Japan’s maglev breaks world speed record

Rail Transport is Japan have become an essential part of Japanese culture. Majority of people in Japan rely on rail transport. Rail Transport in Japan is famous for its prowess in high speed train travel and its state-of-the-art trains. It was Japan who pioneered the high-speed bullet train. Japan’s high speed trains are one of the most advanced in the world , with trains running with minimal delays. An important aspect of rail transport in Japan is punctuality. People in Japan don’t expect trains to be late as little as 5 minutes.

Japan’s maglev train attained a speed of just over 603 km/h (373 mph) and managed nearly 11 seconds at600 km/h, thereby, setting up a world speed record on April 21,2015 in a test run near Mount Fuji.  It broke the 590 km/h mark it has set up last week in another test, breaking its own 2003 record of 581 km/h. The seven-car maglev train is short for “magnetic leviation “. Maglev trains use electrically charged magnets to lift and move carriages above the rail tracks. It hovers 10 centimeters above the tracks and is propelled by electrically charged magnets. The train travelled 1.8 km in under 11 seconds, Central Japan Railway said. About 200 train fanatics gathered along the route to witness the test run and cheered when the train crossed the 600 km/h mark.

The maglev train service is expected to go into operations by 2027 , between Tokyo and Nagoya, 286km away at a cost of about $100 billion. Nearly 80% of the route will run through tunnels. The train would run at a speed of 500 km/h and is expected to cover the distance between the two cities in 40 minutes , which is  nearly half of the present travel time.

The maglev trains begun as a project of Japan Airlines and the national railways with government support. Japan is hoping to sell its high speed train technology overseas in an attempt to increase its share in infrastructure exports. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be touting the technology in US  for a high-speed link between New York and Washington.

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