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Japan has announced a megaproject for a magnetic train that promises to be the fastest bullet train in the world, using magnetic levitation technology. It is expected to surpass the incredible mark of 600 km/h.
Japan is a country famous for its technology and ingenuity, and now it is building a megaproject for the fastest magnetic passenger train in the world, a system that can reach up to twice the speed of normal bullet trains and will cut travel time in half by eliminating a very fundamental component: the wheels.
Japan's magnetic train could reach speeds of 603 km/h
Using magnetic levitation technology, this new bullet train floats 10 cm above the ground, eliminating friction caused by contact with the tracks.
However, the megaproject has been deeply controversial, facing delays, rapid construction costs and a fierce debate over environmental concerns. It is worth mentioning that Japan was the first in the world to develop high-speed trains with the construction of the Tokaido Shinkansen line, between Tokyo and Osaka, in 1959.
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When the magnetic train of the mega project Once completed, a journey that takes around 2,5 hours by conventional train will now take 67 minutes. At full speed, this magnetic levitation technology allows the bullet train to travel at 500 km/h, although in a 2015 test it reached an impressive 603 km/h. 103 km/h more.
It's widely accepted that these speeds are virtually impossible for a conventional bullet train to achieve. They're ultimately limited by the friction created by their wheels, and to solve this problem, Japanese engineers have turned back the clock to a technology that's been around since the 1900s: magnetic levitation, also known as maglev.
How will magnetic levitation technology work?
In fact, magnetic train concepts date back to the 60s and the world's first and, so far, only commercial line has been in operation since 2004, between Shanghai city center and its airport.
The Central Japan Railway Company has modernized this magnetic levitation technology, using superconducting magnets.
Electromagnets are refined at 269°C, allowing the trains to levitate higher above the tracks, but the trains need to be moving at a certain speed before the magnets kick in. Once the magnetic train reaches 150 km/h on its own, the magnetic levitation kicks in and the carriage is lifted off its rubber wheels.
Japan’s magnetic levitation bullet train then interacts with a set of coils on the track, one used to levitate its mass and the other to propel it forward. Now without wheels, the magnetic train cars can travel at incredible speeds. The trains are also fully autonomous, controlled by the track rather than a driver, a measure that makes collisions or accidents much less likely.
Bullet train will pass through several tunnels
Japan's megaproject has been under construction since 2014 and is scheduled to open in 2027. An additional extension connecting Tokyo to Osaka will begin construction immediately and will open in 2037, 10 years ahead of schedule. Unlike existing bullet trains, whose tracks skirt the Japanese coast, the new maglev train will be 90 percent underground, passing over the Southern Alps.
Of the 285 km of the line, 256 km will be in tunnels and the reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, magnetic levitation technology works best when traveling in as straight a line as possible and secondly, digging through mountains avoids the earthquake-prone Japanese coast.
However, by adopting this approach the Central Japan Railway Company ended up digging some of the deepest tunnels ever seen in Japan and this has raised several environmental concerns, especially in Shizuoka Prefecture, where the excavation threatens the Ohi River basin, an important source of water for the region.
This is reverse evolution, we will soon return to horses.
Indeed! Although he lies in a splendid cradle, he has been deprived of the right to dream.
Dreaming about what?! Handing over the entire country to foreigners and kissing the American flag every day?