The Green Train (in Swedish ‖Gröna Tåget‖) is a high-speed train concept, that is economical, environmentally friendly and attractive to travellers. It is suited to specific Nordic conditions with a harsh winter climate, often varying demand and mixed passenger and freight operations on non-perfect track. The main proposal is a train for speeds up to 250 km/h equipped with carbody tilt for short travelling times on electrified mainlines. The concept is intended to be a flexible platform for long-distance and fast regional passenger trains, interoperable in Scandinavia, i.e. Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
The Gröna Tåget programme delivers a collection of ideas, proposals and technical solutions for rail operators, infrastructure managers and industry. This is part A of the final report, dealing with market, economy and service aspects, with an emphasis on the areas where research has been done within the Gröna Tåget research and development programme.
Passenger valuations and economy in train traffic exposed to competition are controlling factors in the design of the train concept. One important measure to achieve better economy in the train traffic with 15% lower total costs and the possibility to reduce fares is to use wide-bodied trains that can accommodate more seats with good comfort. Travel on some studied routes in Sweden may increase by 30% compared to today’sexpress trains through shorter travelling times, lower fares and more direct connections, which are possible with shorter, flexible trainsets.
Gröna Tåget will be designed to give good punctuality even during peak load periods. Doors, interior design, luggage handling and vestibules with lifts for disabled travellers must be dimensioned for full trains. A well-considered design reduces dwell times and delays.
Capacity utilisation on the lines increases with greater speed differences between express trains and slower trains in mixed traffic. Punctual stops and skip-stop operation for regional trains are a few of the measures that compensate for the increase in capacity utilisation and reduce disruptions.