Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 27, 1993                   TAG: 9305270254
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

HIGH-SPEED X2000 BANKS ON FUTURE

Powered by an electric engine that is shaped like the "bullet" trains of Europe and Japan, the high-speed "tilt" train looks much like a regular Amtrak train. But the passenger cars have axles that pivot independently, allowing the X2000 to travel up to 40 percent faster around curves than conventional trains.

Suspended between each car and the axle are sets of bellows that cushion the train as it takes the curves. A computer-controlled hydraulic tilting system banks the cars inward in response to the radius of the curve and the speed of the train.

The rigid axles of a conventional train keep the wheels straight, even on a curved track. When the train hits a curve, a cup of coffee on a passenger's tray is sent sliding. On the tilt train, the cars tilt into the curve, so the centrifugal force of the curve isn't felt and the cup remains still.