Japan's L-Zero Maglev Train Reaches 310 mph In Trials 174
coolnumbr12 writes with this excerpt from IBTimes: "Japan's magnetic-levitation train is still more than decade away from completion, but the L-Zero recently proved that it really is the world's fastest train. On a 15-mile stretch of test track, the L-Zero reached speeds of 310 miles per hour. After the successful trials, Central Japan Railway Co. is going ahead with a 5.1 trillion yen ($52 billion) plan to build a 177-mile maglev line between Tokyo and Nagoya. CJR says the trip will take just 40 minutes on the L-Zero." There are other fast trains in the world, but the L-Zero edges out the others on this list.
Re:A me too case? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why does everything have to make a profit?
Can nothing be done for national pride or to push forward the cutting edge?
Re:why not in the USA or Russia (Score:4, Insightful)
This documentary should shed some light on this issue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taken_for_a_Ride
It's available for free on youtube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob2bYUtxlxs [youtube.com]
Energy efficiency? (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, from TFA:
Despite the falling national population, Tokyo continues to grow. Japan is hoping that the L-Zero maglev train will persuade millions of people to fly and drive less.
People would take the train more and fly/drive less if JR weren't stupidly inflexible about ticket prices. Unlike planes(and high speed trains in places like Europe for that matter), there is basically 0 flexibility in their prices. Going during prime hours costs the same as going early in the morning or on weekends etc. The reason people fly instead of taking the trains is simple, the trains are often times more expensive. It's already faster to take the train in most cases(esp. if you are going from Tokyo to Nagoya), but since the train is often times 2x as expensive as flying, even when the train is almost empty, I'm willing to put up with the extra time required to fly. So maybe instead of pouring massive amounts of money into faster trains, they should maybe think about hiring a couple of good logisticians who can actually work out a pricing system that actually takes advantage of these newfangled devices called "computers" to dynamically adjust prices to make JR more money AND give better customer satisfaction...... Meh, knowing JR, that's just a pipe dream. Bring on the maglevs!
Re:A me too case? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why a profit at all anyway? Shouldn't everything done by the governments be done at break-even costs?
Re:A me too case? (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, let's see.
Assuming the train travels between Tokyo and Nagoya, a distance of 177 miles according to the summary, and travels at 310 MPH that comes up with 34 minutes from Tokyo to Nagoya. What the heck, we'll make it 45 minutes, what with acceleration and deceleration and all.
Tokyo is one of the most densely populated areas in Japan and is pretty high up there in world rankings. Areas of high population density, of course, tend to be expensive places to live. Sure, you can have a place outside Tokyo for much cheaper but then you spend your life in traffic or on a train--not an attractive prospect.
Imagine if I could live in Nagoya and work in Tokyo and not have to spend hours a day commuting or living in a tube during the week and only being home on the weekends. Imagine that an employer might be more interested in hiring me as I could work "cheaper" since my living expenses could be far less in Nagoya. I remember reading how New York City's economy improved by creating infrastructure (i.e., bridges, trains) allowing people who lived in Brooklyn to conveniently get to New York City.
Also, Nagoya has a pretty big airport that is arguably under-utilized. Making it more convenient to access from Tokyo may improve that situation.
Re:why not in the USA or Russia (Score:4, Insightful)
It is weird i don't see any USA or Russian trains, they both got a vast country and a knack of looking for grandour.
How come that much smaller countries like Taiwan got faster trains, heh.
The Russian train system is very heavily used. People 'commute' on the trans-siberian.
A trans-siberian mag-lev would be awesome. The existing tracks are so fucked up its a very bumpy ride. The passenger and freight service shares the same tracks and those freight cars are the size of houses (Russian gauge is wider than the rest of the world, the freight cars are fucking HUGE) and visibly bend the tracks as they roll along... needless to say the rails don't bend back to straightness.
Re:A me too case? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:A me too case? (Score:4, Insightful)
fair enough. but what's the economic justification for the train to make sure the gov't breaks even? how do you make sure you don't build a billion dollar white elephant?
Re:A me too case? (Score:4, Insightful)
but what's the economic justification for the train to make sure the gov't breaks even?
Since when is "break even" even necessary: the US governmant for example doesn't charge people to use the interstates. From that narrow point of view, they made a massive loss.
Clearly the wider economic benefits of good trnsport is sufficiently clear that few people debate the need to have such a system.
the key with the train, just like road is to put it where people like to go.