Japan ups the ante again on high speed trains, 217 mph!
The Japanese already have some of the fastest trains in the world and it looks like Kawasaki Heavy Industries is about to give travelers another reason not to get airborne. The new Environmentally Friendly Super Express Train will hit speeds up to 217 mph thanks to a slick shape to slice through the air and lightweight construction. Those same features will help the electrically-powered super-train use less energy. Also contributing to reduced energy consumption is a regenerative braking system that will recapture kinetic energy during deceleration. Kawasaki plans to complete the design work by early 2010 and hopes to offer the new train system worldwide.
[Source: EcoGeek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1985 Gripen 5:01PM (9/22/2008)
Sounds great for developed nations who can handle this sort of thing. The U.S. track system is so antiquated we can't handle such a modern advancement in rail technology.
I live about ten miles from where the Metrolink train collided with a freight train a couple weeks ago. We can't even get our freight and passenger trains to share the rails. The same day (about an hour after the derailment) another Metrolink train on the other side of Southern California crashed into a truck at a crossing killing the driver. The following Monday a Metro rail train in Downtown L.A. collided with an out-of-service public bus, injuring 13.
L.A., and I'm suspecting the rest of this country, isn't fit for rail travel. They'd have to build a whole new dedicated high-speed train infrastructure and I believe those costs are far too expensive. Better we give $700B of our taxpayer money to failed financial institutions and their multi-millionaire CEOs...
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Noz 10:21PM (9/22/2008)
Why would the US transportation industry want us to use trains when they have a mass populous dumber than a doorknob put money in the corporations' pockets by driving huge SUV's?
People get what they deserve. And we don't deserve decent public transport.
rgseidl 9:23AM (9/23/2008)
Alstom, Siemens, Talgo and other all have designs certified for 350kph (217mph) in production today. The Japanese manufacturers have had a different focus until now, because their primary customer (JR) is already running its shinkansen tracks close to full capacity. The limiting factor isn't train technology, it's terrain and economics. Top speeds on Europe's newest HSR lines are around 200mph, so far only China has pushed the envelope to fully exploit the state of the art. Note that power requirement is proportional to the third power of top speed.
California voters will have a chance to vote for a massive upgrade to the passenger rail infrastructure in their state on Nov 4. Proposition 1A calls for a $9.95 billion bond issue as a down payment towards 800 miles of all-new dedicated dual track that will let high speed trains run at ~220mph through the Central Valley in the 2018-2020 timeframe. The trains would be powered by renewable electricity. The balance of the $45 billion (!) total price tag is supposed to come in roughly equal parts from Washington, private investors and operating surpluses. The cities and counties served will also be asked to chip in a few billion and, roughly 10% of the bind measure is reserved for upgrades to "feeder infrastructure" such as Metrolink. More information here:
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov
http://cahsr.blogspot.com
wanderso 5:47PM (9/22/2008)
Not to diss fast trains (I love fast trains and very much want to see them in NA), but 217 MPH isn't really that fast. The Europeans (e.g. The French SNCF TGV train) have been running this fast for decades. Moreover, the Maglev train in Shanghai exceeds 440 KPH (about 275 MPH). I've ridden the Maglev and it is faaaaast.
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stevefazek 6:02PM (9/22/2008)
god japans trains rule no cell phone use allowed.
Our train are up to date for 1970.
We need dedicated passenger and freight lines. The freight should be built to handle massive loads while passenger for speeds.
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David 6:43PM (9/22/2008)
Actually the Europeans have not been going this fast...yet. The fastest we have is 200mph.
However, the Chinese have - since just before the Olympics. However it was with a German-built train.
Sorry Japan and sorry ABG, but this isn't news.
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nagmashot 11:49AM (9/23/2008)
@David the TGV speedrecord is currently 547.8km/h or 357.15mph ...200mph is a top speed of the last decade in europe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8skXT5NQzCg
stevefazek 6:16PM (9/23/2008)
The TGV went that fast on a test track with no passengers. The current tracks could never handle those speeds with passengers.
The Chinese train is a maglev and is hitting turbo prop plane speeds. In theory maglevs eventually top 400MPH
In the northeast we actually use the TGV as an Acella its a licensed design off the TGV
mirko 6:51PM (9/22/2008)
Regenerative braking is in every normal electric locomotive. Makes sense to just feed braking power back into the grid.
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rob 11:22PM (9/22/2008)
Even more fun: Time the schedules so that the train that is braking for a station is powering the acceleration of the train that has just left. Sure there are conversion losses, but it's still a huge virtual "free push" given from one train to the next.
Ronald Jones 10:33AM (9/23/2008)
1985 Gripen do you not know anything about the High Speed Train System that Californians are getting ready to vote on in November? This system will run on dedicated tracks without at grade crossings (all over and underpasses) up to 220 mph. Check it out, the vote is coming up soon. http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/
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philmcneal 8:10PM (9/24/2008)
lets say if there was a bad train accident, isn't it over with those kind of speeds?
of course a plane is always worse damage is it not? aka 9/11
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