Japanese railway company starts testing 249mph bullet train speeds

[Karlston]

Alfa-X slated for service in 2030, leaving room for another high-speed rail to catch up.

Enlarge / JR East unveils to the media its new test bullet train "ALFA-X" in Rifu, Miyagi prefecture on May 9, 2019.

JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images

This week, Japanese railway company JR East showed off its new Alfa-X, a high-speed bullet train that is designed to achieve a top speed of 400kph, or 249mph, which would make it the fastest commercial train in the world. In day-to-day operations, the train would shuttle passengers at 360kph, or roughly 224mph.

 

On Friday, JR East will begin testing the Alfa-X, without passengers, on its railways. According to Bloomberg, the 10-car train will make the trip "between the cities of Aomori and Sendai at night" for the next three years during a testing phase. JR East hopes to use the Alfa-X commercially by 2030. Japan News says the line will eventually be extended to Sapporo.

 

That long lead time suggests that there might be an opening for another high-speed bullet train option to overtake the Alfa-X Shinkansen train in speed for commercial railway service.

 

Bloomberg notes that the front runner for the top-speed crown may be a magnetically-levitated train line that's being built between Tokyo and Nagoya, which is expected to open in 2027. That train, however, takes advantage of a tunnel-heavy route to achieve a top speed of 505kph (314mph). (That project was also beset by scandal in 2018, though it appears to still be underway.)

 

Additionally, many startups are working on bringing a so-called Hyperloop to market. Hyperloop pods would run in a low-pressure tube on magnetic levitation rails (or alternatively, air-bearings), allowing them to reach theoretical speeds greater than 600mph. 

 

But since SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk pitched the idea in 2013, few startups or teams have been able to deliver on a speed record. Virgin Hyperloop One, arguably the best-funded Hyperloop startup, may be the closest: it has a test track outside of Las Vegas where it has been able to log a speed of 240mph (386kph) in less than a quarter-mile (300 meters).

 

Ryan Kelly, the head of Marketing and Communications for Virgin Hyperloop One, told Ars by email today, "We have no doubt we’ll be able to at least double that in commercial operation."

 

For now, the Alfa-X has a nose that spans 22 meters (72 feet) to cut through wind resistance, and according to Bloomberg it will have "air brakes on the roof and also use magnetic plates near the rails to slow down, in addition to conventional brakes."

 

Information on the Alfa-X from JR East notes that the train will have dampers to prevent swaying, specifically during an earthquake.

 

Source: Japanese railway company starts testing 249mph bullet train speeds (Ars Technica)

[The AchieVer]

Japan's New Bullet Train Can Hit 224 MPH

 

Sure, the train won't be taking passengers for at least another decade. But lord, is it fast.

 

 

JIJI PRESS/AFP/GETTY IMAGESGETTY IMAGES

 

Japanese shinkansen, or bullet trains, are perhaps the best known regional train system in the world. Often seen as a symbol of Japanese efficiency, the trains have helped shape the modern nature of the country. Now, the East Japanese Railway Company (JR-East) is pushing the system even further with a bullet train known as Alfa-X, which is capable of traveling at top speeds of 224 mph (360 km/h).

 

JR-East is one of seven for-profit companies that control Japan's bullet trains under the auspices of the government's Japan Railways Group. The train itself will be built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Hitachi. The company plans to begin testing the train this Friday, with the goal of putting it into service by 2030. During the tests, the engineers hope to push the Alfa-X to a little past 248 mph (400 km/h). The tests will run twice a week for the next three years. 

 

 

Eleven years might sound like a long time from now, but integrating a new train into such a complex system takes time. The Alfa-X is longer than current trains—51 feet (16 m) versus the current 49 (15 m)—and features a 72-foot long (22 m) nose, which is an experiment to see if it will be quieter when entering tunnels. 

 

The noise from shinkansen has been a recurring problem, especially as the train system has expanded deeper into the country's rural areas. Without further adaptation, making trains faster and faster would just exacerbate the problem.

 

 

Inside the cab of the new Alfa-X train. Japanese officials hope the train will be on the rails for customers by 2030.

 

 

 

Source

[mp68terr]

Glad to see that Popular Mechanics is using the km/h unit instead of the kph used by Ars Technica.

 

As for the extra meter, there is neither problem nor need to update the stations as long as the position of the doors remain the same as for today's shinkansen.

[Karlston]

Similar topics merged.

[DKT27]

One of the mankind's great inventions if you ask me about them.

 

From childhood I have been amazed by them.