Japan's L-Zero Maglev Train Reaches 310 mph In Trials

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Japan's L-Zero Maglev Train Reaches 310 mph In Trials

Posted by timothy on Saturday September 7, 2013 @09:19AM from the zippy-is-right dept.

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.

128 of 174 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

The sabot train by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-09-07 09:26 · Score: 1

...an obvious nickname?

--
Ezekiel 23:20
1. Re:The sabot train by dgatwood · 2013-09-07 09:51 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Like the shoe? As in, "If someone throws his shoe on the rails, we'll have a nasty case of sabotage?"
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
2. Re:The sabot train by noh8rz10 · 2013-09-07 12:16 · Score: 2
  
  I'm holding out for the F-Zero train...
Hate to hit by Brad1138 · 2013-09-07 09:29 · Score: 2, Funny

A cow at that speed...

--
If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
1. Re:Hate to hit by JustOK · 2013-09-07 09:30 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  It would be an udder catastrophe
  
  --
  rewriting history since 2109
2. Re:Hate to hit by MightyYar · 2013-09-07 09:35 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Hoove GOT to be cudding me.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
3. Re:Hate to hit by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-09-07 09:35 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Now observe people milking the pun as long as it holds together.
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
4. Re:Hate to hit by wjcofkc · 2013-09-07 09:40 · Score: 1
  
  But it would be awesome to see (assuming the train and passengers are ok).
  
  --
  Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
5. Re:Hate to hit by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-09-07 09:48 · Score: 1
  
  But it would be awesome to see (assuming the train and passengers are ok).
  Have you ever been hit by a fast attack cow clocking 500 kph? Why do you assume the train would be OK after that? (Unless it's an armored train - if it were, that and the designation L-Zero would certainly give goosebumps to at least some WW II vets!)
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
6. Re:Hate to hit by danknight48 · 2013-09-07 10:03 · Score: 1
  
  I leather believed it would last this long.
7. Re:Hate to hit by mortonda · 2013-09-07 10:19 · Score: 1
  
  A cow at that speed...
  ... had better moooove.
8. Re:Hate to hit by Cryacin · 2013-09-07 12:12 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Well, you wouldn't be on the moooooove anymore.
  
  --
  Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
9. Re:Hate to hit by Angeret · 2013-09-07 12:59 · Score: 1
  
  Hey, don't have a cow, man!
A me too case? by Ateocinico · 2013-09-07 09:46 · Score: 3, Interesting

If every kilometer of it's tracks is about as costly as the German's maglev, what is the economic justification? China balked at the cost of a Shanghai-Beijing maglev line and built a wheeled system instead. And nobody has built a maglev after the Shanghai's airport to city center line.
1. Re:A me too case? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-07 09:57 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  At 310mph it would be able to out run Godzilla's atomic breath. There's your justification.
2. Re:A me too case? by h4rr4r · 2013-09-07 10:40 · 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?
3. Re:A me too case? by ArcadeMan · 2013-09-07 12:03 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Why a profit at all anyway? Shouldn't everything done by the governments be done at break-even costs?
  
  --
  Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
4. Re:A me too case? by R3d+M3rcury · 2013-09-07 12:20 · Score: 4, 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.
5. Re:A me too case? by Time_Ngler · 2013-09-07 13:32 · Score: 1
  
  A trip from Tokyo to Nagoya costs 10,600 yen currently (around $106 USD), so if the price will be similar, it's going to be $212 daily commute, which is kind of expensive:
  http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=TOKYO&arv_node=NAGOYA&via_node01=&via_node02=&via_node03=&year=2013&month=09&day=08&hour=10&minute=28&search_type=0&search_way=&transtime=undefined&sort=0&max_route=5&ship=off&lmlimit=null&search_target=route&facility=reserved&sum_target=7
  It also currently takes 101 minutes, so besides a daily commute, whats the point of shaving a little more than an hour off your trip?
6. Re:A me too case? by olsmeister · 2013-09-07 14:46 · Score: 1
  
  Part of the reason trains are relatively uncramped is because travel takes longer. It's not because the companies that run them are just nicer. You can't smash people in like sardines if they're going to be traveling for days. If you could travel by train at airplane speeds, you'd get airplane type seating because that will maximize the number of people that can fit in the cars and the profit. If someone invented a ship that could travel from NYC to London in 6 hours, do you think everyone would still get their own stateroom?
7. Re:A me too case? by simtel · 2013-09-07 15:14 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Don't assume that the only profit to be made is via the act itself - NASA's space program ended up giving birth to a lot of technology that is widely used in society these days, but could not have been measured in a pre-estimate of the profitability of the space program.
8. Re:A me too case? by phantomfive · 2013-09-07 16:23 · Score: 1
  
  Can nothing be done for national pride
  Wow, how about your taxes go to that, and mine go to something more useful. National pride is cool and all until I have to pay for it myself.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
9. Re:A me too case? by R3d+M3rcury · 2013-09-07 17:18 · Score: 2
  
  That depends.
  One difference between rail and airline is that it isn't that much more expensive to attach another car to the train. So if I'm traveling from New York to Los Angeles with 100 complete strangers, they can have two cars. If I'm traveling with 200 complete strangers, they can attach another two cars. At some point, they'll probably need another locomotive and that would probably make a difference. But it's pretty flexible.
  Conversely, there are only 400 seats traveling from New York to Los Angeles by air. They can't really add or remove seats from the airplane.
10. Re:A me too case? by CurunirAran · 2013-09-07 17:32 · Score: 1
  
  Not necessarily. In India, while trains are slower, they are also much cheaper than taking airplanes. Yet most trains consist of coaches only having bunks for sleeping (along with tables and such). And this is in a country that's packed to the brim with people.
  
  I don't see why fast trains wouldn't work in the USA.
11. Re:A me too case? by noh8rz10 · 2013-09-07 18:12 · Score: 3, 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?
12. Re:A me too case? by Patch86 · 2013-09-07 18:42 · Score: 1
  
  There are people who pay that here for a daily commute between London and my home town (100 or so miles down the line). It's painful, but people do it. Admittedly these would be well paid contractor types, but there are enough of them around these days; enough to fill a few commuter trains each day, anyway.
13. Re:A me too case? by AuMatar · 2013-09-07 19:02 · Score: 1
  
  Except that light rail you ride on for 20 minutes is also relatively uncramped, except at rush hour. And a 3 hr ride from say Baltimore to NYC is also quite comfortable. They can afford the extra room on rail because they don't need to spend anywhere near as much extra fuel to move it.
  Also, in many countries rail is nationalized, so they aren't after every last penny like private airlines.
  
  --
  I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
14. Re:A me too case? by Sique · 2013-09-07 20:04 · Score: 1
  
  So according to that many classical economic theories, if a glazier repairs a broken window and makes a profit on it, society as a whole profits? Wouldn't it make economical sense then to go around and smash windows?
  
  --
  .sig: Sique *sigh*
15. Re:A me too case? by serviscope_minor · 2013-09-07 20:31 · Score: 3, 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.
  
  --
  SJW n. One who posts facts.
16. Re: A me too case? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-07 21:03 · Score: 1
  
  So according to you all monuments should be recycled, art and museums should be forbidden, the entire military dismantled, all space exploration and research scrapped, every single kilometre of road should be a toll road including inner city ones or never repaired, 3rd world development immediately stopped, all ambassadors fired and all embassies closed,etc, etc, etc
  You know non of these makes a profit. They just cost money.
  Sorry but that theory you mention is pure epic bullshit of Ayn-Rand-proportions. And there is no superlative beyond that level. It's dangerous nonsense.
17. Re:A me too case? by AmiMoJo · 2013-09-07 21:29 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Well, in Japan there is definitely demand for this service. A lot of people already travel that route and the trains are often full to capacity. They go every 15 minutes and can't be sent out any faster for safety reasons.
  Japanese companies tend to take a long term view, so don't expect a full return in the first five years. Also they expect to be able to export the technology for additional profit. There will also be additional economic benefits for Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka as people are more easily able to move between them. From businesses wanting to send employees to another office or go for a meeting in another city to consumers who enjoy taking a shopping trip or a weekend visit to the Kansai cultural centre.
  As for why they don't just expand the existing lines the main issue is noise. The current trains are limited to 320KPH but could easily do 360 or more, if it were not for noise problems. The maglev will be quieter and take a route that uses more tunnels and avoids populated areas so that it can maintain 510KPH for most of the journey.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
18. Re:A me too case? by AmiMoJo · 2013-09-07 21:33 · Score: 1
  
  Your point about Nagoya airport is a good one. Currently it takes about 50 minutes to get from Narita to central Tokyo, or about 30 minutes from Haneda.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
19. Re:A me too case? by srnp · 2013-09-07 22:07 · Score: 1
  
  It's not even airport to city centre, it's airport to an area about half way to the city centre. You have to take more conventional form of transport then.
20. Re:A me too case? by mrvan · 2013-09-07 22:26 · Score: 1
  
  That might be part of the reason but it is certainly not the whole reason.
  Case in point: trains in the Netherlands are pretty comfortable, even if most train rides are less than an hour, and two hours in a train is a long ride.
  Trains can afford to be more comfortable because the extra operating costs of comfort are a lot less, since the whole thing doesn't need to be airborne. Surprisingly, the capacity and mass of a modern train (e.g. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubbeldeks_interregiomaterieel) and a boeing 747 are about equal. The train is 350 metric tons for about 570 passengers; the boeing is 347 metric tons for 524 passengers. However, for the boeing fully half of that is fuel. Moreover, the train is more than twice as long as the airplane and has two decks over the whole length. A lot of comfort (leg room, room to walk around) doesn't cost mass or money, but makes the vehicle longer. Since trains rest on the ground and are guided by rail, while airplanes need to stay intact by their own integrity under gravity, trains can be quite a bit longer than planes.
  There used to be 'third class' carriages as well aimed at the labouring class, but these went out of fashion. Apparently, people are willing to pay a bit to get a more comfortable ride. Theoretically, there is an equilibrium comfort where the marginal gains and costs of adding extra comfort are in balance; the point at which this is reached depends both on the willingness to pay for comfort and on the cost of adding comfort, so it stands to reason that trains are more comfortable.
  (of course, as pointed out above, we don't really know since in most countries (even the US!) passenger rail is handled by a monopoly company, so we can't choose between Ryan Air and Emirates. Europe is starting to see a bit of competition on the tracks, but it is technically very difficult to allow multiple trains on the same route on the same infrastructure. So, it could be that we are paying too much to get too much comfort, and would rather have a cheaper service where they cram more chairs in each carriage...
  (that said, most of the 'frills' that all the airlines used to have (free meals, free drinks, a waiter coming to your chair to get orders) aren't available in most commuter rail lines that I know of, so the whole thing is mainly about leg room and chair comfort)
21. Re:A me too case? by adolf · 2013-09-07 22:39 · Score: 2
  
  But they do: Fuel tax.
  I buy fuel, pay taxes on it, and they keep the roads working.
  (I can also buy untaxed fuel easily enough, but I cannot legally use it in my car on a public road.)
  
  --
  Kid-proof tablet..
22. Re:A me too case? by Gavagai80 · 2013-09-07 22:54 · Score: 1
  
  They don't build new planes for the longest flights. The planes are designed for average flights, and the vast majority of flights are short.
  
  --
  This space intentionally left blank
23. Re: A me too case? by Captain+Hook · 2013-09-07 23:22 · Score: 1
  
  Steam loco's didn't die out because of speed, they died because of huge maintenance bills associated with them.
  
  It took hours just to get the steam pressure up, that's 2 hours of fuel before you can even turn a wheel.
  
  --
  These comments are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other voices in my head.
24. Re: A me too case? by Time_Ngler · 2013-09-08 00:09 · Score: 1
  
  It just seems that for $52 Billion dollars, the money could be better spent.
  Wow. People can really need things spelled out for them...
25. Re:A me too case? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-08 00:10 · Score: 1
  
  don't kid yourself, the taxes on fuel are nowhere near enough to pay for the costs. road-building, road maintenance, health costs, traffic control, military spending to keep the oil coming ...
26. Re:A me too case? by Shinobi · 2013-09-08 00:47 · Score: 1
  
  "http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4181301&op=Reply&threshold=1&commentsort=0&mode=thread&pid=44788747"
  Worst thing that's happened in Sweden's train system was the private commercialisation of the railway system. Prices have gone up, services have gone down, maintenance is lagging behind, etc etc etc. You know, typical private commercial handling of important infrastructure... Same as with many housing companies.
  And I think the brits are deeply regretting commercialising theirs for much the same reasons....
27. Re:A me too case? by serviscope_minor · 2013-09-08 01:09 · Score: 2
  
  But they do: Fuel tax.
  Doesn't cover the cost of the roads.
  The tax yielded from general economic development covers the cost of the roads.
  
  --
  SJW n. One who posts facts.
28. Re:A me too case? by del_diablo · 2013-09-08 01:19 · Score: 1
  
  We Norwegians claims the same about when NSB got turned into a private company, as did the railroad company as a separate entity. At the least the worst has clogged up around the capital, instead of around the countryside.
29. Re:A me too case? by __aaltlg1547 · 2013-09-08 01:45 · Score: 1
  
  Why should anything impractical be done at all?
30. Re:A me too case? by jrumney · 2013-09-08 02:03 · Score: 1
  
  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.
  Your living costs are only cheaper if you disregard the $500 a day spent on train travel to get to work and back.
31. Re:A me too case? by noh8rz10 · 2013-09-08 02:34 · Score: 2
  
  But they do: Fuel tax.
  Doesn't cover the cost of the roads.
  The tax yielded from general economic development covers the cost of the roads.
  Umm actually construction and maintenance of the roads is nearly 100% financed through the highway trust fund, which comes from gas tax. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_Trust_Fund
32. Re:A me too case? by noh8rz10 · 2013-09-08 02:36 · Score: 1
  
  The question still stands, how do you make sure you don't build a billion dollar white elephant?
33. Re:A me too case? by stoatwblr · 2013-09-10 20:33 · Score: 1
  
  Why a profit? Because this is a _private_ transport company.
34. Re:A me too case? by stoatwblr · 2013-09-10 20:37 · Score: 1
  
  As hinted at in the article, airport congestion it is a big problem in Japan. Airports are mostly full because of domestic travel and 747s/other large widebodies are used on shorthaul flights of less than 500 miles simply because of their seating capacity.
why not in the USA or Russia by someone1234 · 2013-09-07 09:55 · Score: 1

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.

--
Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
1. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by couchslug · 2013-09-07 10:00 · Score: 2
  
  Simple. Concentrated ridership and dense urban areas.
  
  --
  "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
2. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by ah.clem · 2013-09-07 10:04 · Score: 1
  
  Not absolutely certain, but I imagine it has something to do with the trucking, auto manufacturing and petroleum industries in the US. Just a guess.
  
  --
  "Life is not magic." Dr. Ron Weiss - "If we don't play God, who will?" Dr. James Watson
3. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by wrackspurt · 2013-09-07 10:11 · Score: 1
  
  Not in Canada either. The Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal corridor would seem a natural for high speed rail travel. The rest of the country has too much space between dense urban areas. Having said that a train trip through the Rocky mountains is stunning. I've done it about half a dozen times and would do it again with next to no reason other than the scenery. Train food sucks though. I've never had great food on trains. Not even in Japan.
4. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by h4rr4r · 2013-09-07 10:42 · Score: 1
  
  No worse than airplanes and some trains actually have decent bars. Just try ordering a cocktail with more than two ingredients in the cattle class of an airplane.
5. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by wrackspurt · 2013-09-07 10:53 · Score: 1
  
  some trains actually have decent bars.
  Yea, I gotta say bar cars are great. People seem less guarded and more willing to strike up a conversation.
6. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-09-07 11:00 · Score: 1
  
  Simple. Concentrated ridership and dense urban areas.
  So, Taiwan is essentially...the little yellow ridinghood?
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
7. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by mill3d · 2013-09-07 11:00 · Score: 3, 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
  
  --
  Nothing is enough for whom enough is too little - Confucius
8. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by Frosty+Piss · 2013-09-07 12:50 · Score: 1
  
  It is weird i don't see any USA or Russian trains
  
  Simple. Concentrated ridership and dense urban areas.
  Like San Diego to LA to San Francisco?
  
  --
  If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
9. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by myowntrueself · 2013-09-07 13:27 · Score: 3, 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.
  
  --
  In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
10. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by faedle · 2013-09-07 13:50 · Score: 1
  
  Right. Isn't California actually trying to do something like this? So, your point is?
11. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by sydneyfong · 2013-09-07 17:58 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah right. I'll come back to see whether it's half finished in twenty years.
  
  --
  Don't quote me on this.
12. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by EmagGeek · 2013-09-08 01:04 · Score: 1
  
  The USA is too busy dumping $billions/year into bailing out the Amtrak rathole.
13. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by ImdatS · 2013-09-08 03:06 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, a great documentary, thank you very much for the great YouTube link.
  I was talking with my wife (in NYC) and saying: "You know what would be best for NYC? Having streetcars on every avenue and every second or third street. And then ban all private automobiles in Manhattan..." - I didn't know that it was similar to this idea in the 1920s until around 1950s... sad...
14. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by Dogtanian · 2013-09-08 03:50 · Score: 1
  
  I've ridden some trains in Europe which were nicer, but the tickets were 3-5 times as much. It was cheaper to hop Ryan air than go by train and many times faster.
  When you say "Europe", do you mean the UK? Because quite frankly, our trains are obscenely overpriced and a damning indictment of the failure of the privatisation of the rail network, offering service no better than in many other European countries but at a vastly higher price.
  
  --
  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
15. Re:why not in the USA or Russia by Frosty+Piss · 2013-09-08 04:27 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah right. I'll come back to see whether it's half finished in twenty years.
  California is broke, and the Feds will not pay for High Speed Rail - like they dished out cash to airlines after 9/11 ...
  
  --
  If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
TFA from Wired by nojayuk · 2013-09-07 09:58 · Score: 5, Informative

TFA is a cut-n-paste from a badly-written and poorly-researched Wired article some staffer wrote to fill in a blank space on the website last week.
The Japanese maglev trains (there are two parallel tracks) have been running consistently at 500km/h (310 mph in old money) for over a decade and more in testing. Its actual record speed is 580km/h (about 360mph). In addition the test track is 40km long, not 26km as stated in the article; it was extended a few years back. Etc., etc.
1. Re:TFA from Wired by schneidafunk · 2013-09-07 10:06 · Score: 1
  
  Can you provide a better link? I'm curious what safety measures are in place, considering the recent disaster in Spain.
  
  --
  Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
2. Re:TFA from Wired by Arkh89 · 2013-09-07 10:22 · Score: 1
  
  So 6Km/h more than the record for a conventional train...
  What about power?
3. Re:TFA from Wired by nojayuk · 2013-09-07 10:26 · Score: 2
  
  Safety -- like the shinkansen the proposed Tokyo-Nagoya maglev will run on separated track, no crossings or other traffic allowed on the same route. There are barrier walls and fencing along all of the track to keep cows, people and Gojira from getting in the way.
  The recent Spanish high-speed train "accident" was a disaster waiting to happen when you study it, there is no way a high-speed railway line should have had an 80kph-limit curve like that anywhere along its length. The Japanese maglev will be basically as straight as they can make it with a lot of tunneling and raised viaducts like the existing shinkansen routes but even more so as the maglev will start operation with a 50% speed increase over the steel-wheel-on-steel-rail shinkansen (there are somewhat sketchy plans to eventually run maglev trains at 700km/h and more once the technology improves).
4. Re:TFA from Wired by Zyrill · 2013-09-07 10:27 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  I'm sorry to have to say that, but that is a very ignorant and claptrap post. Maglev trains by design cannot be derailed. Even the non-superconducting Transrapid by Siemens (Germany) that commutes between Shanghai Airport and Downtown cannot leave his tracks instead of catastrophic failure of the whole track. That's because the tracks are shaped like this c-× so the magnets push the "c"-shaped guides away from the "-"-shaped track in every direction. The worst that can happen is that the "c" hits the track in which case the train simply brakes because of friction. In the case of the L0, consider this picture: http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/51b73df36bb3f78825000002-2238-1678-400-/japan-maglev-train-may-2010.jpg Yes, the track is almost straight. No, there are no sharp curves as in Spain, else it couldn't go that fast. For a more informed article with some tech specs, check here: http://www.dailytech.com/Japanese+Maglev+Train+Begins+Full+Speed+Testing+at+310+mph/article33281.htm Please don't ask questions just for the sake of asking something. A very academic thing to do, but trust me, everybody hates the frustrated postdocs who do this.
5. Re:TFA from Wired by Zyrill · 2013-09-07 10:35 · Score: 1
  
  :s/instead of catastrophic failure of the whole track/unless a catastrophic failure of the whole track occurs
6. Re:TFA from Wired by nojayuk · 2013-09-07 10:38 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  The French TGV steel-wheel record holder was a heavily-modified racecar version of their regular 300km/h trainsets, running higher voltages and damaging track and overhead as it reached its peak speed (pictures of the TGV trainset setting the record show a cloud of track ballast being sucked up behind it). The maglev record was taken by a regular test carset with some modifications and did not damage the track which is regularly operated at 500km/h plus anyway. The maglev holds another speed record TGV and other trains can't even get close to, the passing speed record of 1026km/h when they ran two maglevs past each other on adjacent tracks at over 500km/h.
7. Re:TFA from Wired by xaxa · 2013-09-07 11:21 · Score: 2
  
  The recent Spanish high-speed train "accident" was a disaster waiting to happen when you study it, there is no way a high-speed railway line should have had an 80kph-limit curve like that anywhere along its length.
  No, that's no problem. The problem was not installing/using a suitable signalling system, which is present on high-speed lines in most other countries.
  (I don't make a habit of remembering the speed limits of curves, but IIRC the speed limit through the Channel Tunnel is 100km/h.)
8. Re:TFA from Wired by Arkh89 · 2013-09-07 12:22 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, having a magnetic levitation train, I would expect it to be more gentle on the rails...
  But my question, was what's the difference in energy and power between these trains going at (about) the same speed, to see how not having any friction helps the power consumption...
9. Re:TFA from Wired by myowntrueself · 2013-09-07 13:35 · Score: 2
  
  Safety -- like the shinkansen the proposed Tokyo-Nagoya maglev will run on separated track, no crossings or other traffic allowed on the same route. There are barrier walls and fencing along all of the track to keep cows, people and Gojira from getting in the way.
  The recent Spanish high-speed train "accident" was a disaster waiting to happen when you study it, there is no way a high-speed railway line should have had an 80kph-limit curve like that anywhere along its length. The Japanese maglev will be basically as straight as they can make it with a lot of tunneling and raised viaducts like the existing shinkansen routes but even more so as the maglev will start operation with a 50% speed increase over the steel-wheel-on-steel-rail shinkansen (there are somewhat sketchy plans to eventually run maglev trains at 700km/h and more once the technology improves).
  80kph curve pshaw! He was doing 190kph and he NEARLY made it!
  They should get him test driving these maglev trains, the guys clearly an ace.
  
  --
  In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
10. Re:TFA from Wired by gagol · 2013-09-07 15:05 · Score: 1
  
  you need energy to levitate the (quite heavy) train, as opposed to gravity for wheels... dont expect much.
  
  --
  Tomorrow is another day...
11. Re:TFA from Wired by Jeremi · 2013-09-07 15:54 · Score: 1
  
  No, that's no problem. The problem was not installing/using a suitable signalling system, which is present on high-speed lines in most other countries.
  It seems to me that it would have been (and still is) possible to include a GPS receiver, a maximum-train-speeds database, and a speed-limiter on each train as a fallback. With that, as long as the GPS was working, even the dumbest/craziest engineer would not be able to make the train go faster than its maximum specified speed at any given location.
  
  --
  
  I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
12. Re:TFA from Wired by zippthorne · 2013-09-07 16:05 · Score: 1
  
  Only to make up for electrical losses. work is force applied over a distance, and the trains are all traveling almost perpendicular to the force needed to support the train against gravity.
  
  --
  Can you be Even More Awesome?!
13. Re:TFA from Wired by romiz · 2013-09-07 17:36 · Score: 1
  
  As far as I know, there was no damage to the TGV track after either the 512 km/h test or the 575 km/h test, the 'ballast cloud' you describe is only dust. Do you have a reliable source for your claim ?
14. Re:TFA from Wired by gagol · 2013-09-07 19:20 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry for my ignorance, but how could the perpendicular nature of train acceleration vector impact the energy needed to create a magnetic field required to levitate a couple hundred tons?
  
  --
  Tomorrow is another day...
15. Re:TFA from Wired by nojayuk · 2013-09-07 20:34 · Score: 1
  
  " None of these concepts requires the high tech solution-looking-for-a-problem that is maglev."
  The problem maglev is intended to address is safe comfortable "rail" travel at speeds of 500km/h and above. Steel-wheel-on-steel-rail transport appears to be limiting out at about 320-350km/h, pushing it much higher will probably cause an large increase in track maintenance and trainset engineering costs. Maglev is proven to be comfortable and safe at 500km/h plus and maintenance costs seem to be under control since the train is not in direct rubbing contact with the track except at low speeds before it levitates.
  Whether 500km/h-plus rail travel is desirable or cost-effective given the current availability of affordable safe air travel is another matter but rail can be driven by a nationally-connected electric power grid, air travel is dependent on cheap liquid fuels which might not be so abundant in the future. This first maglev line is not expected to be in operation even partially until 2020, any widespread rollout of the technology to replace a lot of existing TGV routes is maybe half a century in the future.
16. Re:TFA from Wired by mrvan · 2013-09-07 22:35 · Score: 1
  
  This type of systems exists, e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Rail_Traffic_Management_System. AFAIK, the problems are (1) legacy systems on most national railroads that are slowly being phased out, if at all, and (2) technical difficulties like losing the controlling GPS signal in tunnels or urban areas, causing trains to do an emergency stop in the middle of a tunnel, which makes nobody happy.
  I guess the real problem is that the One System to rule them all is trying to do lots of stuff (maximum speed, red lights, section control), making it complicated and expensive. The existing legacy systems usually only do red lights and/or maximum speed, which they can do a lot cheaper and less error-prone so the railroad companies are not too happy to switch over...
17. Re:TFA from Wired by xaxa · 2013-09-07 22:42 · Score: 1
  
  No, that's no problem. The problem was not installing/using a suitable signalling system, which is present on high-speed lines in most other countries.
  It seems to me that it would have been (and still is) possible to include a GPS receiver, a maximum-train-speeds database, and a speed-limiter on each train as a fallback. With that, as long as the GPS was working, even the dumbest/craziest engineer would not be able to make the train go faster than its maximum specified speed at any given location.
  GPS wouldn't work in tunnels, and very often higher speed lines are adjacent to lower speed lines. here's an example, which I used to walk past sometimes. The fast lines have a 110mph limit, the "slow" lines 70mph, and the siding for a factory 20mph. The tracks are about 4-6m apart. Also, the maximum safe speed is much lower if there's a train ahead on the line -- the capacity of the line is much reduced if you have to enforce 10km distance at all times.
  There are very safe signalling systems, like The TGV signalling system and ETCS. However, it seems they didn't properly implement the transition from high-speed to normal line in Spain. I don't know if that's a lack of investment, a lack of regulation, or a technical oversight.
18. Re:TFA from Wired by CdBee · 2013-09-07 22:50 · Score: 1
  
  Also, Eurostar ("199mph under the channel") is limited to 62mph in the channel tunnel and 186mph absolute max at all other times.
  
  --
  I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
19. Re:TFA from Wired by nosferatu1001 · 2013-09-07 23:16 · Score: 1
  
  Youre not repeatedly lifting the train. Youre lifting it once.
20. Re: TFA from Wired by polar+red · 2013-09-07 23:21 · Score: 1
  
  for both train and maglev, the limiting factor is air-resistance, so I don't see much room for improvement, unless vacuum or low pressure tunnels are built (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vactrain )
  
  --
  Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
21. Re:TFA from Wired by jrumney · 2013-09-08 01:53 · Score: 1
  
  The accident in Spain happened to a train that was running on the legacy, low speed network. In Europe, high speed lines are built as fullly segregated carefully controlled lines with trains running up to 320 km/h. To keep costs to a reasonable level and to allow more passengers to use it, the trains that run at high speeds on those lines branch off and use the old "classic" lines with the limitations and safety systems used for classic low speed trains. It was running on that old track, that the Spanish crash happened.
  Japan plans to do this too with dual gauge trains. I thought they already had them in service in Kyushu, but it seems from Wikipedia they are still in testing. Its a bit more difficult there, since normal JR lines are narrower gauge than Shinkansen (and some private railways), while in Europe almost all railways are using the same gauge.
22. Re:TFA from Wired by jrumney · 2013-09-08 01:56 · Score: 1
  
  This first maglev line is not expected to be in operation even partially until 2020
  Nice timing. Fits in with the first run of the Shinkansen in 1964.
23. Re:TFA from Wired by Jeremi · 2013-09-08 17:04 · Score: 1
  
  GPS wouldn't work in tunnels
  This wouldn't be a problem in practice, since the computer would know where the tunnels are and could therefore be programmed to do the right thing when the train enters one and the GPS signal is lost.
  
  and very often higher speed lines are adjacent to lower speed lines
  This would be a problem. I can't think of a good solution there (other than "note the issue in the database, and do something reasonable")
  
  --
  
  I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
24. Re:TFA from Wired by dave420 · 2013-09-08 22:35 · Score: 1
  
  Easy. Have each train know which track it is on, and receive the speed limits for all the tracks in the GPS window it is currently in. It'll then know how fast it should be travelling on its particular track, with no fear of confusion.
25. Re:TFA from Wired by xaxa · 2013-09-09 07:18 · Score: 1
  
  If you're somehow telling it what track it's on, you may as well use that system to tell it what the speed limit is -- which is what the European signalling systems do already.
26. Re:TFA from Wired by gagol · 2013-09-09 19:23 · Score: 1
  
  TY
  
  --
  Tomorrow is another day...
Earthquakes? by Em+Adespoton · 2013-09-07 10:01 · Score: 4, Interesting

What are they using to protect the track against earthquakes? I'd hate to be speeding along at those speeds and have the track shift/vanish from under me.. or even the "mag" suddenly cut out for that matter.
1. Re:Earthquakes? by Anachragnome · 2013-09-07 13:52 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  "... or even the "mag" suddenly cut out for that matter."
  Don't worry--we've worked diligently to address this issue by placing plutonium-core, self-contained electric cells every 500 meters along the track. Each section is self powered.
  I hope that alleviates your concerns regarding a steady supply of safe, reliable power. I appreciate this opportunity to answer all your questions.
  Bob, Senior Design Administrator
  TEPCO
2. Re:Earthquakes? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-07 13:55 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  same thing as they do right now with the bullet trains
  the train comes to a screaming emergency slowdown and halt
3. Re:Earthquakes? by Ichijo · 2013-09-07 17:24 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Remote seismic sensors can detect earthquakes (which move at a little over the speed of sound) and transmit a signal to the trains (at the speed of light) which then immediately brake to a stop before the seismic wave hits.
  
  --
  Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
4. Re:Earthquakes? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-07 17:44 · Score: 1
  
  Most Mag-Lev designs are such that as long as the train is moving above some minimal speed (usually above a couple 10s of mph) it will levitate without power. That is inherent in the magnetics design, so it is kind of fool proof as long as the track and train are physically intact. Without power, the train would coast until it slowed down to a relatively slow speed, and then come to a stop on a set of back up wheels for just such a case when a train is sitting some place without power.
Will it outrun the tentacles? by sandbagger · 2013-09-07 10:05 · Score: 3, Funny

Just curious.
As an aside, this is truly amazing technology. In case you're interested, look up how the acceleration and braking is controlled for a smooth ride. It's ethernet all the way down the trains for very small on the fly adjustments for ride smoothness.

--
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
1. Re:Will it outrun the tentacles? by AmiMoJo · 2013-09-07 21:42 · Score: 1
  
  Even the current wheeled trains have incredibly smooth acceleration and braking. More than once I have got on a Shinkansen, sat down and started checking my phone, only to look up and realize it had started moving. It's that smooth, that gentle.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
.. they should've gone with Hyperloop by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-07 10:09 · Score: 1

They should've asked Elon Musk to design a Hyperloop transport system for them. It would've saved them billions.
Re:kph, do you speak it? by h4rr4r · 2013-09-07 10:43 · Score: 1

Multiply by 1.6. You are on the internet third grade math should not be unknown to you.
Not long after, China will steal the design. by sethstorm · 2013-09-07 10:54 · Score: 1

Given China's history of theft, it won't be long until we see a design that is a knock-off of the Japanese design with some other bits thrown in.

--
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Thanks! by schneidafunk · 2013-09-07 11:28 · Score: 1

I appreciate all the responses, they are well informed and made me smarter :) I was too lazy to research myself and appreciate the additional insight. Your comments are the main reason I keep coming back to slashdot and participating in discussions.

--
Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
Energy efficiency? by antifoidulus · 2013-09-07 11:54 · Score: 4, Insightful

While the speed is all well and good, I have to wonder how much more energy this consumes than the current technology(or perhaps it's more efficient?) With the proliferation of mobile internet technology, I don't really see a whole lot of advantage in shaving off a few minutes on my travel time if it makes the ticket much more expensive(due to increased energy costs). I can get almost as much work/play done on the train as I can on the ground...

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!

--
Monstar L
1. Re: Energy efficiency? by khallow · 2013-09-07 14:44 · Score: 1
  
  I would expect to pay more if I rode during peak times than when the train was almost empty.
2. Re: Energy efficiency? by antifoidulus · 2013-09-07 15:02 · Score: 1
  
  Um, the "discounts" you get are hardly really discounts at all, 4000 yen tops, aren't aren't really all that flexible(you have to buy 5 days in advance, have to have them mailed to you etc). Compare this to what they have in Germany, which is a real logistics system that does a pretty good job of maximizing the number of riders on the ICE trains. JRs price system is still incredibly inflexible, even if you can jump through a few hoops to save a couple thousand yen.
  
  --
  Monstar L
Video by the_other_chewey · 2013-09-07 13:42 · Score: 2

What's a news item like this without video?

Here is one: L0 going 500 km/h
(views from inside the train earlier in the video)
What a difference westernization makes. by sethstorm · 2013-09-07 13:42 · Score: 1

The problem with that is that Japan improved itself and makes higher quality electronics as well as high-quality golfcarts that can be licensed for road use.
China on the other hand, relies on its status of being a supplier of easily-controlled labor and regularly steals designs (another monorail) or even entire companies (such as the military-backed-and-run Huawei - who stole Nortel - as well as a government-run company-in-name-only Lenovo - which stole IBM PCD by deception)

--
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Re:kph, do you speak it? by WillKemp · 2013-09-07 13:58 · Score: 2

Yep, if you really must use obsolete units, post a translation alongside - e.g., "310mph (500km/h)". You're writing for nerds, not your confused grandparents!
Re:After Fukushima, Japan's culture needs a rethin by 0123456 · 2013-09-07 14:36 · Score: 1

When was the last time the Fukushima site was hit by flooding of that level?
Re:After Fukushima, Japan's culture needs a rethin by AHuxley · 2013-09-07 19:35 · Score: 1

http://carnegieendowment.org/files/fukushima.pdf on page 11-12 should give some background on heights and the site ie they knew and still built the site lower down.

--
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
500 kph!!! by YoungManKlaus · 2013-09-07 19:54 · Score: 1

Only the US-Tards use MPH and the rest of the world is confused.
1. Re:500 kph!!! by CraterGlass · 2013-09-07 20:23 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, that's 500 km/h.
  kilo pico hours is not a unit of speed.
2. Re:500 kph!!! by EnglishDude · 2013-09-07 20:54 · Score: 1
  
  Km/h not kph. "per" is not an unit (SI or otherwise), and "k" means nothing on its own.
3. Re:500 kph!!! by EnglishDude · 2013-09-07 20:57 · Score: 1
  
  Even "mph" is technically incorrect, the "correct" way to do it is mile/h but no-one does this.
4. Re:500 kph!!! by YoungManKlaus · 2013-09-08 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  k, noted ... it actually is km/h in my native tongue (austrian ... not to be confused with german) and was just like "nah, can't be the same, lets write it the same way the write mph".
5. Re:500 kph!!! by Dog-Cow · 2013-09-08 17:36 · Score: 1
  
  You are what is known as an ignoramus. Or a total idiot. Possibly both!
  "kph" is an acronym (in the vernacular), or to be pedantic, an initialism. It stands for km per hour, which is a measure of speed which utilizes an SI unit.
  But you knew that, which really makes you an incredible piece of shit.
6. Re:500 kph!!! by Dog-Cow · 2013-09-08 17:38 · Score: 1
  
  It is not incorrect, technically, or otherwise. "mph" is an initialism, and not meant to represent a unit in-and-of-itself. You, however, are incorrect, both technically and otherwise.
7. Re:500 kph!!! by EnglishDude · 2013-09-09 07:36 · Score: 1
  
  Okay, I'm wrong, I put my hands up, I apologise. I know I'm not always right.
  No need to call me an idiot and a piece of shit.
Re:kph, do you speak it? by YoungManKlaus · 2013-09-07 19:55 · Score: 1

huuuuuge +1, SI UNITS!!!
Re:kph, do you speak it? by YoungManKlaus · 2013-09-07 19:56 · Score: 1

so why not divide by 1.6? People using MPH are the extreme minority on a global scale anyhow
Consumer surplus by AliasMarlowe · 2013-09-07 21:35 · Score: 2

if something is not profitable, then the net benefit to society is negative.
Counterexample: Wikipedia. It's a non-profit, based entirely on user contributed material and user curating of said material. Even in opinion at , Wikipedia was considered to be generating a consumer surplus. But the very notion of consumer surplus is missing from your analysis.
As another example, having accessible works in the public domain is a net benefit to society, even if there is no profit to be made from them. No doubt, having any works in the public domain is an economic catastrophe in such a narrow view as the one you presented.

--
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
1. Re:Consumer surplus by AliasMarlowe · 2013-09-07 21:36 · Score: 1
  
  The link missing from my post is here.
  
  --
  Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Re:World speed record ? Lol, the French have it si by dotbot · 2013-09-08 00:47 · Score: 1

The article is slightly confusing because, in some places, it cites the maximum speed in testing during development (where the world records are set) but appears to be ranking in order of maximum speed in service. In some cases the significance of the cited speed is not clear, e.g. "TGV Réseau 236 mph capability".
World record speeds are interesting but not particularly useful for passengers. The TGV that holds the world speed record for a conventional (wheeled) train operated under conditions that do not occur in normal use: it had larger wheels fitted and the overhead catenary had a higher voltage and a higher tension (to ensure that waves resulting from displacement due to the pantograph travelled faster than the train). An impressive feat, all the same.
Faster than what? by kbdd · 2013-09-08 00:58 · Score: 1

The French TGV did 357mph in 2007, six years ago. Interestingly, it was not a mag-lev prototype, it was a modified production train on a standard TGV track.
How much energy? by EmagGeek · 2013-09-08 00:58 · Score: 1

How much energy is expended per passenger-km compared to an efficient aircraft?
Re: kph, do you speak it? by Dogtanian · 2013-09-08 05:58 · Score: 1

US mile, Irish mile, Scot mile, nautical mile, statute mile? Which one. There are >50 different mike definitions.
Yes, but the distance everyone means by the plain "mile" (as opposed to "nautical mile", "Irish mile", "Underwater Kiwi-centric mile" or whatever) *is* standard.

Unlike "pint" or "ton" which can refer to significantly different quantities in (e.g.) the US versus the UK- and where you might have had a point- "mile" on its own virtually always refers to the regular international "statute mile" at 1760 yards. (*)

(*) Well, apparently the pre-1959 US mile still in use in some contexts varies from the international mile by a whopping... wait for it... 3.2mm. Which obviously makes a big difference in everyday discussion. ;-)

Miles are for retarded
Did you mean "for retards" or "for retarded people"?

(The irony...)

--
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
MPH? Is it time to switch to metric system? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-08 06:33 · Score: 1

News for nerds and there is MPH. What is up with that?
Re:For non-Americans by nbsr · 2013-09-08 09:53 · Score: 1

The sources say it is 500km/h. That's the problem with unit conversion - on one hand there is always accuracy loss (500km/h310mph), on another it paints a false picture. "310" (two significant digits) sounds like a maximum speed they have managed to achieve, "500" tells you they have reached a milestone or a design target. Bloomberg did it right - they provided original numbers with translations in parentheses for casual readers. Slashdot, which supposedly serves geeks and technical audience, hasn't been any better than a popular magazine.