r/MAHSR

Feel the Speed!! 🚅

Note: These figures represent the per-passenger cost for energy, fuel, chicken nuggets, or electricity, rather than actual ticket prices.

• By Car: The average travel distance is 520 km with an average travel time of 8h 10m acc Team-BHP.
  Fuel costs are based on a Petrol Maruti achieving 17 kmpl with 4 passengers onboard.
• HSR (High-Speed Rail): Covers 508 km in 2h 07m according to public information. Electricity costs are loosely taken at 30 kWh per km at ₹9.8 per kWh, assuming an 8-coach train carrying 750 passengers.
• Flight: According to MakeMyTrip, the duration ranges from 1h 10m to 1h 30m, so I've averaged it to 1h 20m over a flying distance of 450 km. Fuel costs per passenger in an A320 are calculated at 15.4 liters of fuel at ₹90.4 per liter.
• Vande Bharat: Covers a distance of 491 km in 5h 30m acc to RailYatri. Electricity consumption is 20 kWh per km acc to TOI at a price of ₹9.8 per unit.
• Usain Bolt: With an average speed of 9.58 m/s, many tabloids say that Bolt consumed 100 chicken nuggets a day in his prime while running approximately 500m at sprint speeds. At a price of ₹200 for 9 nuggets, Bolt would consume 100 nuggets to run 500m at full speed.
• Walking: Based on 5 km per day at an average speed of 1.34 m/s. This requires 2,500 calories or 50 nuggets at a price of ₹200 per 9 nuggets.

Pic 1: A worker filling the gap between the stopper and the slab with sealant. This liquid creates a watertight seal and acts as a buffer for thermal expansion, preventing the concrete from cracking.

Pic 2: Japanese J-Slab tracks.

Pic 3: J-Slab precast unit (L&T factory). The circular cutouts lock onto cylindrical stoppers 👉🏼👌🏼 to prevent the track from moving laterally or longitudinally.

Pic 4: Chinese CRTS III track. It features a smooth surface because the stoppers (shear keys) are hidden underneath. Unlike the Japanese design, it uses no liquid sealant and uses different method to tackle thermal expansion.

Pic 5: Chinese CRTS I. An earlier generation of Chinese track that uses the rectangular stoppers shown here.