The record-breaking run is part of the tests before JR Central can start commercial operations in 2027 on the Tokyo- Nagoya line, which it’s constructing at a cost of 5.52 trillion yen ($47 billion). Japan has been seeking to sell its high-speed train technology to the U.S. and previously had high-profile travelers such as then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and transportation secretary Ray LaHood five years ago.
Japan is looking for an overseas customer for maglev technology as the country works toward opening its first major line. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the government may provide financing to support Central Japan Railway Co.’s bid to provide trains for a Washington-Baltimore line. Magnetic-levitation trains, or Maglevs, rely on magnetic power to float the cars above ground, eliminating the friction of steel tracks. The trains start running on wheels until they’re going fast enough for the magnets to kick in and create lift.
In August 2013, JR Central started resuming trials for the maglevs that will complement the Shinkansen bullet-train network, which was introduced in 1964 and where trains now go as fast as 320 kmph. The company spent five years building a 24- kilometer extension of a test track to send coaches as fast as 500 kmph, the speed at which commercial operations will take place. At that speed, the maglevs will whisk passengers to Nagoya from Tokyo in as little as 40 minutes for the 286-kilometer journey, from as short as 95 minutes.
