trains link outer suburbs to cities quickly. But not in China tho

[@phillipramos4681]

How can you show a documentary from 2003. We are far ahead of this now..

[@NathanKirgis]

All about the money. Not making money on TV with this show any longer so the put it on KZbin to make money from the clicks.

[@TalasDD]

how old is this video. trans rapid has been defunkt for 6 years.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

I was gonna ask when this was made because clearly it's old if it thinks Acela is fast.

[@oldschoolman1444]

This is old video, and the tilting trains didn't work out well and were scrapped after a short time of service.

[@jamesbedford7327]

They are in fact still in use on the West Coast Mainline, London - Glasgow in the UK, mostly cause they work

[@madmanthan21]

Tilting trains are used all over the world, what are you talking about? it's only the APT which was rushed, and didn't work out well, if it would have been given more time, it would also have worked.

[@babytadpole2674]

0:49 why hello old friend mr 458

[@scottinWV]

Since Bruce was on here they should have used Iron Maiden for background music. Would have been better than that electrorave music.

[@Za7a7aZ]

Just a little faster and they can test time machines...

[@swedishdissident3406]

It would not be economically viable or practical to go at the speed of sound at ground level.

[@phillipkalaveras1725]

That's one problem we don't have to worry about here in the USA

[@hamjamradio8583]

bruh... we have trains tho

[@DonnaBrooks]

The U.S. has a huge part of the middle of the country that is flat & where the roads are straight for mile after mile. Why there isn't a MagLev train running through that area is a mystery to me. It's only that Americans love our cars & don't have the political will to demand SOTA public rail transportation. Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas & many more states have vast stretches of land devoted to corn, soy, cattle, & other Big Ag products. We (including large numbers of Chinese immigrants!) built the transcontinental railroad in the 1800s, then laid the transatlantic cable which still connects us to Europe today! But America seems to not want to do great things anymore.

[@MrAndyLocksmith]

This started off interesting but after 10 minutes of trying to constantly mentally convert kilometers to miles per hour I gave up!

[@mborder8428]

If America wants to have its own system of measurement , that’s fine, but you can’t expect the rest of the world to understand it or convert it for you. Miles, pounds and Fahrenheit make absolutely no sense to everybody else on earth.

[@kingsleykronkk3925]

A nation that prefers a mixed bag of fractions opposed to a simple 10 decimal metric system says it all.

[@MrAndyLocksmith]

@@mborder8428 I’m English, our speed limits are in MPH so are our tyre diameters and the Imperial system is still in very frequent use.

[@MrAndyLocksmith]

@@kingsleykronkk3925 You’ve assumed I’m American, I’m English.

[@danr1920]

In the beginning about the U.S. trains, they are just commuter trains. Just a long bus. In the whole picture, train travel amounts to nothing.

[@wshtb]

But trains are slower than planes and more expensive than cars. You definitely shouldn't invest in it.

[@XCutie782]

Trains are cheaper the planes and doesn't require very long to load. It's also much safer, and much more reliable.

[@louisiananimal1700]

Originally aired circa 2005

[@wilting_alocasia]

Got I hate the janky 2000s music loudly screaming out my speakers

[@matthewchang4706]

They have to build faster than a jet

[@davehitchman5171]

So they also have a diesel electric version, another woopee, how do the British rail Diesels work? The issue is that they are burning fossil fuel ( they could for example use petrol from air to get the fuel but they dont) and have to carry it around. The electric from overhead is more efficient though costs to set it up

[@ramblingrob4693]

Always the leaves which are the problem . over 100 years an still leaves thought

[@shjall]

Unwatcha with that background sound. Who edited this video?!?!?

[@johnpatrick1588]

The last I read there were only two high-speed trains in the world that are profitable and both in Japan.

[@qjtvaddict]

So what you are not a corporation

[@MegaAnticorruptos]

Hay que ser Merluzos para decir que un motor térmico es mejor que uno eléctrico. Aunque el vídeo es de hace ya 18 años, Los americanos aún siguen sin enterarse, y eso que tienen a Elon Musk, Pionero en vehículo de tracción eléctrica. Even though, this film was made 18 years ago, Americans aren't on the ball. Even though they have one of the greatest genius of EV Ingeniering they still thinking on termic technologie rather than electric one. Keep dreaming. In the meanwhile China is already enjoying the MAGLEV trains.

[@guringai]

Request- Can you report on hydrogen/ fuel cell powered trains & state of development? It's time to get off fossil fuels for transport

[@keith1222]

The editing on this video is terrible. Why all the constant cutting and jerky cameras?

[@vijayanchomatil8413]

GE developed turbine trains in the 60s. Why didn't they stay around?

[@qjtvaddict]

Non tilting trains need to be banned from the northeast corridor

[@ThePuschkin1986]

why does she fly out of JFK? wouldnt LaGuardia or Newark be closer to Manhattan?

[@kiwitrainguy]

Are there flights from LaGuardia or Newark to Washington DC ?

[@sailorboy105]

Ditch the music. Way too loud. Can’t hear the narrative

[@thelimeyshooter554]

Horrible. Unwatchabe with all the high and hyped up music. Sad😭

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

its a race that would take the fastest Chinese/Japanese trains just an hour; not 2 hours 35 minutes; in China if your pressed for time the high-speed train is the clear winner in this scenerio. it may be the clear winner from D.C. and Boston in China/Japan!!! AND THEY SAY THE NEC IS HIGH-SPEED RAIL - NO IT ISN"T!!!

[@TheKaiTetley]

This should have been done by The Grand Tour. On tonight’s show...James rides a bus...Hammond rides a train...and I drive the fastest car....In The World! Edit: A helium tube? Do not tell Elon Musk.

[@craigallen5963]

It's great to go fast, as in, "Mach" whatever, however, the thing is, can it STOP just as fast. I wouldn't want any part of a train going 'Mach 3' for example, unless it can STOP just as fast.

[@Mrsnichols1965]

I would bet that its 0 to mach3 time interval is much longer than its mach3 to 0 time interval. Thus, it fits your criteria as described. That said, you may not understand what you are asking the train to do.

[@maa1649]

Very true, I don’t believe it until i se it.

[@Tiger1x1]

Why you keep uploading decade old documentaries instead of making a fresh one.

[@ronniedelahoussayechauvin6717]

I don’t know anything about TRAINS & RAILWAYS

[@punman5392]

If she took the subway to the airport she would be there quicker

[@debrainwasher]

The CRRC Fuxing (China) is technically much more advanced than the Acela. Chinese engineers are allowed to do things, western engineers can't do due to costs and inflexibility of our managers: They can use the fastest mechanical actors, available to humankind: Voice-Coil and Piezo-Drives. this results in high speed, ultimate passenger comfort and low wear.

[@angryblackman857]

Why America do not have bullet trains ???

[@My-Opinion-Doesnt-Matter]

They aren't profitable.

[@angryblackman857]

@@My-Opinion-Doesnt-Matter let me laught it's your planes and cars who are profitable ? You are scrambling, your infrastructures are Bad compare to china, and they are developing fast, your economy will take the same path.

[@greatportlandstreetmodelra6513]

„Soon trains might go supersonic in the not so distant future „ . What a nonsense. The first railway was build nearly 200 years ago. What changed? Nothing. The maximum speed of a class 800 is still set to 125 mph. Mallard did that nearly 100 years ago. Railways will stay like that forever. Theyˋre already perfect if there were not any delays. The stupid vision of hyperloop will be scraped due to insufficiency and high costs. The only thing that might change is the design of a train. Eventhough that is questionable aswell.

[@qjtvaddict]

Spoken like a true anglophone fool that can’t evolve pathetic

[@greatportlandstreetmodelra6513]

@@qjtvaddict whats your answer then?

[@ianalexander2017]

@@greatportlandstreetmodelra6513 they have changed you bum nothing else to complain about so you watch this to complain.

[@greatportlandstreetmodelra6513]

@@ianalexander2017 nothing but the design has changed. They are still functioning like they did a hundred years ago. And they will still work like that in the next 100 years aswell. There is nothing to change really. The only thing that might have changed is, that they introduced high speed rail service, and thats it. Btw, you seem american to me, what do you guys know about trains? You got nothing, but slow amtrak trains and cargo trains that are thousands of miles long, as there are not enough tracks. American railways did not change at all.

[@andyistphdhpc2726]

0:49 F

[@loddude5706]

Shame the noisy 'sounds-track' drowns out Tiff's narration - what a waste of his work.

[@michielferreira6606]

Terrible sound!!!