Experiments and CFD in Train Aerodynamics: A Young and Turbulent Association Full of Potential

The advent of the modern high-speed train system may be dated back to 1964 with the opening of the first Shinkansen high-speed line in Japan, at an initial revenue service speed of 210 km/h. At same time it associated very fast rolling-stock and dedicated high-speed track infrastructure, it opened a new era for the aerodynamic design of ground transportation systems. On the one hand, the aerodynamic portion of the train running resistance was going over two third of the global running resistance. On the other, new kind of aerodynamic problems needed to be faced, such as those going together with train travels in tunnel and passing of opposite high-speed trains on adjacent tracks.