Get to Know: The World's Fastest Train & Magnetic Levitation
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Get to Know: The World's Fastest Train & Magnetic Levitation BY SATTA SARMAH, FAST COMPANY CONTENT STUDIOS ISSUE NO. 2, FALL 2014
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What it is: Magnetic levitation trains—or maglevs— rely on an electrodynamic suspension system that moves passenger cars along a steel track called a guideway. The track contains metal coils and superconducting magnets positioned at opposite ends of the line that propel the train forward. Once the speed reaches 90 mph, the maglev actually floats four inches above the guideway, giving it more velocity than a conventional train. Where it is: Maglev trains are currently in Japan, China, and Germany. Speed: A swift 310 mph. That’s twice as fast as Amtrak’s Acela Express, currently the speediest train in the U.S. Traveling from Washington, D.C., to New York, typically a three-hour ride on Acela today, would take an hour on a maglev. What it feels like: “It’s unbelievable. It’s hard to imagine,” says Robert Puentes, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, who rode on a maglev train in Japan. “It glides.” Cost: The Central Japan Railway Company is spending $52 billion to expand its maglev network from Tokyo to Nagoya by 2027. It plans to extend the line to Osaka by 2045, putting the total project cost at $100 billion. It would cost an estimated $10 billion to construct a line between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Obstacles to bringing maglev trains to the U.S.: Cost and land. “It’s really about the jurisdictional challenges,” says Puentes. “[A maglev] is not something that can ride on conventional tracks. It requires extensive land purchases. The land generally needs to be straight and flat.” Verdict:
In a strategy more associated with Silicon Valley, the Central Japan Railway Company, the private operator that owns the maglev technology, is considering giving the U.S. a free license to its engineering. Much like Google opening up its software code to outside developers or Elon Musk sharing his Tesla patents, the Japanese would hope to stimulate the market for high-speed rail, creating opportunities to leverage their expertise down the line. DID YOU KNOW: Railways, including Russian Railways and Swiss Federal Railways, use HP software, hardware and services to manage rail data and functions, to automatically document incidents and orders, and to create and bolster the security systems that protect the railways’ data. Click here to learn more about HP’s Travel and Transportation Industry Solutions. SHARE
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Get to Know: The World's Fastest Train & Magnetic Levitation BY SATTA SARMAH, FAST COMPANY CONTENT STUDIOS ISSUE NO. 2, FALL 2014
0
SHARE
What it is: Magnetic levitation trains—or maglevs— rely on an electrodynamic suspension system that moves passenger cars along a steel track called a guideway. The track contains metal coils and superconducting magnets positioned at opposite ends of the line that propel the train forward. Once the speed reaches 90 mph, the maglev actually floats four inches above the guideway, giving it more velocity than a conventional train. Where it is: Maglev trains are currently in Japan, China, and Germany. Speed: A swift 310 mph. That’s twice as fast as Amtrak’s Acela Express, currently the speediest train in the U.S. Traveling from Washington, D.C., to New York, typically a three-hour ride on Acela today, would take an hour on a maglev. What it feels like: “It’s unbelievable. It’s hard to imagine,” says Robert Puentes, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, who rode on a maglev train in Japan. “It glides.” Cost: The Central Japan Railway Company is spending $52 billion to expand its maglev network from Tokyo to Nagoya by 2027. It plans to extend the line to Osaka by 2045, putting the total project cost at $100 billion. It would cost an estimated $10 billion to construct a line between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Obstacles to bringing maglev trains to the U.S.: Cost and land. “It’s really about the jurisdictional challenges,” says Puentes. “[A maglev] is not something that can ride on conventional tracks. It requires extensive land purchases. The land generally needs to be straight and flat.” Verdict:
In a strategy more associated with Silicon Valley, the Central Japan Railway Company, the private operator that owns the maglev technology, is considering giving the U.S. a free license to its engineering. Much like Google opening up its software code to outside developers or Elon Musk sharing his Tesla patents, the Japanese would hope to stimulate the market for high-speed rail, creating opportunities to leverage their expertise down the line. DID YOU KNOW: Railways, including Russian Railways and Swiss Federal Railways, use HP software, hardware and services to manage rail data and functions, to automatically document incidents and orders, and to create and bolster the security systems that protect the railways’ data. Click here to learn more about HP’s Travel and Transportation Industry Solutions. SHARE
MORE FROM HP MATTER
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The Baby Boomers Drive Change, Again
VIDEO: How UPS has Become the New Face of Global Transportation Logistics
INFOGRAPHIC: Baseball in Flight
Harnessing Graph Analytics to Optimize our World
Five Key Traits of Citizen-Centric Governments
Leave a comment: Log in to post your comment
LOG IN TO POST COMMENT
0 COMMENTS
Newest Comments
POINTS OF INTEREST
Top Rated
INFOGRAPHIC: Biometric Technology, Airport Security and the Changing Face of Travel
How Connected Cars will Revolutionize our Roadways and the Way We Drive
HP and The Panama Canal: Driving Business Value through Supply Chain Innovation
SLIDESHOW: Gateway to Environmental Innovation
Union Pacific’s CIO Wants Big Data using the Internet of Things
UPCOMING EVENTS
Exploring The Machine with Martin Fink: Big Data and The Internet of Things REGISTER
THE NEXT ISSUE OF HP MATTER
enter your email
NOTIFY ME
HP MATTER CULTURE
NEXT
DESIGN
EMERGING
EXPERIENCE
Keep me informed enter your email
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www.hp.com
Copyright 2014
About
Contact Us
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