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Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#151

Post by ceejayoz »

wahsd wrote: post #145
ceejayoz wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It simply does not make sense to me anymore to try and build high speed rail on the ground, on fixed "rails" in order to not even get close to even slow airplane speeds. Planes have higher max speeds, but they're subject to weather delays and other issues that bring their average speeds down well into maglev territory. > With the roll-out of more sophisticated air traffic control systems that will allow denser traf…

You are not thinking objectively, it's quite obvious. Not only will weather impact the operation and speed of a maglev just as much if not more considering that high winds and / or blistering heat can significantly impact the train and track. And if you think that a few storms disrupting the air transportation network is a problem because some idiots thought it was a good idea to make Chicago a hub then you are not t…

> Not only will weather impact the operation and speed of a maglev just as much if not more considering that high winds and / or blistering heat can significantly impact the train and track.

Planes are frequently grounded/delayed by weather systems trains would have no trouble transiting, particularly thunderstorms.

> I don't think you could even pay for all the rail lines that would need to be built in order to serve the same number of passengers between the same number of destinations as you can flexibly adapt to with air travel.

Once again, you pretend like this doesn't already exist throughout Europe and Japan already.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#152

Post by idlewords »

tptacek wrote: post #135
zachalexander wrote: post #3

Amazing. Writing this from Berlin, which doesn't have maglev trains, but has phenomenal public transit. It's sad to be going back to the US soon where the infrastructure is so primitive.

It's easy to call other rail infrastructures "primitive" when your baseline is Berlin to Munich. The US eastern seaboard handles those routes well too. Rail doesn't do so well when you need NYC to Chicago (~800 miles).

You would really compare German intercity travel to Acela (i.e., rail service on the Boston-NYC-Philly-DC route)? Three differences that immediately come to mind:

1) Severely limited track speeds through the entire NE corridor.

2) A boarding experience that seems to be modeled on air travel, with security gates, ID checks and waiting rooms.

3) Very infrequent service compared to main intercity routes in Europe.

Calling it primitive is provocative but pretty accurate.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#153

Post by bane »

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…

If you can get into the global traveler program, the us system can be very light and quick.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#154

Post by Shivetya »

tormeh wrote: post #11
Shivetya wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Primitive? Really? Doesn't seem to affect usage rates does it? Its a myth really, one that is perpetuated simply because people think its correct and far too many who like the idea of it being correct don't want to know otherwise. Maybe Berlin and Germany stand out amongst Europe, but with regards to passenger miles trains are less that seven percent of all travel within the EU [1]. High speed rail does two things, e…

I think it's inner-city transport the parent is referring to. It really is fantastic in Berlin. Nothing beats a good metro for inner-city transport, and Berlin has it. Tokyo and New York is better, though, but then again those are vastly bigger cities. And yeah, long-range train passenger transport generally sucks but it's not really relevant, as it's not inner-city. Besides, train travel doesn't need to suck - Magle…

and I have no issues with inner city travel in Atlanta or Chicago. The issue at hand based on the original article is transport between cities. Hence the point I made is valid, the trope that Europe is some bastion of passenger transport by train simply isn't true, unless you count a few percentage points as an amazing number.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#155

Post by tptacek »

idlewords wrote: post #152
tptacek wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's easy to call other rail infrastructures "primitive" when your baseline is Berlin to Munich. The US eastern seaboard handles those routes well too. Rail doesn't do so well when you need NYC to Chicago (~800 miles).

You would really compare German intercity travel to Acela (i.e., rail service on the Boston-NYC-Philly-DC route)? Three differences that immediately come to mind: 1) Severely limited track speeds through the entire NE corridor. 2) A boarding experience that seems to be modeled on air travel, with security gates, ID checks and waiting rooms. 3) Very infrequent service compared to main intercity routes in Europe. Calli…

1) Totally fair: average speed from DC to BOS is half of Berlin-Hamburg.

2) That's not my Acela experience at all; last time I took it (a few years ago) it was no more involved than boarding a Metra train in Chicago.

3) Totally fair.

I guess this is just knee-jerkism on my part. The topic comes up on HN every once in awhile about how backwards the US is w/r/t/ rail transport, and while you could still make a lot of strides on DC-BOS, there are good reasons why most of the country doesn't have rail connectivity. But that wasn't what was being argued here.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#156

Post by brightsize »

odonnellryan wrote: post #61
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 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. I basically did this from Tampa FL. I think I arrived at security for a domestic flight like 30 minutes prior to takeoff.

You can do that at Spokane Int'l (GEG). Flying is still an enormous hassle but at least GEG doesn't add much to the stress. Given a choice I'd take the ICE every time if we had such a thing here. Few hassles, comfortable seats, nice scenery out the windows. A little expensive but worth it to me.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#157

Post by 6t6t6 »

kalleboo wrote: post #106
riffraff wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

They don't event ask for a piece of ID.

It's just a pity that Narita is almost two hours and 30$ far from most parts of Tokyo...

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#158

Post by 6t6t6 »

adrianN wrote: post #112
Someone1234 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trains still have an "end of the line." So, yes, you could if you were going fast enough. Also aircraft security was too much even pre-9/11.

Trains have automatic systems that engage the emergency brake if they ignore stops or go faster than allowed. They are not completely foolproof, but it's pretty hard to crash trains.

Not always:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Compostela_rail_dis...

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#159

Post by deciplex »

6t6t6 wrote: post #157
kalleboo wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

They don't event ask for a piece of ID. It's just a pity that Narita is almost two hours and 30$ far from most parts of Tokyo...

It baffles me that the country famous for high speed trains never bothered to build one between the city where 1/4 of its people live and the airport that handles most of its international flights (and used to handle all of them). Skyliner is pretty fast but it's not a Shinkansen, and Narita Express is basically just an ordinary train.

Of course, it's also baffling that they built the airport so far away in the first place, but that's another story.

Re: Japan maglev train breaks world speed record again

#160

Post by Sami_Lehtinen »

XJOKOLAT wrote: post #105
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.

In Malaysia and Egypt it was just so swift. They didn't even care about my bottle of coke.
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