These high-speed trains are also called “Bullet train”, from English “bullet train”, they depart from Tokyo Station in the Japanese capital, and cover almost all of Japan with a wide network. Japan built its first high-speed train back in 1964, and now the length of the Shinkansen high-speed railway network is about 2,500 kilometers. They cover the main Japanese island of Honshu with their network, south island Kyushu, and undersea expressways are already under construction to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
In Tokyo, I lived at Shinagawa Station - this is a large transport hub, and the “bullet train” made a short stop there in just 1.5 minutes. Tokyo densely populated city and Japanese bullet trains operate with short stops at the city's most important transport hubs and at major intermediate stations between cities. Japan is industrially developed quite evenly and there is life here too in the suburbs, people live, work and move around. It is clear that in Russia, it is not clear why and where the high-speed Sapsan stops on the way from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
Shinagawa Railway Station Pavilion.
I was traveling by train from Tokyo to Kyoto, it was an early crossing and in the morning all the Japanese were rushing to work. At the station it was very difficult to squeeze through the crowd of “robots” trying to make it in time for the “first bell.” Indeed, the population density in Tokyo is enormous, even with their extensive transport network, in the morning “biomass traffic jams” occur at stations.
A ticket to Kyoto cost about 130 US dollars. In order to get to the high-speed train platform, you need to go through turnstiles, somewhat reminiscent of the turnstiles of the Moscow metro.
Shinkansen in Japan are usually not late, but arrive minute by minute. After all, if the train stops at the Shinagawa intermediate station for only one and a half minutes, then being late is unacceptable. In 2012, the average deviation of trains from schedule was only 36 seconds. Shinkansen to different destinations arrive at Shinagawa Station approximately every five minutes, and a specially trained Japanese person monitors the departure of these high-speed trains at the station.
Islamic-looking Japanese woman at Shinagawa Station. Shinkansen literally means "new highway" in Japanese. The name "bullet train" is also a literal translation from the Japanese "dangan ressha", this name was originally in the 30s of the 20th century, when Japan's high-speed railways were still in development.
The Japanese are a very law-abiding station and they board the train STRICTLY according to the general queue, and there are even markings on the platform where they should stand and the place where this or that car stops is also written on the platform itself. Squeezing forward, pushing through the line, is considered very uncultural here, and it is unlikely that a law-abiding Japanese would ever do this.
No one rushes anywhere without a queue; everyone gets off or boards high-speed trains in a sedate and orderly manner. In 1965, with the launch of the Shinkansen, the Japanese were finally able to make "one day trips" between their two industrial centers - Tokyo and Osaka.
And finally, slowly, our Shinkansen arrives at the station.
Externally, from the front, it even looks somewhat more beautiful than our famous Sapsan.
Sometimes Shinkansen can even "kiss".
In the end, I take one last photo of my "hippie Japanese" neighbor and jump on the train to Kyoto.
The doors of the Shinkansen open to the side, like in our Russian metro, after which passengers board. Shinkansen are very, very safe transport in Japan. In its 49 years of existence since 1964, carrying 7 billion passengers, there has not been a single fatality due to a train derailment or collision. Injuries and one death were recorded when people were pinned by the doors and the train began to move. To prevent this, there is now an employee on duty at each station who checks that the doors are closed. high speed train.
Japan is a very earthquake-prone country and all Shinkansen have been equipped with an earthquake prevention system since 1992. If earth vibrations or tremors are detected, the system itself very quickly stops this train. All trains are also equipped with a new anti-derailment system.
And of course, a train is much more environmentally friendly than a car. If now Shinkansen can reach speeds of up to 320 km/h, but in fact they travel on average 280 km/h, then by 2020 they plan to increase the top speed limit to 360 kilometers per hour.
An example of the layout of a car in a high-speed train in Japan, on one side there are three seats, and on the other two.
The train has vending machines so beloved by the Japanese. mineral water and tea.
Urinals on Japanese trains are equipped with transparent glass.
In addition to urinals, there are also ordinary toilets with a “normal” door, maybe simply because the Japanese believe that women are embarrassed to pee with transparent glass, but men are not)).
There are also separate small rooms where you can wash your hands.
In addition to water and tea vending machines, trains periodically sell drinks and snacks. Even the cheapest purchase can be paid with a credit card; there will be no problems with “plastic money” in Japan.
You can enjoy cold beer or hot coffee.
In Japan, as well as in Russia, several types of dried squid are sold, I always thought that dried salted squid was a purely Russian theme, but no, in Japan it is also very common. The squid is very tasty, as is the Japanese beer "Asahi".
Each seat is also equipped with a power outlet, just like on trains, that is, you can work on a laptop without time restrictions.
Controllers are also a constant occurrence on Japanese trains, since Shinkansens make virtually no stops along the way; running out onto the platform of an intermediate station and “running around” the controller, as we do in Russia, will not work in Japan.
There is no way to avoid checking purchased tickets.
When the train travels from Tokyo to Kyoto, 45 minutes after departure everyone runs to take pictures of the famous symbol of Japan - Mount Fuji. The Japanese show their country's national symbol to young children.
If someone wants to call and doesn't have mobile phone, I wonder if there are still such comrades in the 21st century, then there is a payphone on the train.
WITH detailed instructions by use.
Another feature of high-speed “Japanese” trains is that the seats are not fixed in place, as for example in our “Sapsan”, but can freely rotate around their axis by 360 degrees. The rotating mechanism is activated by pressing a special pedal under the seat. And behind the seats there are special nets in which you can put your things, so someone put away his “Canon” camera - which, as popular wisdom says, is “the poor man’s Nikon”.
You can turn the seat 90 degrees and drive looking straight out the window the whole time.
The population density in Japan is enormous and when you travel from Tokyo to Kyoto you don’t even have time to catch the feeling of changing cities, since the industrial zone seems to never end, and the agricultural land is not visible at all. Outside the windows is the factory of the famous Japanese beer “Kirin”.
If, for example, you’re tired of looking out the window, then you can turn the seats another 90 degrees and play cards with your neighbor.
The Japanese on their high-speed trains have not forgotten about the “smoking junkies”; for them, special “aquarium chambers” have been made on the train, which can accommodate a maximum of two people and, in privacy, they can truly enjoy the vomit smell of nicotine.
It’s not for nothing that they say that time flies on the road. While I was walking around the train, I didn’t notice how I arrived in Kyoto. In Shinkansen, you need to carefully monitor the city of arrival, since stops at train stations, even in big cities, usually no more than 5 minutes, you need to pack your things in advance, get ready, and get off the train at the desired station. The first photos at the station in the Japanese city of Kyoto.
The high-speed train model N700 is now one of the most modern, it began to be used only in 2007.
High-speed trains are also essentially “electric trains”, and they have this type of “contact element on top”. The Shinkansen uses 25,000 volts of alternating current for propulsion.
When the Shinkansen leaves the station, a specially trained dude looks out from the rear control room and makes sure that “no one gets hurt” on the platform.
Arriving in Kyoto, I immediately went for a walk around this wonderful city, which seems to have forgotten about the race of technological progress, stopped a little in time.....to be continued...
Magnetic levitation trains are environmentally friendly, silent and fast transport. They cannot fly off the rails and, in the event of a problem, are able to stop safely. But why is such transport not widespread, and people still use ordinary electric trains and trains?
Magnetic levitation trains: why the “transport of the future” has not caught on
Veronica ElkinaIn the 1980s, magnetic levitation (maglev) trains were believed to be the transport of the future that would destroy domestic air travel. These trains can carry passengers at speeds of 800 km/h and cause virtually no harm to the environment.
Maglevs are able to travel in any weather and cannot leave their only rail - the further the train deviates from the tracks, the more magnetic levitation pushes it back. All maglevs move at the same frequency, so there will be no problems with the signals. Imagine the effect such trains would have on the economy and transport if the distance between distant major cities was overcome in half an hour.
But why can't you still drive to work at supersonic speeds in the morning? The concept of maglevs has been around for over a century, with numerous patents using the technology dating back to the early 1900s. However, only three working magnetic levitation train systems have survived to this day, all of them only in Asia.
Japanese Maglev. Photo: Yuriko Nakao/Reuters
Before this, the first working maglev appeared in the UK: between 1984 and 1995, an AirLink shuttle operated from Birmingham Airport. The maglev was a popular and cheap transport, but its maintenance was very expensive, since some spare parts were one-off and hard to find.
In the late 1980s, Germany also turned to this idea: its unmanned M-Bahn train traveled between three stations in West Berlin. However, they decided to postpone the technology of levitating trains for later, and the line was closed. Its manufacturer, TransRapid, was testing maglevs until an accident occurred at a training site in La Tène in 2006, in which 23 people died.
This incident could have put an end to the German maglevs if TransRapid had not previously signed a contract for the construction of a maglev for Shanghai Airport in 2001. Now this maglev is the fastest electric train in the world, traveling at a speed of 431 km/h. With its help, the distance from the airport to the business district of Shanghai can be covered in just eight minutes. On ordinary transport this would take a whole hour. China has another medium-speed maglev (its speed is about 159 km/h), which operates in the capital of Hunan province, Changsha. The Chinese love this technology so much that by 2020 they plan to launch several more maglevs in 12 cities.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the first to ride a TransRapid maglev to Shanghai Airport. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/EPA
In Asia, work is currently underway on other magnetic levitation train projects. One of the most famous is the EcoBee self-driving shuttle, which has been operating from South Korea's Incheon Airport since 2012. Its shortest line has seven stations, between which the maglev rushes at a speed of 109 km/h. And trips on it are absolutely free.
More than two hundred years have passed since the moment when humanity invented the first steam locomotives. However, rail land transport, transporting passengers using electricity and diesel fuel, is still very common.
It is worth saying that all these years, engineers and inventors have been actively working on creating alternative methods of movement. The result of their work was magnetic levitation trains.
History of appearance
The very idea of creating magnetic levitation trains was actively developed at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, it was not possible to implement this project at that time for a number of reasons. The production of such a train began only in 1969. It was then that a magnetic route began to be laid on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, along which a new train would pass. vehicle, which was later called: maglev train. It was launched in 1971. The first maglev train, called Transrapid-02, passed along the magnetic route.
An interesting fact is that German engineers manufactured an alternative vehicle based on the notes left by the scientist Hermann Kemper, who in 1934 received a patent confirming the invention of the magnetic plane.
Transrapid-02 can hardly be called very fast. It could move at a maximum speed of 90 kilometers per hour. Its capacity was also low - only four people.
In 1979, a more advanced model of maglev was created. bearing the name "Transrapid-05", could already carry sixty-eight passengers. It moved along a line located in the city of Hamburg, the length of which was 908 meters. which this train developed was equal to seventy-five kilometers per hour.
Also in 1979, another maglev model was released in Japan. It was called "ML-500". on a magnetic levitation it reached speeds of up to five hundred and seventeen kilometers per hour.
Competitiveness
The speed that magnetic levitation trains can reach can be compared to In this regard, this type of transport can become a serious competitor to those airlines that operate at a distance of up to a thousand kilometers. The widespread use of maglevs is hampered by the fact that they cannot move on traditional railway surfaces. Magnetic levitation trains require the construction of special highways. And this requires large investments of capital. It is also believed that what is being created for maglev vehicles can negatively affect the human body, which will negatively affect the health of the driver and residents of regions located near such a route.
Operating principle
Magnetic levitation trains are a special type of transport. While moving, the maglev seems to float above the railway track without touching it. This happens because the vehicle is driven by the force of an artificially created magnetic field. There is no friction when the maglev moves. The braking force in this case is aerodynamic drag.
How does it work? Each of us knows about the basic properties of magnets from sixth grade physics lessons. If two magnets are brought close to each other with their north poles, they will repel each other. A so-called magnetic cushion is created. When different poles are connected, the magnets will attract each other. This rather simple principle underlies the movement of a maglev train, which literally glides through the air at a short distance from the rails.
Currently, two technologies have already been developed with the help of which a magnetic cushion or suspension is activated. The third is experimental and exists only on paper.
Electromagnetic suspension
This technology is called EMS. It is based on the strength of the electromagnetic field, which changes over time. It causes levitation (rising in the air) of the maglev. To move the train in this case, T-shaped rails are required, which are made of conductor (usually metal). In this way, the operation of the system is similar to a conventional railway. However, the train has support and guide magnets instead of wheel pairs. They are placed parallel to the ferromagnetic stators located along the edge of the T-shaped sheet.
The main disadvantage of EMS technology is the need to control the distance between the stator and the magnets. And this despite the fact that it depends on many factors, including the fickle nature. In order to avoid a sudden stop of the train, special batteries are installed on it. They are able to recharge the support magnets built into them, and thereby maintain the levitation process for a long time.
The braking of trains based on EMS technology is carried out by a low-acceleration synchronous linear motor. It is represented by support magnets, as well as a road surface over which the maglev floats. The speed and thrust of the train can be adjusted by changing the frequency and strength of the generated alternating current. To slow down, it is enough to change the direction of the magnetic waves.
Electrodynamic suspension
There is a technology in which the movement of a maglev occurs through the interaction of two fields. One of them is created on the highway, and the second on board the train. This technology is called EDS. The Japanese magnetic levitation train JR-Maglev was built on its basis.
This system has some differences from EMS, where conventional magnets are used, to which electric current is supplied from coils only when power is applied.
EDS technology implies a constant supply of electricity. This happens even if the power supply is turned off. The coils of such a system are equipped with cryogenic cooling, which allows saving significant amounts of electricity.
Advantages and disadvantages of EDS technology
The positive side of a system operating on an electrodynamic suspension is its stability. Even a slight reduction or increase in the distance between the magnets and the canvas is regulated by the forces of repulsion and attraction. This allows the system to remain in an unchanged state. With this technology, there is no need to install electronics for control. There is no need for devices to adjust the distance between the blade and the magnets.
EDS technology has some disadvantages. Thus, a force sufficient to levitate the train can only arise at high speed. That is why maglevs are equipped with wheels. They ensure their movement at speeds of up to one hundred kilometers per hour. Another disadvantage of this technology is the frictional force that occurs at the back and front of the repelling magnets at low speeds.
Due to the strong magnetic field, special protection must be installed in the passenger section. Otherwise, a person with an electronic pacemaker is prohibited from traveling. Protection is also needed for magnetic storage media (credit cards and HDDs).
Technology under development
The third system, which currently exists only on paper, is the use of permanent magnets in the EDS version, which do not require energy to be activated. Just recently it was thought that this was impossible. Researchers believed that permanent magnets did not have the strength to cause a train to levitate. However, this problem was avoided. To solve this problem, magnets were placed in a “Halbach array.” This arrangement leads to the creation of a magnetic field not under the array, but above it. This helps maintain levitation of the train even at a speed of about five kilometers per hour.
This project has not yet received practical implementation. This is explained by the high cost of arrays made of permanent magnets.
Advantages of maglevs
The most attractive aspect of magnetic levitation trains is the prospect of them achieving high speeds, which will allow maglevs to compete even with jet aircraft in the future. This type of transport is quite economical in terms of electricity consumption. The costs of its operation are also low. This becomes possible due to the absence of friction. The low noise of maglevs is also pleasing, which will have a positive effect on the environmental situation.
Flaws
The downside of maglevs is that the amount required to create them is too large. Track maintenance costs are also high. In addition, the type of transport considered requires a complex system of tracks and ultra-precise instruments that control the distance between the road surface and the magnets.
in Berlin
In the capital of Germany in 1980, the first maglev-type system called M-Bahn was opened. The length of the road was 1.6 km. The magnetic levitation train ran between three metro stations on weekends. Travel for passengers was free. Afterwards, the city's population almost doubled. It took creation transport networks with the ability to provide high passenger traffic. That is why in 1991 the magnetic strip was dismantled, and the construction of the metro began in its place.
Birmingham
In this German city, low-speed maglev connected from 1984 to 1995. airport and railway station. The length of the magnetic path was only 600 m.
The road operated for ten years and was closed due to numerous complaints from passengers about the existing inconvenience. Subsequently, monorail transport replaced maglev on this section.
Shanghai
The first magnetic railway in Berlin was built by the German company Transrapid. The failure of the project did not deter the developers. They continued their research and received an order from the Chinese government, which decided to build a maglev track in the country. Shanghai and Pudong Airport are connected by this high-speed (up to 450 km/h) route.
The 30 km long road was opened in 2002. Future plans include its extension to 175 km.
Japan
This country hosted the Expo-2005 exhibition in 2005. For its opening, a 9 km long magnetic track was put into operation. There are nine stations on the line. Maglev serves the area adjacent to the exhibition venue.
Maglevs are considered the transport of the future. Already in 2025, it is planned to open a new superhighway in a country like Japan. The magnetic levitation train will transport passengers from Tokyo to one of the areas in the central part of the island. Its speed will be 500 km/h. The project will require about forty-five billion dollars.
Russia
Russian Railways also plans to create a high-speed train. By 2030, Maglev in Russia will connect Moscow and Vladivostok. Passengers will cover the 9,300 km journey in 20 hours. The speed of a magnetic levitation train will reach up to five hundred kilometers per hour.
It is also a magnetic levitation train, also known as maglev from the English magnetic levitation ("magnetic levitation") - this is a magnetic levitation train, driven and controlled by the force of an electromagnetic field. Such a train, unlike traditional trains, does not touch the rail surface during movement. Since there is a gap between the train and the running surface, friction is eliminated and the only braking force is aerodynamic drag. Maglev refers to monorail transport.
Monorail:
Hotchkiss (Arthur Hotchkiss) 1890s;
images from Wikipedia
images from Wikipedia
High-speed ground transport (HSNT) is called railway transport, which allows trains to travel at speeds in excess of 200 km/h (120 mph). Although at the beginning of the 20th century, trains traveling at speeds above 150-160 km/h were called high-speed.
Today, VSNT trains travel along specially designated railway tracks - a high-speed line (HSL), or on a magnetic levitation, along which the maglev shown above moves.
The first regular service of high-speed trains began in 1964 in Japan. In 1981, BCHT trains began running in France, and soon most of Western Europe, including the UK, was united into a single high-speed rail network. Modern high-speed trains in operation reach speeds of about 350-400 km/h, and in tests they can even accelerate to 560-580 km/h, such as the JR-Maglev MLX01, which set a speed record of 581 km/h during testing in 2003. h.
In Russia, regular operation of high-speed trains, on common tracks with regular trains, began in 2009. And only by 2017 is the completion of the construction of Russia's first specialized high-speed railway line Moscow - St. Petersburg.
Sapsan Siemens Velaro RUS; maximum service speed - 230 km/h, upgrade to 350 km/h possible; photo from Wikipedia
In addition to passengers, high-speed trains also transport cargo, for example: the French service La Poste has a fleet of special TGV electric trains for transporting mail and parcels.
The speed of “magnetic” trains, that is, maglevs, is comparable to the speed of an airplane and allows them to compete air transport on short- and medium-haul routes (up to 1000 km). Although the idea of such transport itself is not new, economic and technical limitations have not allowed it to fully develop.
On at the moment There are 3 main technologies for magnetic suspension of trains:
- On superconducting magnets (electrodynamic suspension, EDS);
- On electromagnets (electromagnetic suspension, EMS);
- On permanent magnets; this is a new and potentially most cost-effective system.
The composition levitates due to the repulsion of identical magnetic poles and, conversely, the attraction of opposite poles. The movement is carried out by a linear motor located either on the train, on the track, or both. A major design challenge is the heavy weight of sufficiently powerful magnets, since a strong magnetic field is required to maintain the massive composition in the air.
Advantages of Maglev:
- theoretically the fastest speed you can get on a public (non-sport) ground transport;
- great prospects for achieving speeds many times higher than those used in jet aviation;
- low noise.
Disadvantages of Maglev:
- high cost of creating and maintaining a track - the cost of building one kilometer of maglev track is comparable to digging a kilometer of metro tunnel using a closed method;
- the electromagnetic field created may be harmful to train crews and surrounding residents. Even traction transformers used on electrified alternating current railways ah, harmful for drivers. But in this case, the field strength is an order of magnitude greater. It is also possible that Maglev lines will not be available to people using pacemakers;
- rail tracks of standard width, rebuilt for high-speed traffic, remain accessible to ordinary passenger and commuter trains. The high-speed Maglev route is not suitable for anything else; additional tracks will be required for low-speed service.
The most active developments of maglev are carried out by Germany and Japan.
*Help: What is Shinkansen?
Shinkansen is the name of the high-speed railway network in Japan, designed to transport passengers between major cities in the country. Owned by Japan Railways. The first line opened between Osaka and Tokyo in 1964, the Tokaido Shinkansen. This line is the busiest high-speed rail line in the world. It carries about 375,000 passengers daily.
"Bullet Train" is one of the names for Shinkansen trains. Trains can have up to 16 cars. Each carriage reaches a length of 25 meters, with the exception of the head carriages, which are usually slightly longer. The total length of the train is about 400 meters. The stations for such trains are also very long and specially adapted for these trains.
Shinkansen trains series 200~E5; photo from Wikipedia
In Japan, maglevs are often called "riniaka" (Japanese: リニアカー), derived from the English "linear car" due to the linear motor used on board.
JR-Maglev uses electrodynamic suspension with superconducting magnets (EDS), installed both on the train and on the track. Unlike the German Transrapid system, JR-Maglev does not use a monorail design: trains run in a channel between magnets. This design allows for higher speeds, ensures greater passenger safety in the event of evacuation, and ease of operation.
Unlike electromagnetic suspension (EMS), trains using EDS technology require additional wheels when traveling at low speeds (up to 150 km/h). When a certain speed is reached, the wheels are separated from the ground and the train “flies” at a distance of several centimeters from the surface. In the event of an accident, the wheels also allow the train to stop more smoothly.
For braking in normal mode, electrodynamic brakes are used. For emergencies, the train is equipped with retractable aerodynamic and disc brakes on the bogies.
Ride in maglev with a top speed of 501 km/h. The description states that the video was made in 2005:
Several trains with in different forms nose cone: from the usual pointed to almost flat, 14 meters long, designed to get rid of the loud bang that accompanies a train entering a tunnel at high speed. The maglev train can be completely computer controlled. The driver monitors the operation of the computer and receives an image of the track through a video camera (the driver's cabin does not have forward viewing windows).
The JR-Maglev technology is more expensive than a similar development by Transrapid, implemented in China (line to Shanghai airport), since it requires large expenses for equipping the route with superconducting magnets and laying tunnels in the mountains using an explosive method. The total cost of the project could be US$82.5 billion. If the line were laid along the Tokaido coastal highway, it would require less cost, but would require the construction of a large number of short-length tunnels. Despite the fact that the magnetic levitation train itself is silent, each entry into the tunnel at high speed will cause a bang comparable in volume to an explosion, so laying the line in densely populated areas is impossible.
