Type N700 bullet train nears 200 mph in Japan
Back in April, we showed you designs that Japan has to make magnetic levitation trains a reality. Being that those trains are not expected to be ready for consumers until 2025, I thought I'd show you something more current. Here is the Type N700 bullet train, reportedly the first update of the Type 700 since it was introduced when we were party-party-partying like it was nineteen-ninety-nine. The updated train, jointly developed by Central Japan Railway and West Japan Railway, is capable of traveling at 186 miles per hour, up from the old 168.5.
Don't miss some of the technical details about the train, like how it has software designed to allow these high speeds through twists and turns and through mountains. Additionally, this article (in Japanese) apparently points out that future developments will allow wireless internet use and AC power for electronics while on the commute. How awesome would it be if you could get on the train on your way to work and have all of your emails replied to before even getting into the office? Of, even better! You could have all the day's posts from AutoblogGreen read through from your RSS Feed on your way into the office. Now, that's what we call progress.
[Source: Engadget]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tony Belding 8:07PM (7/04/2007)
I'm still hacked off that the plan to build a bullet train here in Texas failed, and now instead we are getting a $150 billion toll-highway boondoggle called the Trans-Texas Corridor that will gobble up vast tracts of farmland and create a flat Berlin Wall through the middle of the state. We could have had something the state could be proud of, and instead we got a nightmare.
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litteuldav 3:41AM (7/05/2007)
Here in France we have 200 mph fast trains in commercial use since 1981 (they were 160 mph at the time).
On the new line Paris-Strasbourg, a prototype of this train broke the world record for a rail train at 575 kmh (357mph), just below the world record for a magnetic train of the Japaneses at 581 kmh.
If you too want a TGV, just ask Alsthom, this is not cheap, but reliable ;-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGV
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gsolman6 1:40PM (7/05/2007)
"I'm still hacked off that the plan to build a bullet train here in Texas failed, and now instead we are getting a $150 billion toll-highway boondoggle called the Trans-Texas Corridor that will gobble up vast tracts of farmland and create a flat Berlin Wall through the middle of the state. We could have had something the state could be proud of, and instead we got a nightmare."
I agree 100%. We have the likes of Southwest airlines to thank for that. Still I heard last year that Southwest is behind the T-bone proposal (http://www.thsrtc.com/) which frankly looks like a better idea.
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gray 3:54AM (7/18/2007)
I took it last week. Real sleek being on a new train. If you cannot ride it, I found some vids of it
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/japans-newest-shinkansen-bullet-train-the-n700-videos/
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