East Japan Railway unveiled on Wednesday a brand-new bullet-train series that will bring cities outside the island of Honshu closer to Tokyo once it goes into service.
The body shell of a test driving car for the next-generation Alfa-X Shinkansen train made its debut in Kobe. With a sleek and aerodynamic design featuring a 16-meter nose, the train will be able to reach speeds of 400km/h.
Kyodo News reports that assembly of an experimental 10-car Alfa-X train is half-complete, and a test run is slated for May.
Once up and running, the new train should slash the travel time between Tokyo and Sapporo in Hokkaido by 40% to within three hours.
When Alfa-X enters commercial service as Japan’s fastest bullet train, it will redeem the nation’s glory of being the leader of high-speed rail services with its Shinkansen network. China’s leaps in express rail construction and a sprawling, 25,000-kilometer network nationwide have eclipsed the fame of Japan’s Shinkansen. The top speed of trains in commercial service in China is 350km/h.
The experimental Alfa-X train will incorporate new technologies including dampers to reduce vibration as well as the likelihood of derailment when hit by an earthquake.
JR East officially announced its plans to build a 10-car experimental high-speed train in 2017.
According to JR East president Tetsuro Tomita, the new generation of train sets will be needed during the 2020s to run on the 211.7km Hokkaido Shinkansen extension to Sapporo. Running at 400 km/h, it would be possible to achieve a journey time of around three hours on the route between Tokyo and Sapporo.
A key priority for the train’s development will be to minimize noise during operation, as well as minimizing the pressure pulses when entering tunnels at extreme speeds.
Read more: China testing super maglev trains that could hit 1,000km/h
Don’t underestimate Japanese in the race to build the fastest train between the Chinese, French, Japanese and US. Japs will win in technology and quality!
Don’t underestimate Japanese in the race to build the fastest train between the Chinese, French, Japanese and US. Japs will win in technology and quality!
Competition is always good. If the Japs can get a supersonic HSR into operations, the demand will be great especially in densely populated continental size countries.
Competition is always good. If the Japs can get a supersonic HSR into operations, the demand will be great especially in densely populated continental size countries.
The Japanese are the masteres here, but the Chinese will be competitive in this race. The rest of the world will gain through the development of better quality transportation.
The Japanese are the masteres here, but the Chinese will be competitive in this race. The rest of the world will gain through the development of better quality transportation.
CHINA WELCOME COMPETITION! BUT NOT MASSACREING, PLUNDERING AND RAPING OF INNOCENTS PEOPLE LIKE WHAT THE JAPS DID DURING WWII.
CHINA WELCOME COMPETITION! BUT NOT MASSACREING, PLUNDERING AND RAPING OF INNOCENTS PEOPLE LIKE WHAT THE JAPS DID DURING WWII.
CHINA ALWAYS WANTED FAIR COMPETITION. THE ROGUE STATES OF AMERICA WANTED TO CONTAINED AND PUSHED EVERYONE DOWN!
CHINA ALWAYS WANTED FAIR COMPETITION. THE ROGUE STATES OF AMERICA WANTED TO CONTAINED AND PUSHED EVERYONE DOWN!
CHINA DOING FON ON THEIR TERRITORY. US ROGUE STATES DID FON AWAY FROM THEIR TERRITORY.
CHINA DOING FON ON THEIR TERRITORY. US ROGUE STATES DID FON AWAY FROM THEIR TERRITORY.
Penny Shore stop living in the past…
Penny Shore stop living in the past…
China currently is building a 500km/hr line.
China currently is building a 500km/hr line.
China is now developing 600km/hr high speed railway.
China is now developing 600km/hr high speed railway.