JAPAN’S $100 BILLION WORLD’S FASTEST TRAIN
Do you know trains can feel quite old-fashioned in a lot of ways with long-distance travel very much the preserve of the plane in modern culture a long-distance train as a mode of public transport can be seen as quirky rather than the go-to option!! Japan through is determined to change that let us tell you how:
Japan’s world record-breaking Maglev L- Zero passenger train has been under testing since it was unveiled to the press in November of 2012 achieving the speed of 374 miles per hour the technically advanced train is eventually intended to run on the Kansan line a route between Japanese capital Tokyo and the substantial provincial city of Osaka. The first phase will run about two-thirds of the way to Nagoya by around 2027 with the remaining Osaka stretch coming into play in roughly 2045 nearly 100 years after Japan first looked at Maglev technology the 47 billion construction of the phase to Nagoya 85 percent of which will run in tunnels will enable the run from the capital to the provincial. A distance of around 185 miles to happen in just 40 minutes. When the route to Osaka more like 250 miles will open it will blast to the capital in just one hour and seven minutes, a massive time saving once you factor in airport check-ins and city center train station location. The total cost to Osaka is expected to be 100 billion or so dollars. Maglev of course combines a member of different techniques to achieve their breathtaking speeds. The key one perhaps is the concept alluded to in the name Magnetic Levitation. This system uses only a single moving part of the train itself.
The Japanese system is called the SC Maglev. Maglev uses a system of superconducting magnets to push the train away from its track. Typically a u-shaped guideway and hold it in a position has a key benefit the train doesn’t sit on anything but hovers are a very small distance above the track and so the main source of friction that would otherwise slow the train is eliminated. A second magnet system is used to propel the train with the alignment of poles on the magnets used to simultaneously push the train away using repelling forces on the other hand and pull it forward using attracting ones on the other when the system is cooled to a low temperature it’s particularly efficient and while it can be expensive to set up the lack of moving parts means it’s cheaper and more reliable to run. And the lack of friction produces that speed there are other benefits to the Maglev system too. Including a smooth ride created by the total lack of contact with the path, the train is following. It’s also impossible for a Maglev train on a track to catch with another train. As the track control the speed which as a result is the same for every train traveling on it, that means there’s no risk at all of the collision at least between trains that said there a lot of requirements to have the world’s fastest train or indeed any Maglev train but not enough to stop China and South Korea also running the same system which is already functional in Shanghai and between Seoul and South Korea’s southern coastline. One such requirement to run the system is the specific track layout for the Maglev which cannot share with more conventional trains making it a costly setup. Additionally, the sheer speed of the train means it minimal and relatively slight curves, which can also be a limiting factor depending on the location in practice issues around putting in tunnels have been a major delay factor in Japan. Alongside environmental protest especially around the tunnel’s impact on the water levels in local rivers. The financial consequences of the coronavirus pandemic have also impacted the project’s finances which rely on to the same degree on passengers using the conventional rail system and may delay the launch still, the planning of the project offers Tokyo Olympic trail rides before the international audience was curtailed by the coronavirus. The Maglev L0 the specific train being trialed in Japan by the JL central Japanese railway company has built the technology to the highest level seen globally so far and that’s what’s helped push the speed out to 374 miles per hour in testing the top speed is unlikely to be hit in the commercial journey which is expected to top out at closer to 300 miles an hour but could yet go up still further in experimental conditions. It’s already possible for tourists to experience the train by booking onto a sort after preview ride on the Yamanashi line, the 26-mile circuit on which the train broke that speed record pulling no less than 7 coaches at the time the train has also been able to travel 2500 miles in a single day of testing. The most recent model of the Japanese Maglev is rather called the improved Maglev L0 and was launched in May of 2020. It makes some improvements to the power system of the original with power how able to be provided through the track and also develop the aerodynamic of the front car as well as adding an on-board generator. If the power is cut, the train will simply glide to a stop. The aerodynamic improvement is said to be important to the speed of the train but also to the noise it makes cutting through its surroundings so quickly making the train feel more comfortable in an everyday commercial environment. While this latest model is unlikely to be the final one designer Motowaki Tarai has told the media that the latest version achieves 80 to 90 percent of the train’s ultimate design goals and like the earlier version consists of a 12-car set. For now, the actual trail train consists of a combination of the two different models running some new and some older carriages once in practical use the train will cut the current travel time between Tokyo and Osaka to around two and a half-hour by train by more than fifty percent. It’s fair to say the media were impressed when they were given a chance to glance at the technology on the test track which has hosted over two million test miles so far. In a little under three minutes, it reached 310 miles per hour its top commercial operating speed said reporter Kaisuke Umida who experience the test run in the newest version. ‘ I tried placing a plastic drink bottle in the drink holder to check the vibrations inside the carriage, it moved a little but remained stable’. He also describes the experience of that startling speed as like a movie wrap scene. There may soon be Maglev on the way to the US too with a proposed northeastern corridor route between Washington DC Baltimore ultimately intended to incorporate New York under discussion. The talks are said to be ongoing on whether construction can begin having stalled under the Trump administration due to a lack of support virgin hyperloop and Elon Musk’s boring company are making use of similar technology to that said functioning Maglev remains a relative rarity around the world but they’re an efficient and relatively environmentally friendly way of providing middle distance transport at exceptionally high speed especially once you account for those airport check-in times. Japan’s development is quite online yet as a functional piece of transportation but when it is, it will be market-leading does this kind of transport appeal to you, would you enjoy the speed at low altitude would you ever consider a trip to Japan just to give it a try and is it worth billions of dollars in costs.
