Video #23 - Japan: Maglev Trains
Wednesday, January 11, 2006BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Railway Technical Research Institute describes the Superconducting Magnetically Levitated Vehicle (Maglev Train) as "a super high-speed transport system with a non-adhesive drive system that is independent of wheel-and-rail frictional forces-- a long-standing dream of railway engineers--that realizes super high-speed running, safety, reliability, low environmental impact and minimum maintenance." It is a train which floats on a magnetic field and is propelled by a linear induction motor and follows guidance tracks with magnets. Research and development on this technology has been taking place at the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) of Japan's Ministry of Transport since 1970. The Maglev can run at speeds exceeding 500km/h (300mph).
A 7 km test track was built in the Miyasaki Prefecture in 1975. One of the advantages of Maglev is maintenance. Because the train floats, there is no contact with the ground and no moving parts. Consequently, there should be no components to wear out and the tracks should need little or no maintenance. The lack of friction should reduce noise, while the lack of rails are supposed to make this train safer in an earthquake. Also, since the guideway walls are half as tall as the train, the danger of derailing is almost nonexistent-allowing unprecedented speed.
The disadvantages include the cost of building the guide paths for the Maglev. Since it is unable to use conventional tracks as other high speed trains do now, the Maglev is limited to its own tracks. Although Maglevs are said to be more energy efficient, their overall cost efficiency is yet to be determined. (Obviously, conventional trains would remain even with the advent of new Maglev lines.)
The Maglev train became a nationally funded project in 1990. The Ministry of Transport was authorized to construct the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line, which opened on April 3, 1997 and is used to run tests in the Yamanashi Prefecture. Maglev vehicle MLX01, a manned three-car test train, achieved world speed records of 531 km/h and 550km/h in an unmanned run in December of the same year. On March 18, 1999, a five-car train reached 548 km/h. In March of 2000, the Maglev Practical Technology Evaluation Committee of the Ministry of Transport of Japan concluded that: "...the JR-Maglev has the practicability for an ultra high speed mass transportation system." It ordered further tests to confirm long-term durability and reliability, find ways to reduce construction and operation costs and improve aerodynamics. The Committee called for five more years of testing. Maglev is now in its second phase of development. In testing runs, the vehicles continue to outperform. In a test on January 22, 2005 at the Aichi Expo site in Nagakute a 28 meter long train weighing 30 tons arrived at a speed of 558 mph.
Around the world, experiences with Maglevs have been mixed. Britain introduced Maglev service in the mid-1980's to link two terminals at Birmingham airport for about 400 meters at 10mph (16km/h) top speed. (Due to difficulty in getting spare parts, this service is reported to have been replaced with a bus.) The first commercially operated Maglev line opened in China on January of 2004. The $1.2 billion system was built in Germany and runs for 18 miles. The original plan for a system to connect Shanghai to Beijing, an 800 mile route, was canceled. Germany is the only country with plans for a Maglev railway to link two major cities--Berlin and Hamburg-- during 2005. Although the US has tested the trains, it has expressed no immediate interest in their use.
Central Japan Railway is working with the RTRI to build a 310-mile line linking Japan's two largest cities, Tokyo and Osaka, with a one-hour run. Bullet trains now make the trip in two and a half hours. The problem is that building the electromagnetic quideway will cost $85 billion or $274 million per mile (three times higher than the bullet train tracks). The Maglev trains would cost an additional $6.48 billion. A decision is to be made this year (2005) on the future of Maglevs in Japan.
SOURCES
"Overview of Maglev R&D." Railway Technical Research Institute, Ministry of Transportation of Japan, 2/20/04. www.rtri.or.jp/rd/maglev/html/englich/maglev_frame_E/html
"Maglevs (Magnetically levitated trains)." www.o-keating.com/hsr/maglev.htm
" Japan's maglev train sets record." CNN.com, December 2003. www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/03/japan.maglev.ap Hall, Kenji, "Costs could derail Japan's maglev train." The Chicago Tribune. January 11, 2004. Retrieved from the United Transportation Union website, www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news,cfm?ArticleID=11134
LESSON PLAN
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:
10-12 grade Economics, International Relations, World History, Geography, International Baccalaureate Programs (IB), Current Events.
PURPOSE:
To present activities to be used in a variety of classroom situations in order to enhance student understanding of the Asian economy and its significance globally.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
- Illustrate the history of the Maglev trains.
- Describe Maglev technology.
- Explain pros and cons of Maglev train use.
- Evaluate the possible use of this technology in Japan.
MATERIALS:
- Background information provided.
- Resources on Japan available at your school's Media Center and the Public Library System in your area.
- Background information available through Internet "search engines."
ACTIVITIES:
May be assigned as group activities or as individual tasks. They may also be designed as preparation for related presentations either by individuals or groups.
- Create a timeline to illustrate the history of Maglev development.
- Create a pamphlet promoting, explaining and illustrating Maglev technology.
- Write an editorial supporting or opposing further development of Maglev train systems in Japan.
EVALUATION:
Individual assignments should be graded by the teacher using established criteria.
Group activities, presentations and projects may be evaluated by teachers and students using the following criteria and scale: Content 1 = Superior (A) Creativity 2 = Excellent (B) Clarity 3 = Good (C) 4 = Fair (D) 5 = Poor (F)
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