New 500kmph maglev line to be built.

[GrimsbyPacer]

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/high-speed/single-view/view/work-starts-on-chuo-maglev.html

Central Japan Railway officially marked the start of work on the first phase of its Chuo Shinkansen superconducting maglev line between Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka with ceremonies at the Shinagawa and Nagoya station sites on December 17. According to JR Central, construction work on the 286 km between Tokyo and Nagoya will get underway in earnest in early 2015, and take about 10 years; around 85% of the line is expected to run in tunnel. Revenue operation is due to start ‘by 2027’. The second phase from Nagoya to Osaka would not be completed until 2045.
The company submitted its plans for the first phase to the government in August, and received a formal go-ahead from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure & Transport on October 17. It estimates that the cost of building this section will be around ¥5·4tr....

The Chuo Shinkansen maglev line will run at upto 500kmph with 85% of the line in a tunnel. It will run between Tokyo and Osaka and construction starts next year and it will take just 10 years to build.

 

[trivran]

10 years my arse, it's taking 12 years to get only to Nagoya - it'll take 'til 2045 to get to Osaka.

 

[starrymarkb]

Haven't they been trying to get this thing built for some time now?

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

10 years my arse, it's taking 12 years to get only to Nagoya - it'll take 'til 2045 to get to Osaka.

Sorry, I meant until maglev service starts not full line openning.

 

[edwin_m]

How long before it "gets off the ground"?

 

[theageofthetra]

Given that the air resistance must be a major engergy consumption factor at these speeds will the tunnels be operated at a partial vacuum? (or sucking/pushing the train through) - a nod back to those Victorian atmospheric railways!

 

[edwin_m]

I doubt it. If nothing else an airlock designed to allow passage at 500km/h would be several km long, and unless the tunnel is really long the energy needed to pump the air out would probably be similar to that lost by the train running through at normal atmospheric pressure.

 

[ian959]

I cannot help but feel that this has unmitigated disaster written all over it. I really hope I am wrong because I would love it to succeed. This may be one project that the Japanese may regret starting.