Now that's Fast! Japan to get 217 MPH Bullet Train
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada 
on 09.23.08
High-Speed Bullet Train in Japan
Train lovers around the world are jealous of Japan's high-speed trains. For example, the 1,528 miles Shinkansen railways network has trains that go up to 188 mph (300 kph). "Test run speeds have been 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record of 581 km/h (361 mph) for maglev trainsets, in 2003."
Now Kawasaki Heavy Industries has unveiled plans to develop a new high-speed train which is expected to achieve a speed of 217 mph (350 kph). Read on for more details.
300 and 700 Series Shinkansen at Tokyo Station.
Environmentally Friendly Super Express Train
Kawasaki calls the new train the efSET (environmentally friendly Super Express Train) and says that: "it will also be more energy efficient, less noisy and offer a better riding comfort through a superior electrical control mechanism and a highly aerodynamic body design."
Kawasaki plans to finalize the design by March 2010, and the company has already announced that it plans to prepare the efSET for international release. They estimate that 10,000 km of high-speed railways will be deployed over the next 20 years
Via Crunchgear, Inhabitat
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Why can't we have those in the US? At least between major cities.
I'd be happy if trains in the UK could do half that speed!
@ Why can't we have those in the US? At least between major cities.
We can. Tell all your California friends to VOTE YES on Proposition 1A to begin constructing High Speed Rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
http://www.calhighspeedrail.org/
Japan is working on the next generation bullet train, the maglev that you mentioned. They already have plans to build a maglev line between Tokyo and Osaka. This is the future of high speed train and it will successfully compete against the polluting airliners.
Too bad California is working on possibly building an already outdated high speed train. Cali should be going all out an go with the future of high speed train and they should build a maglev. The proposed Cali line will be slow compared to the Japan line.
If we really want to get people of the planes, we need superfast trains.
We can't have them here because they are not economically viable. A 217 MPH train does not average 217 MPH, and we have much, much greater distances to cover than Japan or Europe. And flying is so cheap, even with high fuel prices.
No, it doesn't average it's top speed, however the distance doesn't actually matter. Bullet trains are ideally suited for long distance runs: it's only short-distance runs which encounter performance issues. Flying only appears to be cheap and fast because there isn't a line long enough to bring out the true strengths of the bullet train system
i want to know how much petrol need to run this
The High Speed Train in California is a good idea, but has some serious issues. It will involve laying a third set of rails down the valley (which is flat), a new set of rails over the Tehachipi and Pacheco Passes (both of which are very rugged and steep). To top this, the entire route will need to be electrified. Because of the lobbying of the south valley communities (which should be included in the route), the line will not take the most expedient route or the easiest (which would parallel Interstate 5, then cut across to the coast by Paso Robles). Part of this route already has gradient and right of way from Tracy south to Los Banos.
In my opinion, the best immediate solution would be to pay the ATSF, which has the straighter route and the better rails to upgrade, then electrify that track, then use the equipment that the Swedes use on their high speed trains. They are not as fast, but certainly a whole lot cheaper to build.