Quote:
Originally Posted by LlewellynJones
But the track can physically sustain trains travelling at whatever the trackspeed is on the other parts of the route?
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Not necessarily. While the rails and sleepers may be the same, you also have to factor in horizontal and vertical curvature, ballast/formation, super elevation (camber), level crossings, signals, over-bridge bridge clearance, underbridge design loadings, noise effects, etc. Axel loadings and vehicle design may result in train-specific limits, e.g. 201-class locos often have a lower speed limit than other rail vehicles due to their weight, even though they are capable of the high speed.
The two main factors on this route appear to be curvature and level crossings.