日本和上海的磁悬浮

choi

(1)
(a) Eric Pfanner, 安倍推销日本磁悬浮，美国嫌贵. 纽约时报中文网, Nov 20, 2013
http://cn.nytimes.com/asia-pacific/20131120/c20train/

, which is probably translated from an older version of the English-language report.

(b) The published version in US:

Eric Pfanner, Japan Pitches Its High-Speed Train With an Offer to Finance. New York Times, Nov 19, 2013.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/1 ... s-maglev-train.html

Quote:

Some Americans “are trying to bring a maglev train to the crowded Northeast Corridor that will cruise between New York and Washington at more than twice the 150-mile-an-hour top speed of Amtrak’s Acela, the fastest train in the United States. Maglev trains could make the journey in an hour, compared with just under three hours, on a good day, for Acela. That would be considerably faster than flying, especially when getting to and from the airport is factored in.

“Japan has long been a pioneer in high-speed rail. It introduced bullet trains, or Shinkansen, to the world in 1964, on the eve of the Tokyo Olympics. But other countries have caught up. France and Germany developed high-speed trains that matched the Japanese speeds. China has built a high-speed network that surpasses Japan’s in its reach if not quite its speed.

“To stake its claim to leadership in a new generation of faster technology, Japan plans to begin construction of its first intercity maglev line next year, linking Tokyo with Nagoya and, eventually, Osaka [“the cost * * * is as breathtaking as the speed: the estimated budget for the Tokyo-Osaka line has risen to nearly $100 billion]. In tests, the Japanese maglev has reached speeds up to 580 kilometers an hour, or 360 m.p.h., the world record for a train.

“With the Japanese maglev, levitation occurs at about 90 m.p.h. That is when the wheels, shod with rubber tires, lift off the concrete guideway. Then the maglev train floats four inches above the U-shaped guideway, held aloft and propelled forward by superconducting magnets.

“It’s not just the cost that makes Japanese skeptical of the maglev plans. The maglev line, to be built by the Central Japan Railway Company, would pass straight through some of the most mountainous terrain in the country, including the Japanese Alps. About 86 percent of the route is to run through tunnels, creating monumental engineering challenges and raising concerns about the effects of earthquakes. The Tokyo-Nagoya portion is not expected to be completed until 2027, with the Nagoya-Osaka stretch to follow only in 2045.

Note:
(a) “Reijiro HASHIYAMA, a visiting professor at Chiba University of Commerce”
橋山 禮治郎/ 千葉商科大学 (private, established 1928; English acronym: CUC)
(b) Yoshiyuki KASAI, chairman of Central Japan Railway Company
葛西 敬之/ 東海旅客鉄道株式会社

choi

(2) Daniel Ren, Shanghai's maglev passenger traffic lower than expected. South China Morning Post, Nov 22, 2013.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/a ... ffic-lower-expected
(30km; built at a cost of about 10 billion yuan; opened at the end of 2002; a top speed of more than 500km/h; A one-way ticket sells for 50 yuan (HK$61.50) [compared to metro’s 10 yuan, since 2010] and the operator offers a 20 per cent discount on round-trip tickets)

Quote:

“The maglev operator won't release its latest passenger figures, but local media have reported that it could be posting a loss of 600 million to 700 million yuan a year.

“Its [Shanghai’s] own maglev train, which used to run at a top speed of 430km/h, runs at a maximum speed of 300km/h for most of the day for safety and energy-efficiency reasons.
Passengers can travel at the top speed only from 9am to 10.45am and from 3pm to 4.45pm.

Note: Shanghai Maglev Train (Began Jan 1, 2004 [public commercial service]; “The Shanghai maglev demonstration line cost US$1.2 billion to build. This total includes infrastructure capital costs such as right-of-way clearing”) Wikipedia