Japan maglev train breaks world speed record

A Japanese train breaks the world speed record during a manned test by reaching 375mph

A Japanese magnetically levitated train has broken its own world speed record for the second time in five days.
The maglev broke the 600 kilometres per hour (372.82mph) barrier for the first time on Tuesday and hit a top speed of 603 kph (374.69mph) on a test track in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo.
Operated by Central Japan Railway, the manned test run surpassed the 590 kph (372.82mph) that it recorded on the same track on Thursday.

 

 Central Japan Railway's seven-car maglev  short for "magnetic levitation"  train returns to the station after setting a new world speed record in a test run near Mount Fuji

The maglev uses electrically charged magnets to “float” above the track and is propelled by magnetic pulses at speeds well beyond the capabilities of conventional railways because the vehicle does not require wheels, axles or bearings.

Satisfied that the technology works, JR Central is now going to devote its resources to developing a maglev track that will by 2027 link Tokyo and Nagoya in 40 minutes. The journey by bullet train presently takes 90 minutes.

More than 80 percent of the 177-mile Linear Chuo Shinkansen track will be beneath ground, although this has generated concerns over how to dispose of an estimated 2 billion cubic feet of soil and rock that need to be excavated for the tunnels.

The company intends to extend the track be extended to Osaka by 2045, reducing the journey from Tokyo to Japan’s second city to just one hour.

The cost of the project has been put at Y8.44 trillion (£47.5 billion) but Japan intends to earn some of that investment back by exporting the technology.

Plans are in place for Japanese firms to build a maglev system in the United States, where it would link Washington DC and Baltimore in a mere 15 minutes.

Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, leaves for a state visit to the US on Sunday. His discussions are expected to include plans for a maglev track in the north-east.