4 ms·

Line S1 will be much slower than most traditional trains, the energy usage of maglev isn't that much less than traditional rail (so they don't tend to run faste

Line S1 will be much slower than most traditional trains, the energy usage of maglev isn't that much less than traditional rail (so they don't tend to run faster, the metal rails aren't a large limiting factor for speed) and the vertical alignment restrictions on maglev technology means it's not necessarily gonna be technology you can easily put everywhere.

melling 11y ago
Can you be more specific? How fast are traditional trains? These are intercity trains we are discussing, right? The S1 is being used where you would have a subway or light rail.
- Alphasite_ 11y ago
  Well i'm not sure about outside europe but Italy's new trains run at ~400Kph
  - melling 11y ago
    They run that fast between cities. Clearly we aren't talking about that. Japan"s intracity maglev is going to go almost 600kph. http://youtu.be/VuSrLvCVoVk http://youtu.be/VuSrLvCVoVk Of course, you don't build that to go 10 city blocks.
    - djcapelis 11y ago
      > Japan"s intracity maglev is going to go almost 600kph. No it's not. 603 is the fastest they've ever gotten the train to go on a test track, which doesn't make that the speed they'd actually run for commercial service. Their current plan is 500 with a top speed of 505. Which is really good, but also a decent ways off and involves some serious earthworks to make the track flat enough. For comparison, the speed record for wheel on steel rail trains is currently 574 km/hr. The rail really isn't a huge impact on the speed yet. At those speeds it really start being more about aerodynamics of the vehicles and the cost per kWh. Maybe maglev technology will change that at some point, but right now we haven't really seen results that would lead us to assume that big of an advantage comes from getting rid of the rail. Arguably the biggest advantage is going to come when someone figures out how to put the trains in a tube where the aerodynamic situation changes completely. That's why the hyperloop proposal wasn't just "use a maglev". Maglev trains are cool as shit though, you're literally floating through the air, it's awesome. I highly recommend riding the one in Shanghai. Make sure you hit a 430 km/hr run and not the slower 300 km/hr ones, the experience is very different. It's fun as hell.
  - djcapelis 11y ago
    That is definitely not an actual commercial operating speed, IIRC. Trains can go really fast in test and demos, operating speeds right now rarely break 300 km/hr on most systems. Many systems are headed to 320-360 though. The Shanghai maglev is the only commercial line that regularly does over that in commercial service, at 430 km/hr, but that's only for a few runs a day, most of the day it goes 300 km/hr.
- djcapelis 11y ago
  The point I'm trying to make here is the speeds on Line S1 are similar to commuter trains in a similar class of operation. Maglev doesn't really provide a speed advantage on that line over traditional rail.

melling 11y ago

Can you be more specific? How fast are traditional trains? These are intercity trains we are discussing, right? The S1 is being used where you would have a subway or light rail.

Alphasite_ 11y ago
Well i'm not sure about outside europe but Italy's new trains run at ~400Kph
- melling 11y ago
  They run that fast between cities. Clearly we aren't talking about that. Japan"s intracity maglev is going to go almost 600kph. http://youtu.be/VuSrLvCVoVk http://youtu.be/VuSrLvCVoVk Of course, you don't build that to go 10 city blocks.
  - djcapelis 11y ago
    > Japan"s intracity maglev is going to go almost 600kph. No it's not. 603 is the fastest they've ever gotten the train to go on a test track, which doesn't make that the speed they'd actually run for commercial service. Their current plan is 500 with a top speed of 505. Which is really good, but also a decent ways off and involves some serious earthworks to make the track flat enough. For comparison, the speed record for wheel on steel rail trains is currently 574 km/hr. The rail really isn't a huge impact on the speed yet. At those speeds it really start being more about aerodynamics of the vehicles and the cost per kWh. Maybe maglev technology will change that at some point, but right now we haven't really seen results that would lead us to assume that big of an advantage comes from getting rid of the rail. Arguably the biggest advantage is going to come when someone figures out how to put the trains in a tube where the aerodynamic situation changes completely. That's why the hyperloop proposal wasn't just "use a maglev". Maglev trains are cool as shit though, you're literally floating through the air, it's awesome. I highly recommend riding the one in Shanghai. Make sure you hit a 430 km/hr run and not the slower 300 km/hr ones, the experience is very different. It's fun as hell.
- djcapelis 11y ago
  That is definitely not an actual commercial operating speed, IIRC. Trains can go really fast in test and demos, operating speeds right now rarely break 300 km/hr on most systems. Many systems are headed to 320-360 though. The Shanghai maglev is the only commercial line that regularly does over that in commercial service, at 430 km/hr, but that's only for a few runs a day, most of the day it goes 300 km/hr.
djcapelis 11y ago
The point I'm trying to make here is the speeds on Line S1 are similar to commuter trains in a similar class of operation. Maglev doesn't really provide a speed advantage on that line over traditional rail.