Japan: Maglev Train Breaks Own Speed Record

[marmar]

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese maglev that is the fastest passenger train in the world has broken its own speed record.

Operator JR Central said the train reached 603 kilometers per hour (375 miles per hour) in a test run on Tuesday, surpassing its previous record of 361 mph (581 kph) set in 2003. The train traveled for just over a mile (1.8 kilometers) at a speed exceeding 600 kph (373 mph).

Japan's high-speed rail services are among the most advanced in the world, with hundreds of trains running each day with minimal delays. However, unlike regular shinkansen or "bullet trains" that run on steel rails, magnetic levitation trains hover above rails, suspended by powerful magnets.

The Maglev Test Line, near Mount Fuji about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Tokyo, is developing technology for use on a future 410-kilometer (250-mile) link that will reduce travel time between Tokyo and Osaka to just over an hour. The current minimum by bullet train is nearly three hours. ....................(more)

http://www.masstransitmag.com/news/11927199/japans-maglev-train-breaks-own-speed-record-at-603-kph

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. About the proposed line:

Chūō Shinkansen

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.
....

Construction schedule and costs

JR Central announced in December 2007 that it planned to raise funds for the construction of the Chuo Shinkansen on its own, without government financing. Total cost, originally estimated at 5.1 trillion yen in 2007, escalated to over 9 trillion yen by of 2011. Nevertheless, the company has said it can make a pretax profit of around 70 billion yen in 2026, when the operating costs stabilize. The primary reason for the project's huge expense is that most of the line is planned to run in a tunnel (about 86% of the initial section from Tokyo to Nagoya will be underground) with some sections at a depth of 40 m (130 ft) (deep underground) for a total of 100 km (62 mi) in the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka areas.

If I'm doing the calculation right, 9 trillion yen is 75 billion dollars.

[MisterP]

2. and they have to build it because their HSR is *full*

that comes to $421M/mile--vs. ~$130-40M/mile for upgrading conventional routes into HSR: only one-fifth of what's going in in California is for the tracks themselves

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Did I say 75 billion dollars? I meant

more than that:

Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

21 April 2015

....
Construction costs are estimated at nearly $100bn (£67bn) just for the stretch to Nagoya, with more than 80% of the route expected to go through costly tunnels, AFP news agency reports.

[MisterP]

4. right, that's why maglev is second in line (or third?) after HSR

the only other current prospects would be Seoul-Pusan and maybe the Benelux: it's a different sort of track so everyone has to either transfer or "originate" on the line

that might be $100B in 2020s dollars, come to think of it (like CAHSR's $68B is like $60B today--or one Apple stock buyback!)