construction - 3/3
The design of carriages for high-speed trains must take into account the forces to be absorbed in the event of the vehicle being in a collision. The construction of ICE 1 cars does not follow traditional practice. The floor forms part of the underframe to which the body is attached by welds. The bodies are made from aluminium extrusions which provides a weight advantage over steel but lacks its rigidity. However they are heat-treated to provide increased strength. A side effect of this is to lower the tensile strength by about 50% at the site of the weld. An examination of photographs suggest that the carriage body separated at the weld line. Further evidence that this may be a problem is available in the accident to a Pendolino train at Piacenza in Italy. The carriages for these trains are constructed in the same manner as those of the ICEs. Although the Pendolino was travelling at a lower speed, one of its carriages was split open in an even more spectacular manner. back more