Chuo Shinkansen
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Proposed Chuo Shinkansen route (gray) and existing Tokaido Shinkansen route (gold). |
Chuo Shinkansen (中央新幹線) is a proposed
maglev line connecting
Tokyo,
Nagoya, and
Osaka,
Japan. Although planning and construction have not begun, an eighteen-kilometer test track has been built between
Otsuki and
Tsuru,
Yamanashi Prefecture, which may be integrated into the line at a later date. The trains currently being tested have operating speeds of over 500 km/h (310 mph), making the Chuo Shinkansen the world's fastest railway.
The Chuo Shinkansen's proposed route follows the
Chuo Main Line between Tokyo and Nagoya, and the
Kansai Main Line between Nagoya and Osaka. The great expense in blasting tunnels through the mountains of central Japan has led many observers to speculate that the project would be a
white elephant that could never recoup its costs if it were actually built. According to an
International Railway Journal article in
May 2003, estimates put the total cost of the Chuo Shinkansen at
US$ 82.5 billion.
On
December 22003, this three-car train set a world record speed of 581 km/h (361 mph) in a manned vehicle run. Efforts are now underway to reduce cost and verify long-term durability and safety. More than 100,000 members of the public have ridden these maglev trains to date.
The line is occasionally referred to as the
Linear Shinkansen because of the use of a
linear motor as its method of propulsion.
*
JR-Maglev*
Maglev train*
Transrapid*
Aérotrain*
High-speed rail*
Central Japan Railway's information about the Chuo Shinkansen*
Linear Chuo Express (in Japanese)
