Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again • Hacker News Board

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#101

Post by Symbiote » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:03 PM UTC

gutnor wrote: post #39

jasonkester wrote: post #27

I wonder if we'll ever get back to "High Speed Air" in my lifetime. Back in the 70s, you could rock up at the airport twenty minutes before your flight left, jump on with minimal hassle, and cruise along at 600mph to your destination. Now, you need to endure two hours of having your fingernail clippers confiscated so that you can fly at 500mph to save on fuel costs. That seems to be the true advantage of rail travel.…

Thankfully, train do not have checked luggage and no practical technological way to introduce it (i.e. something that does not require to rebuild all the stations, most of them deep in the cities) - so there is a huge commercial imperative to tone down the security theater . I hope at least, I don't want to be proven wrong on that one. Boarding the Eurostar for example, is definitively not a 5 min job, more like 1 ho…

Eurostar is quite exceptional. They recommend 30 minutes.

There's a passport check, and a 30km undersea tunnel, which is probably considered a terrorist target. Knives, alcohol etc are permitted, but not compressed gas or liquid fuel. (I tried this once, on a camping trip.)

You can take an almost identical train from King's Cross to Glasgow, arriving 5 minutes before departure (or less, 2 is the minimum recommended time).

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#102

Post by ultimoo » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:08 PM UTC

Contrast this with the Caltrain that chugs diesel and barely goes at 80 mph taking over 1 hour and 40 minutes to get from San Francisco to San Jose (the hubs of modern day technology). At this point the only advantage that Caltrain brings to the bay area is that you don't have to worry about parking in San Francisco.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#103

Post by thrownaway2424 » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:12 PM UTC

jasonkester wrote: post #27

I wonder if we'll ever get back to "High Speed Air" in my lifetime. Back in the 70s, you could rock up at the airport twenty minutes before your flight left, jump on with minimal hassle, and cruise along at 600mph to your destination. Now, you need to endure two hours of having your fingernail clippers confiscated so that you can fly at 500mph to save on fuel costs. That seems to be the true advantage of rail travel.…

Back in the 70's air travel cost triple what it costs today, and there were many fewer people who could afford the ticket.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#104

Post by dheera » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:21 PM UTC

apendleton wrote: post #85

dheera wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. The current incarnation of the US transportation system is also downright unsustainable from a fuel and carbon standpoint, and will lead to various downfalls if something isn't done about it. As much as I'm a public transportation advocate (I don't own a car, and refuse car rides if a public transportation option is available for the place I need to get to), it's becoming increasingly more difficult to promot…

Huh. I have pretty much the opposite feelings about Uber as you, as a fellow non-driver and public transit advocate. I think Uber (and also car-sharing services like Zipcar) are great for transit advocates, because they make it much easier for city dwellers to justify not owning a car, to the extent that I suspect that they actually increase transit usage. Many people in my city (Washington, DC) that own cars don't a…

Yeah, that's also true. It's very rare that I need to travel to a place that requires a car to get to, so I can spend on Uber in those cases, and that allows me to not own a car.

However, this isn't the way a lot of people use Uber; at least where I live a lot of people use Uber because it's faster and more comfortable than public transportation, not because public transportation doesn't get them where they need to. I've seen business school students (i.e. students who have cash to burn) frequently take Uber between MIT and Harvard for god's sake. There's direct bus and subway service, but it involves a 5 minute walk on both ends, they're too lazy to look it up, and don't want to wait outside.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#105

Post by XJOKOLAT » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:23 PM UTC

jasonkester wrote: post #27

I wonder if we'll ever get back to "High Speed Air" in my lifetime. Back in the 70s, you could rock up at the airport twenty minutes before your flight left, jump on with minimal hassle, and cruise along at 600mph to your destination. Now, you need to endure two hours of having your fingernail clippers confiscated so that you can fly at 500mph to save on fuel costs. That seems to be the true advantage of rail travel.…

Agreed, London City Airport has been the only saving grace - it's possible to breeze through there in 20 minutes IIRC.

Internal flights in Africa and Asia are pretty good in terms of time too . Some actually feel like train stations.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#106

Post by kalleboo » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:25 PM UTC

riffraff wrote: post #84

the8472 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That still exists outside the US. Last year I took a flight from germany to a conference in poland and strolled through the airport after checking in. I left the security zone by accident - simply walking through a pair of sliding doors which only open from one side - 10 minutes before departure. But it wasn't a big problem, I simply went through the metal detector/xrays for hand luggage and arrived at the gate with…

as someone who has taken a few hundred flights outside the US in the last years: people get to take their shoes off quite often, but mostly boots and worker's shoes, not sneakers. Sometimes they also ask you to take off a hoodie or such clothing, of course your belt, put your laptop separately from the rest, get an occasional pat down, and the liquid restrictions ("don't take that mysterious bottle in here, but your…

I'd say in Japan it's still train-wise in smoothness for domestic flights. They still sell tickets up to 30 minutes before the flight, tell you to be at the airport and have your luggage checked in 15 minutes before, and at the gate 10 minutes before departure. With no luggage there is no check in as long as you have a mileage card or a phone where you can show the 2D barcode. You can even bring liquids.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#107

Post by argc » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:25 PM UTC

the8472 wrote: post #42

jasonkester wrote: post #27

I wonder if we'll ever get back to "High Speed Air" in my lifetime. Back in the 70s, you could rock up at the airport twenty minutes before your flight left, jump on with minimal hassle, and cruise along at 600mph to your destination. Now, you need to endure two hours of having your fingernail clippers confiscated so that you can fly at 500mph to save on fuel costs. That seems to be the true advantage of rail travel.…

That still exists outside the US. Last year I took a flight from germany to a conference in poland and strolled through the airport after checking in. I left the security zone by accident - simply walking through a pair of sliding doors which only open from one side - 10 minutes before departure. But it wasn't a big problem, I simply went through the metal detector/xrays for hand luggage and arrived at the gate with…

I've had to take my shoes off in many places in Europe and Asia. It's definitely not just a "US" thing.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#108

Post by mcintyre1994 » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:29 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #58

jusben1369 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US we really don't have any rail alternative to flying. I'd love to know how European travellers thinks and weigh up rail (which seems relatively fast and efficient) vs flying. Do you think the two are interchangeable services? Is there a magical breaking point (more than 500km's distance etc) ?

The budget airlines provide such a customer hostile experience that many people prefer trains. These are (England) sometimes awful, but mostly okay and can be nice. Commuting tends to be worse than the occaisional train journey. The baffling fare structure drastically needs reform -- the same journey can either cost £27 or £72 -- these will be the same class on the same day, just different times. It's frustrating. I…

> the same journey can either cost £27 or £72 -- these will be the same class on the same day, just different times.

Or just bought at different times. I recently saw a return train ticket for £50, the next day it was £90, the next back to £50. I bought it then so not sure what happened after that. Admittedly that example was travelling over easter but it's a consistent annoyance.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#109

Post by Crito » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:29 PM UTC

binarymax wrote: post #36

jasonkester wrote: post #27

I wonder if we'll ever get back to "High Speed Air" in my lifetime. Back in the 70s, you could rock up at the airport twenty minutes before your flight left, jump on with minimal hassle, and cruise along at 600mph to your destination. Now, you need to endure two hours of having your fingernail clippers confiscated so that you can fly at 500mph to save on fuel costs. That seems to be the true advantage of rail travel.…

The security won't get blown out of proportion for trains like air, because while trains can do significant damage to themselves and surrounding buildings - you cant take one and crash it anywhere you like. 9/11 never would have happened with a train. A hijacked plane is a missile.

Also it is easier to crash a train when you aren't on it. All you need is a sufficiently long prybar.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#110

Post by MichaelGG » Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 4:31 PM UTC

jasonkester wrote: post #27

I wonder if we'll ever get back to "High Speed Air" in my lifetime. Back in the 70s, you could rock up at the airport twenty minutes before your flight left, jump on with minimal hassle, and cruise along at 600mph to your destination. Now, you need to endure two hours of having your fingernail clippers confiscated so that you can fly at 500mph to save on fuel costs. That seems to be the true advantage of rail travel.…

If you don't have bags and are checked in online, you can totally show up 20 minutes before a flight (just know the geometry of the place cause it might take a lot of walking/trams). I show up usually around 65 minutes before departure at SFO (international flight with checked bags); never had a problem.