Slashdot Mirror
Japan Tests New Bullet Train
dmolavi writes "
Japan's largest railway company began a test run for a new bullet train that it eventually aims to operate at a record-breaking 223 miles per hour -- faster than many propeller airplanes -- according to recent news reports.
"
One of the odd points about this train (other than the retractable cat ears) is that it isn't symmetrical. One end is a completely different shape than the other. Apparently this is just for testing purposes. The US airforce calls it a "flyoff", where two designs are built and tested head to head. In this case it seems they are having trouble determining what the best nose shape is. Normally this is a fairly simple problem, but Japan has a lot of tunnels, and diving into a tunnel at 360kph is a rather difficult aerodynamic problem. Nothing like a full-scale model. For much more detailed information, see this press release. (Japanese press releases have a habit of actually being informative, unlike their North American counterparts.)
Slashdot monitor for your Mozilla sidebar or Active Desktop.
I live in Los Angeles, and the hard part with trains and such is that the city centers are so spread out that you can't be dropped clse enough to your final destination generally. You have to get off a train and get on a bus and then maybe transfer from one bus to another. Heck where I live I think the closest bus stop is over 2 miles away; there's just no incentive to use public transportation in many places.
two words sums up why there are not more bullet trains in america.
OIL companies.
Heaven forbid if the oil companies ( exxonmobile,shell,BP, ect..) lost any money to trains. that would be a ctastrophe. people would actualy have another way to commute to work and not have to pay the exhorbanent gas prices at the pump. my god what a revolution that would be. Though all this can be summed up by one phrase
"capitalism good for the economy, bad for the person"
"The train is expected to make the 360 mile trip between Tokyo and Aomori --about the distance between San Francisco and Los Angeles -- within three hours, half of the amount of time it currently takes."
A train that can do over 200 mph, and they're planning to run it just over 120 mph. Any ideas why? Are there lots of stops?
The U.S. rail network is huge, with tens of thousands of level crossings, and millions of miles of unfenced track. It simply isn't practical to run at more than about 130 kph on such lines.
Years ago, the U.S. decided to pour infrastructure money into the interstate highway system, not rail lines. I'm ambivalent about whether or not that was the right choice. We all love to hate cars and trucks, and they are less efficient than trains, but building fenced lines with elevated crossings would be an astronomical expense.
Canada ran the "Turbo" in the Montreal-Toronto corridor for many years. It simply took out too many animals and cars and trucks, in addition to being stopped too often for rail maintenance. And it was only a 200 kph train, I think.
Youmight have heard: Japanese are not afraid of technology - they embrace it and like it. I could see that in so many aspects, and am sure they will have the first commercial fusion plant. They might not develop the core tech, but they will use it, you can bet on that. (and I wouldn't the least be surprised if, once built, will be operated by bipedal robots).
Sigged!
I agree 100% with your post- I am also biased- I am a huge fan of railroading and love trains, so that is my caveat.
The major problem with translating some European/Asian models of transportation to the US is pure distance. Please don't forget that a country like Germany (I have visited there a couple times and find that Germans, like most Europeans are a great and friendly people) would fit into Texas, one of the 50 us states, twice. So when Japan creates a bullet network, it is more akin, area wise, to putting a rail network into one of the 50 US states. Obviously people wise, it is very different. But as far as track miles in the US it would be a huge number. Everything would have to be regraded, turns banked, track relaid etc. to allow for high speed running. Also, don't forget, almost nothing infastructure wise is from beofre WWII, wheareas much of the rail in the US is well over 60 years old, some much older. And the grades and rights of way here in the states are from the 1800's in many sections.
If one could travel at 223 mph accross the US that would be incredible- I could be from here in Ohio to California in what, 12-14 hours? That would almost make it feasible to board a train after work on Friday, have a nice dinner aboard, catch a show on board, go to sleep, and wake up near the West coast- It would almost make it feasible (Moneyt aside) to take a weekend trip to California (arrive Sat early afternoon, leave Sunday Early afternoon...) Of course this will never happen for many assorted reasons, however I can dream can't I?
Imagine if these bullet trains copuld be made zero emmision- don't forget that planes are awful polluters (why I can't stand a hollywood star who drives a Prius telling me she is green, the jumping into a Gulfstream and jetting accross the country...)
And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
First one ran in the late '60s for the Olympics.
:)
It's still online....
I was on a platform, on the bullet line, one time, outside Tokyo, about 1/4 mile from a tunnel entrance/exit. The tracks leading to the station platform were canted so the train could bank into the turn. You could feel the ion change in the air that preceded the train as it exploded out of the tunnel and blasted past the platform...the locals had one hand on the newspaper and the other wrapped around the nearest pole to counter the terrific buffering as the 1,000 seat wonder blew past. Inside, there are LCDs showing live telemetry - it's very hard to tell how fast you're really moving, since the ride is so smooth and quiet.
I saw a video on TV one time, showing how they run field tests of various sorts...one segment showed a technician putting on an old leather flying helmet and goggles. He climbed a small ladder and slid open a hatch in the roof and stuck his head out...while the train was hurtling along at full speed in the dark of night.
The trains shut down automatically if a quake threatens...they have to keep the lines a significant distance from buildings and roads, so when one of them goes down, it takes a portable bridge crew to get to them. They clean ice off the boggies with high-pressure steam cleaners mounted on bridges when the weather turns cold. Color cameras are mounted everywhere, so that the crew and central control can do visual checks at will.
When the bullets pull into Tokyo Station, the stews inside are just like on a 747, with a replacement crew lined up along the platform, waiting for shift change. All neat as a pin. The 'pilots' are dressed just like commercial airline staff, and draw huge crowds, with autograph seekers and train groupies galore. I had my photo taken with one, and he even let me wear his hat
They have a mini-shinkansen that goes up into the mountains for weekend ski trips that is the best looking...all smoked glass and dark gun-metal gray, with green pinstripes. The mega-shinkansen is a double-decker design, that looks a bit ungainly, yet it still manages speeds high enough to match domestic airline travel times.
You have to ride on one of these beasts to appreciate them.
The advantage that trains currently dont have security check was rudely shaken by last years 3-11 bombing in Spain. Its just that the countries with high speed trains haven't been high priority targets yet.
Passenger rail in the US is pretty much screwed and has been since we made the decision to go with highways instead - it would take major Federal funding and interest to get it to any reasonable level, and theres just not the citizen-level demand for it.
I think that depends on where you are. Out west, in Colorado, where I live there is a big interest in it. In 2003 voters approved a 4.7 Billion dollar initiative to extend the light-rail system well outside of the Denver area. Unfortunately it's going to take them twelve years to complete it and traffic here is getting difficult now.
Find coupons in Greeley
Thickness of human hair: 20-40 micrometers
Time to blink: ~75 milliseconds
Thair/(1/1000)Tblink = ~0.5 meters/second
Oddly enough, that's almost exactly 1 mile per hour. Did you plan it that way?
~Idarubicin
There is an interesting story about the San Francisco Bay Bridge. If you haven't seen it, it is a double-deck bridge. When first built the lower deck had train tracks and car lanes. The upper span was just for cars travelling in both directions.
The passenger train system (the Key System / Key Route) was successful but somewhat limited as the East Bay area spread out away from SF/Oakland. It was discontinued in 1958. General Motors (surprise, surprise) obtained 64% of the stock of the company which ran the Key System through a front company. They replaced the entire board and essentially dismantled the system piece by piece. GM then planned to replace the system with GM buses. The regional governments tried to stop the plan, but lost out eventually.
GM continually tried to dismatle all trains, and even had some help by the Oakland transportation department in converting popular train lines (96% ridership) into car lanes because the trains (travelling at street level) were trying up car traffic.
I love this quote: "The PUC had granted a large fare increase for Jan. 1, 1948 for "service improvements." After the fares were raised, GM stated its 'motorization" plan was the "service improvement.'" Motorization was the replacing of street cars and electric trains with buses.
Through fare increases and service cut backs, GM got what it wanted all along. Removing trains and selling buses and cars!
Source: http://www.trainweb.org/mts/ctc/ctc03.html
So, it wasn't a conspiracy so-to-speak, but underhanded corporate tactics to sell product.
It is dangerous to be right on a subject on which the established authorities are wrong. - Voltaire
Yes, aircraft tend to be more fragile to onboard attacks. However trains have tracks which can't easily be monitored or defended. Why terrorize those onboard an aircraft? Because we already have a substantial population with an irrational fear of flying. An act of terrorism will build upon that fear.
Keep in mind, a bullet train has to rely on aerodynamics every bit as much as an aircraft. Furthermore, if you come to a sudden stop for any reason at all, you'll die just as fast and randomly as you would in an aircraft.
One final thing: High speed trains make at least as much noise as a low flying aircraft. The bow shock from the train is quite substantial too. Few are willing to reserve the space for an airfield, but most don't think twice about carving huge rights of way to mitigate the noise a train makes. What a bunch of luddite foolishness...
Nearly fifty percent of all graduates come from the bottom half of the class!
They stopped all service. Amtrak is such a disaster. (1) To take accela turns the philly->boston ticket from a $174 friday/sunday
fare to a $300 fair. (2) The plane ticket prices between those two cities on a friday/sunday are $100 round.
You're forgetting several things here:
1) Acela Express service is only one option on the route you're talking about - there are several others that Amtrak offers that cost significantly less. (Acela Regional, Metroliner, etc.)
2) Acela Express trains are one of the only profitable parts of Amtrak's business, so clearly the business model they've set upon for the train works... when the trains themselves work. This is why it was such a disaster when they had to pull them out of service - right now (well, not right now), these trains are subsidizing most of the NEC improvements that are going on.
The story of why these trains have been so unreliable is a long one, and is rooted in the same congress that has been trying to cut Amtrak's funding for so many years. Congress pressured Amtrak to have a North American-built train and it also refused to amend 19th-century era safety standards so that Amtrak could use similar technology to trains built elsewhere (Japan, Europe, etc.). The direct end result of this is the cracks in the brakes that led to Amtrak taking these trains out of service. The Acela Express trains are based on the TGV, but are about twice as heavy due to safety regs in this country - yet Bombardier/Alstom did not redesign the brake system to take this extra weight into account.
3. The reason why air fares are so low on the route you mention is because of pressure from Amtrak. Amtrak's NEC service (all kinds) is popular enough that it has actually taken riders away from airlines, and that has forced airlines both to use smaller planes and to reduce fares.
I really want amtrak to succeed but they either need to give the same subsidies that they do for roads and airports or just kill the thing off; because its too over specialized for people just doing dc/philly/ny in 1->2 hr hops.
Well, fortunately for Amtrak and its riders, the NEC is the last part of the system that would ever be "killed off".
There is a MagLev test line under development in the Yamanashi perfecture, that can currently do 310 mph; it is quite a treat to watch, and if you get lucky you can get a chance to ride it. More information here in English, with some videos here. True, it's been around damn near ten years and they haven't started public service...
Are you seriously claiming that if the US just dropped all of its arms, absolutely nobody anywhere would attack it?
I don't think that's the claim. The issue I personally have is that the Bush administration proposes spending $310 million to fund Iraq's rail system and $0 to fund the US's rail system. This does not seem a bit off to you? These priorities are not out of whack?
I cannot for the life of me recall a situation in which our government proposed funding an entire industry in one country while refusing to support that same industry in its own country. Especially when it comes to infrastructure, on which the entire rest of the economy is based. Exactly which country is the Bush administration supposed to be governing? Did we elect the president of Iraq or the president of the US?
I would say the priorities of our government are more than a little off-kilter. It's not about reducing defense spending to zero. It's about $1.2 billion in government funding for Amtrak out of a budget of several trillion. It's a tiny amount in the grand scheme; certainly nobody is asking for anything rivaling the amount spent on defense, or education, or even highways and airports. (David Gunn has never requested more than $2 billion, and has said Amtrak could get by at its current spending level, albeit with deferred maintenance.) It is a much, much smaller amount than the $10 billion the government gave to the airlines after 9/11, it is miniscule compared to the amount the government just gave up in seeking from the tobacco companies as part of the trial it's been waging (recently slashing $120 billion off the penalties they were seeking), it is much lower than many, many other discretionary expenditures. And the proposed amount of spending Bush has set aside for Amtrak next year (zero) is exactly $310 million less than the amount of spending we are putting into Iraq's rail system - the same rail system we destroyed to begin with. We're throwing good money after bad when we could be putting that money to better use right here at home.
I've ridden the London-Paris train at 300kph (180mph). The sensation was like being in a plane that's flying entirely too low. The scenery blurs, so that you cannot see any detail that's closer than 100m or so. The thought of a train that goes nearly twice that speed is scary!
I was going to say this same thing, but noticed that you did first.
I'm originally from Maine, though I now live primarily in New York City. Occasionally, I now take the train to Boston and then on the "Downeaster" route, but it took them years to run a train from Boston to Portland. There were a lot of reasons why this took a while, but I remember that one chief problem was that passenger trains needed to go a certain speed. Amtrak wanted the train to go over a hundred miles per hour, but it ended up going slower than that.
Amtrak doesn't own the tracks from Boston through Maine (or, apparently, anywhere else). They're owned by a commercial shipping company. The freight companies have absolutely no interest in upgrading their track to handle higher speeds. You can see why it's not in their best interest...you don't want a million tons of coal going 200 miles per hour, after all.
Anyway, I'm about as far from a socialist as you can get, but I think that internal transportation and communication networks are integral to the function of a country and ought to be publically owned, or that the government should step in and force the freight companies to upgrade track, or give up the track altogether. I'm one that would join in the chorus of not invading Iraq -- or not giving money and weapons to Israel -- and instead spending 30 billion dollars putting in mag-lev trains, starting on the West and East coasts, and working inward, much like we did in the 1800s.
The prospect of going from New York to Boston in two hours, or New York to Chicago in...say...6 hours...would appeal to me as an alternative to flying, especially when I factor in that it takes me an hour to get to any of my local airports from Manhattan, that I have to show up ridiculously early to go through security checks, and when I get there it takes another hour to get into the city I'm traveling to, whereas trains just go from city center to city center, and there's no reason to show up early.
gameDB
A little bit offtopic, but worth mentioning: the ICE train is higly unsafe by design! Unlike the TGV or Shinkensu, the ICE train is still composed of separate cars attached together, which creates the so-called "squeeze box effect" in case of crash of derailment of one of the car.
You can see the "squeeze box effect" (cars are smatched against each others) in an ICE train crash here.
Steam trains were pretty damn fast since Victorian times: http://www.o-keating.com/hsr/mallard.htm Diesel electrics and pure electrics do not have the raw power required for high speed travel. Slow diesel trains is a major reason why air travel became popular.
Oh well, what the hell...