The quest for faster train travel continues with JR Central taking their Superconducting Maglev Train to 603kmh (or roughly 374.6mh).
The L0 Test Shinkasen – Image, JR Central/Yamanashi Linear Museum via Twitter
603km/h… that’s pretty hard to imagine. Let’s put this into context verses “conventional” rail
- The UK InterCity 125 = 125mph / 201km/h
- The US Acella Express = 150mph / 241km/h
- The Japanese N700 Shinkansen = 186mph / 300km/h
- The French TGV POS = 199mph / 320km/h
- The German Railway ICE 3 = 199mph / 320km/h
Meanwhile the fastest railway in the world – the Shanghai Maglev (based on the TransRapid technology by Siemens) clocks in at a top speed of 311 mph or 501 km/h.
The L0 Seven Car Maglev train hit its top speed for 10.8 seconds, travelling 1.8km during that time.
The tests in the Yamanashi prefecture are another step forward towards the Chuo Shinkansen line which will link Shinawaga in Tokyo with Nagoya and eventually with Osaka.
Currently, the fastest service between Tokyo and Osaka takes 2 hours 25 minutes. The Chuo Shinkansen will smash those times, with a planned 1 hour 7 minute service. Tokyo to Nagoya will take a mere 40 minutes compared to the 1 hour 40 minutes it currently takes.
Those of you booking tickets to Japan to try this – hold your horses. Like any innovation, it’ll take time to build. The first segment between Tokyo and Nagoya won’t be open until 2025, with the Nagoya-Osaka section to be completed by 2045.
For now, you’ll have to stick to the current Shinkansen services between the cities and zip along at a mere 186 mph / 300km/h.
Those of you using a Japan Rail Pass will have to stick to the Hikari Rail Star or Kodama as the the very high-speed service Nozomi isn’t covered by this pass.
We all like air travel, but it does require heading out to an airport, going through security, waiting, flying, and getting to the centre of a city.
Rail still offers a centre-to-centre advantage which airlines can’t match on rail routes under 3 hours – especially when High Speed Rail is in play. The Shinkansen on certain routes have killed off air travel, and the Chuo Shinkansen will shrink Japan a little more when it enters service.
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