High-speed rail refers to trains traveling over 200 km/h on dedicated or upgraded tracks. Japan and France lead in adoption, but China and the US are considering it. Maglev trains use magnets to float above rails, reducing friction and increasing speed. High-speed trains are effective in high-density areas and for journeys under 3 hours, offering greater capacity, lower costs, less pollution, and better safety than air travel. However, the high capital cost of building dedicated tracks makes investors wary.
High-speed rail refers to trains running on special tracks at over 200 km/h (125 mph). The International Union of Railways describes a high-speed train as one traveling faster than 250 km/h (155 mph) on dedicated track, or 200 km/h on upgraded conventional track. High-speed trains are used most widely in Japan and France, but China and the United States each have one and are considering further adoption. Other countries with high speed trains include Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the UK. The world’s first bullet train was the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, launched in October 1964, which traveled between Tokyo and Osaka in Japan.
The latest high-speed rail research involves the use of magnet rails, where the magnets are carefully arranged to allow the train to actually float above the rails. This is relatively expensive, but significantly reduces friction and increases the possible top speed. Japan’s maglev train, JR-Maglev MLX01, reached 361 mph (580.9 km/h) in 2003, setting the record for fastest train. The record for conventional rail trains was set by the French TGV, train a grande vitesse, which reached 357.2 mph (574.8 km/h) on April 3, 2007.
High-speed trains are an effective form of transportation in areas where population densities are high and distances are long but not too long. This explains their adoption in France and Japan. The longer preparation times associated with going to the airport, going through security, boarding, taxiing and taking off make high-speed trains an attractive alternative to air travel under certain circumstances. Proposals have been made to develop high-speed rail between Boston, New York and Washington, DC on the East Coast, and between San Francisco and Sacramento in California.
Some advantages of high-speed trains over air travel are greater capacity, less fuel consumption, lower costs, less pollution and better safety. As a general rule, high-speed trains are believed to beat airplanes in convenience for journeys under 3 hours. For a high-speed train traveling at 300 km/h (186 mph) or 400 km/h (249 mph), this can extend over significant distances. The capital cost of investing in a new high-speed rail system and building dedicated tracks makes investors wary of such proposals, a problem also seen in nuclear power.
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