Does High-Speed Rail Have a Steering Wheel?
3 Answers
High-speed rail does not have a steering wheel. Here are the relevant details: No Need for a Steering Wheel: All railway vehicles, from steam locomotives to diesel locomotives, electric locomotives, and high-speed rail, do not have steering wheels. Early diesel and electric locomotives had hand wheels similar to steering wheels, used for accelerating and decelerating. Trains run along tracks and do not require a steering wheel. High-Speed Rail: High-speed rail, abbreviated as HSR, refers to a railway system designed with high standards to allow trains to operate safely at high speeds. The concept is not limited to the tracks and does not specifically refer to the trains. According to the "High-Speed Railway Design Specifications" issued by China's National Railway Administration, high-speed rail is defined as newly constructed passenger-dedicated railways with a standard gauge, designed for speeds of 250 km/h (inclusive) to 350 km/h (inclusive), operating EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) trains.
Last month, I took my child on a high-speed train, and he pointed at the driver's cabin asking if there was a steering wheel. High-speed trains really don't need a steering wheel! The wheels are locked onto the tracks, and turning is entirely guided by the tracks directing the wheels, just like a toy train on a track. In front of the driver is the train control system, with a few buttons and a lever handling acceleration and braking. When encountering a switch, just press a button to change tracks. However, if the tracks are slippery on rainy days, the wheels might occasionally make a clanking sound—that's the wheel flanges wrestling with the tracks. If you pay attention during curves, you'll see the beautiful arcs formed at the carriage connections, much more elegant than any steering wheel turn.
After driving long-haul trucks for thirty years, I still instinctively reached for the steering wheel when first operating a high-speed rail simulator. The railway system is fundamentally different—train wheels have flanges on the inner edges, and the two rails clamp the wheels to form a fixed path. The driver's console features just a traction lever to control speed and a brake handle for stopping, accompanied by rows of signal lights and monitoring screens. No steering is required on curves; the entire guidance system operates passively. However, newly developed articulated train bodies now enable active steering, making cornering smoother. The design philosophies behind road and rail systems truly diverge dramatically.
