Japan is creating the world's fastest train
Japan is working on creating the world's fastest train, the L0 Series. In tests, this train can reach speeds of up to 603.5 km/h, making it significantly faster than any existing trains, including the Chinese maglev in Shanghai, which reaches 460.2 km/h. For comparison, in Europe, the fastest TGV trains in France and AGV Italo in Italy travel no faster than 306-354 km/h, writes Euronews.
Illustrative image. Photo: Justin Brinkhoff/Pexels
The L0 Series train uses magnetic levitation (maglev), thanks to which the carriages "levitate" above the rails and move with the help of an electromagnetic drive. By combining electricity and magnets, this method allows the train to glide through the air at previously unimaginable speeds.
This allows it to achieve incredible speeds and reduce travel times: the Tokyo-Nagoya route will take only 40 minutes, and Tokyo-Osaka about one hour. Today, travel on these routes takes 1.5-4 hours.
The project is very expensive – about 59.9 billion euros have already been spent on it, and it was planned to be completed in 2027, but a more realistic opening date is 2034-2035.
As for transferring this experience to Europe, there are doubts that such a train would be in high demand there. The L0 Series requires large investments and special infrastructure: it cannot run on current rails, and part of the tracks needs to be laid through new tunnels. In addition, it is more energy-intensive and has a lower passenger capacity, making it difficult to be profitable in European conditions.