Pages

Jun 21, 2011

Japan Speeding Ahead With 500km/h Maglev Train

Traveling the 515 km (320 miles) from Tokyo to Osaka by Shinkansen bullet train currently requires 2 hours and 25 minutes (and costs a small fortune, too). Come 2045, travel between Japan's two largest metro areas will take just over one hour, following the launch of the country's longest maglev track, which just received construction approval from Tokyo. The nine trillion yen project (approximately $112 billion) was first proposed in the 1970s, but was tabled indefinitely due to its astronomical costs, most of which stem from an extensive network of tunnels that will represent 60 percent of the route. 

You'll be able to get your Japanese Maglev fix beginning in 2027, when the Central Japan Railway launches its high-speed route between Tokyo and Nagoya. One notable neighbor to the west is already operating its own maglev train. China's Shanghai Transrapid has been blasting riders to Pudong airport since 2004, and once achieved a top speed of 501km/h (311 mph). The country is also constructing a 1000km/h vacuum-based train that it plans to launch within the next few years.
 
 

11 comments:

Zombie said...

Dang! Why cant I live in Japan?

Shahan said...

That's how public transport is supposed to be run.

Efficient and quick.

menshans said...

Damn, that's what I call FAST!

Wolle said...

Hell you don't want to crash with those things. Ever.

mens said...

that's one fast mofo

Daniel said...

impressive as ever

Atley said...

Only in japan where you have 6 more people per square foot then the average country can you pull this off. You have to have 100% or higher ridership to fund any kind of new age train. They just do not pay for themselves. too expensive.

Athanasian Complexio said...

There's actually another set of trains here in America that are being planned to set up by 2025 or earlier that will actually go faster. They plan on being able to make it from LA-NY in under an hour.

It's not only going to use magnetic properties to help it move along, but the tunnels will be a vacuum to cut down on drag.

Lizard said...

wowww thats fast.

Rudolf said...

great , 500km/h that is nice!

Douglas said...

Leave it to Japan to have the most awesome public transit system in the world!