A Japanese maglev bullet train owned by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) made history last week by hitting a top speed of 590 k/h (366 mph) on a test run through the Yamanashi prefecture in central Japan.

This beats the previous speed record of 580 k/h (361 mph), which has been standing since December 2003, and a spokesperson for JR Central says they expect to beat the record again tomorrow, when a second test run could hit speeds of 600 k/h.

The train can achieve such ridiculous speeds because rather than running directly on tracks, which causes a whole lot of friction, it’s suspended above the rails using very powerful magnetic levitation - "Maglev" is an abbreviation of "magnetic levitation".

Right now, the tracks run between Uenohara and Fuefuki - two cities west of Tokyo - but JR Central plans to expand this to connect Tokyo with Nagoya in the country's centre by 2027. That’s when they say the public will be able to ride in this new, super-speedy model, but it’ll likely be limited to 500 km/h.

Which still sounds amazing, compared to the speeds we get elsewhere in the world. As Fiona MacDonald reported for us late last year, "Australia is stuck with trains that generally max out at a comparative crawl of around 160 km/h, and in the US, the top speed of rail transport is around 240 km/h.”

In fact, the Japanese public have already experienced speeds of over 500 km/h, when an earlier model of the bullet train took 100 lucky passengers on the ride of a lifetime, which actually looked incredibly smooth.

Meanwhile, China is working on something even more outlandish, announcing last year that it’s developing a maglev train inside a near-vacuum space that, in theory, could travel 2,900 km/h - three times faster than a plane - due to the lack of air resistance. And Elon Musk’s Hyperloop train, designed to transport people across America at speeds of 1,200 km/h might just make it from pipe dream to reality thanks to a super-savvy group of engineers that have recently taken on the project.

Whatever the future holds for transport, one thing’s for sure: it’s gonna be fast.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVg1U8zWIH0

Source

I wonder why Japan will reduce the speed to 500km/h. . . Do they not want people experiencing the designed speed of the train?

I would like to see China achieve the above. A country which its tech was considered inferior. . .funny how things change. Somewhere down the line, scramjets are being developed which can take one from Tokyo to London in approx. 1hr. 30 mins.; Elon Musk's Hyperloop sounds interesting.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Africa, an oaf is threatening to kill 14 more Gambians and asking foreigners to go back or be killed, two parties are at each other's throats, two tribes insulting one another, nomads killing some, BH doing what they know to do. . .

Great china.. Really good dou

pls whats d top speed of our best n latest trains in naija?

bigiyaro:
pls whats d top speed of our best n latest trains in naija?

*clears throat* You see, I cannot categorically give you this information because I don't know the one my oga at the top will use. But if you insist, it is 500.. *clears throat* Daz all.

This is what we are talking about and not some abandoned train GEJ wasted our money on yet had the audacity to term it "transformation".

emorse:


*clears throat* You see, I cannot categorically give you this information because I don't know the one my oga at the top will use. But if you insist, it is 500.. *clears throat* Daz all.

u mean 500 kph? Haba! Dats too slow, why not make it 1k kph

ramdris:
This is what we are talking about and not some abandoned train GEJ wasted our money on yet had the audacity to term it "transformation".

Definitely but can your country afford such? Is Nigeria rich enough? Also factor in the training we are to go through for maintaining these facilities because you cannot build such without having a well-equipped workforce to maintain tech like this; what about our epileptic power supply? It has been estimated to cost $50m - $100m per km. If you were told to pay close to N10000 just to move from CMS to prolly Ajah, will you pay?

Japan is still planning to build one which would become operational in 2027 and it is to cost $82B. In fact, read below:

The Shanghai maglev demonstration line cost US$1.2 billion to build. This total includes capital costs such as right-of-way clearing, extensive pile driving, on-site guideway manufacturing, in-situ pier construction at 25 metre intervals, a maintenance facility and vehicle yard, several switches, two stations, operations and control systems, power feed system, cables and inverters, and operational training. Ridership is not a primary focus of this demonstration line, since the Longyang Road station is on the eastern outskirts of Shanghai. Once the line is extended to South Shanghai Train station and Hongqiao Airport station, ridership was expected to cover operation and maintenance costs and generate significant net revenue.

The South Shanghai extension was expected to cost approximately US$18 million per kilometre. In 2006 the German government invested $125 million in guideway cost reduction development that produced an all-concrete modular design that is faster to build and is 30% less costly. Other new construction techniques were also developed that put maglev at or below price parity with new high-speed rail construction.

The United States Federal Railroad Administration, in a 2005 report to Congress, estimated cost per mile of between $50m and $100m. The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) Environmental Impact Statement estimated a pricetag at US$4.9 billion for construction, and $53 million a year for operations of its project.

The proposed Chuo Shinkansen maglev in Japan was estimated to cost approximately US$82 billion to build, with a route requiring long tunnels. A Tokaido maglev route replacing the current Shinkansen would cost some 1/10 the cost, as no new tunnel would be needed, but noise pollution issues made this infeasible.

The only low-speed maglev (100 km/h or 62 mph) currently operational, the Japanese Linimo HSST, cost approximately US$100 million/km to build. Besides offering improved operation and maintenance costs over other transit systems, these low-speed maglevs provide ultra-high levels of operational reliability and introduce little noise[verification needed]and generate zero air pollution into dense urban settings.

As more maglev systems are deployed, experts expected construction costs to drop by employing new construction methods and from economies of scale

(Source is Wikipedia). Also consider this:

The Chuo Shinkansen (中央新幹線?) is a planned Japanese maglev line designed to ultimately connect Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. Its initial planned route is between Shinagawa Station in Tokyo and Nagoya Station in Nagoya, with stations in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Kofu, Yamanashi, and Nakatsugawa, Gifu, as well as an as-yet undetermined location in Nagano Prefecture. The line is expected to connect Tokyo and Nagoya in 40 minutes, and eventually Tokyo and Osaka in 67 minutes, running at a maximum speed of 505 km/h (314 mph). About 90% of the 286-kilometre (178 mi) line will be built underground or through tunnels.

Government permission to proceed with construction was granted on May 27, 2011. Construction of the line, which is expected to cost over ¥9 trillion, commenced in 2014. JR Central aims to begin commercial service between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027, with the Nagoya-Osaka section to be completed by 2045. JR Central is considering opening demonstration service from a new station in Kōfu by the 2020 Summer Olympics so that tourists can ride on the experimental track through the Yamanashi mountains.

BTW, the true record is 603km/h as it beat its own record of 590km/h which was last week.

Feraz:
Definitely but can your country afford such? Is Nigeria rich enough? Also factor in the training we are to go through for maintaining these facilities because you cannot build such without having a well-equipped workforce to maintain tech like this; what about our epileptic power supply? It has been estimated to cost $50m - $100m per km. If you were told to pay close to N10000 just to move from CMS to prolly Ajah, will you pay?

Japan is still planning to build one which would become operational in 2027 and it is to cost $82B. In fact, read below:

(Source is Wikipedia). Also consider this:


BTW, the true record is 603km/h as it beat its own record of 590km/h which was last week.

It's pple like u that are making nairaland informative and interesting. Thanks for a brilliant response. May u continue to grow in wisdom and knowledge, however I still personally feel those GEJ train are too far beyond behind to be use in this century. One love!

[Quote]

I wonder why Japan will reduce the speed to 500km/h. . . Do they not want people experiencing the designed speed of the train?

I would like to see China achieve the above. A country which its tech was considered inferior. . .funny how things change. Somewhere down the line, scramjets are being developed which can take one from Tokyo to London in approx. 1hr. 30 mins.; Elon Musk's Hyperloop sounds interesting.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Africa, an oaf is threatening to kill 14 more Gambians and asking foreigners to go back or be killed, two parties are at each other's throats, two tribes insulting one another, nomads killing some, BH doing what they know to do. . .[/quote]

The truth is dat we don't practice Engineering in this country. What we do in this part of the country is maintenance.
How many functional research centres do we have in this country? Sometimes I ask myself this question... is d black race cursed? All that comes into our head is violence... hate for one another.. We don't want to c d other man prosper... Travel outside this country, checkout black dominated areas, there is always violence... This is crazy...
As for those speed trains, am not sure I'll want to try that...

ramdris:

It's pple like u that are making nairaland informative and interesting. Thanks for a brilliant response. May u continue to grow in wisdom and knowledge, however I still personally feel those GEJ train are too far beyond behind to be use in this century. One love!

Thanks. Those rail tracks cannot just be removed because it is going to be expensive, besides, we can still use them for cargoes. If past governments had done something, we will not be where we are and this draws us to the problem we have - lack of maintenance and that scornful way of looking at what past administrations have done, maybe because we do not want people singing their names and saying you are building on what they started.

xdos:
[Quote]
The truth is dat we don't practice Engineering in this country. What we do in this part of the country is maintenance.
How many functional research centres do we have in this country? Sometimes I ask myself this question... is d black race cursed? All that comes into our head is violence... hate for one another.. We don't want to c d other man prosper... Travel outside this country, checkout black dominated areas, there is always violence... This is crazy...
As for those speed trains, am not sure I'll want to try that...

Even the maintenance, do we practice it well? We have this mentality of 'Abeg, na my property? Anyhow wee I do am, make them collect afterall I go still get my money'. I do not believe the black race is cursed, I only know we have not had a leader who can harness our diversities to create a strong nation under which every region will say - Yes!! He is the chosen one!.

I'd love to try those speed trains oh (nothing feels like feeling you're a little bit like Flash or Minato ).

CC: Ishilove, Obinoscopy, Lalasticlala

Feraz:

Even the maintenance, do we practice it well? We have this mentality of 'Abeg, na my property? Anyhow wee I do am, make them collect afterall I go still get my money'. I do not believe the black race is cursed, I only know we have not had a leader who can harness our diversities to create a strong nation under which every region will say - Yes!! He is the chosen one!.

I'd love to try those speed trains oh (nothing feels like feeling you're a little bit like Flash or Minato ).

Talking abt the black race cursed, am really not talking about Nigeria alone... Last time in the US, most of the time I took a drive to downtown Albany, there was always gunshots... Downtown Albany is dominated by blacks... One time I took a drive with my Italian friend to Newark, that guy was never at peace until we left.. Am not saying all the blacks there are violent oh.. but mehn..

The state of our universities is nothing to write home about. I remember then, the only time they get to open the labs are when the NUC comes around. Even our lecturers dont know how to practicalize what they teach.. Brains are wasting in those places..

xdos:

Talking abt the black race cursed, am really not talking about Nigeria alone... Last time in the US, most of the time I took a drive to downtown Albany, there was always gunshots... Downtown Albany is dominated by blacks... One time I took a drive with my Italian friend to Newark, that guy was never at peace until we left.. Am not saying all the blacks there are violent oh.. but mehn..

The state of our universities is nothing to write home about. I remember then, the only time they get to open the labs are when the NUC comes around. Even our lecturers dont know how to practicalize what they teach.. Brains are wasting in those places..

Honestly, it is tiring. Look at the recent cases of migrants - how many died only because they are trying to seek better life? Others going there threw another just cos their religions do not align. You wonder what the govt. of those nations are doing? You ask, where did we get it wrong?

The bolded, are you serious about the above?

Feraz:
Honestly, it is tiring. Look at the recent cases of migrants - how many died only because they are trying to seek better life? Others going there threw another just cos their religions do not align. You wonder what the govt. of those nations are doing? You ask, where did we get it wrong?

The bolded, are you serious about the above?

Ofcourse I am very serious... Our labs are ill equipped and dat is why we've got lots of brain drain.... Our people are very intelligent and that is why when they study outside, they make the best results.
I mean in 2015, there are things Nigeria as a country should not be depending on other countries for.. We have the brains... We have what it takes to move this country forward. The govt should equip our Universities.. Have our labs equipped and lecturers trained else our graduates will keep depending on them for survival.

xdos:
Ofcourse I am very serious... Our labs are ill equipped and dat is why we've got lots of brain drain.... Our people are very intelligent and that is why when they study outside, they make the best results.
I mean in 2015, there are things Nigeria as a country should not be depending on other countries for.. We have the brains... We have what it takes to move this country forward. The govt should equip our Universities.. Have our labs equipped and lecturers trained else our graduates will keep depending on them for survival.

So if it is closed, how are students supposed to learn and do basic experiments then? I think it is time govt. starts going undercover to various agencies to see how efficient they are.

Ishilove