Japan To Test Its Next Generation Shinkansen ‘Bullet’ Train, and Working on Maglev

FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Japan To Test Its Next Generation Shinkansen ‘Bullet’ Train, and Working on Maglev

Jan. 7, 2019 (EIRNS)—Japan is to test the newest generation of its Shinkansen bullet train. Shin Kaneko, president of Central Japan Railway (JR Central), one of five bullet train operators in Japan, announced the testing of the new N700S Shinkansen at speeds of up to 360 kph (224 mph) this year, according to a report by the Japan Times and Sputnik.

The new trains are expected to begin operating on the Tokaido Shinkansen line, which links Shin-Osaka Station and Tokyo Station, in 2020, and will operate at 360 kph. Current bullet trains operate at a maximum speed of 285 kph.

“We aim to carry out test runs at 360 kph this year so that we can demonstrate safety when we export the train to such markets as the United States and Taiwan,” Kaneko stated, cited by the Japan Times. Kaneko detailed that earlier test runs of the next-generation N700S bullet train ran at maximum speeds of 330 kph.

Kaneko also confirmed that construction for the maglev route had begun.

“We have secured more than 50% of land needed for the maglev work on the west side of Nagoya Station, and are now in talks with landowners for the east side of the station, [and] we’ll continue making all-out efforts,”

he said. Japan’s magnetic levitation, which requires no wheels on rail track, is capable of traveling up to 603 kph (375 mph), according to current tests. It will first connect Tokyo to Nagoya, in 2027, then on to Osaka by 2045.