Powering all of those electromagnets takes a lot of power. What is the carbon footprint of the power plants needed to run this thing compared to a conventional diesel electric train?
Or will it feed their dependence on nuclear power, which Japan is having such good luck with.
What are the operational costs of maintaining the massive power grid needed to operate this kind of train verses conventional diesel electric?
Is the cost of operating this setup sustainable?
My point in asking is to reflect on the state of rail service in both Europe and Japan.
Both built their train service reputations on 100 - 150 mph conventional trains that were affordable to operate. Both are now bleeding money as the rush for HSR has over whelmed formerly profitable systems with outrageous maintenance costs.
Why trumpet assured long term failure?
Japanese officials have approved the construction of a high-speed maglev train line between Tokyo and Osaka, Environment News Service reports.
Transport minister Akihiro Ohata gave Central Japan Railway the green light last week, setting in motion a 9 trillion yen (approx. $111.4 billion) project that began in the 1970s.
The superconducting maglev train — “maglev” is short for magnetic levitation, allowing the trains to avoid touching ground — would cover the 320-mile span between the two cities in just 67 minutes, topping out at 313 miles per hour. Employing the opposing forces of superconducting magnets and coils to avoid rail friction, maglev trains are considered among the fastest in the world.
The 14 new Series L0 trains are expected to begin operation between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027 — a 40-minute commute — and Tokyo and Osaka in 2045.
For now, the trains are undergoing testing on an 11-mile test track in Yamanashi, which is currently under construction to be extended to more than 26 miles.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was certainly impressed on a visit to the test track last May. He wrote on the department’s Fast Lane blog:
I have to say, those trains are fast. Very fast….those of us who saw the Japanese trains are impressed with the railroad system in Japan. And we do look forward to opportunities to partner in America with experienced rail companies from abroad. But we’re only interested in partnerships that use American workers in American facilities.
Here’s hoping to see maglev Stateside.
