The History of a 515,3 km/hour World Record Wheel

The latest world record is an exploit achieved after many years of research and development. Long before the decision was taken in 1971 to produce the TGV 001 prototype, VALDUNES and the SNCF railway administration were working for the future. With this aim, we first learnt to run at a speed of 160 km per hour, prior to setting the world record at a speed of 515,3 km per hour. Each step forward has forced the wheel producer to adopt increasingly severe criteria. In addition to non-destructive testing, the high-speed wheelsets have been proven in service. This is the sole way to not only set a record but also ensure reliability in daily service. In fact, the TGV high-speed train is based upon the best results of previous studies and the same metallurgical studies have also led to improvements in conventional rolling stock. The latest contribution to the high-speed wheels has been set down in a technical standard relating specifically to such wheels. But the development of the TGV wheel is not yet complete and weight saving and the reduction of rolling noise now constitute the lines of research.