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Listening to Americans discussing trains is painful. China built 25,000 miles of high-speed rail in the time the United States has built zero. Yes, I understan
by melling 3y ago
Listening to Americans discussing trains is painful. China built 25,000 miles of high-speed rail in the time the United States has built zero.
Yes, I understand that it’ll never work in America. Now, can you just answer my question: what would it take to reduce the cost of maglevs trains?
The use case is for China to build its next 25,000 miles of HSR with maglevs
- xeromal 3y agoYou seem unreasonably sore. lol
- lmm 3y ago> China built 25,000 miles of high-speed rail in the time the United States has built zero. And note that despite operating the most successful maglev in the world since 2004, they decided not to build any more. While building more maglevs would probably bring the cost down some, it's fundamentally expensive technology that delivers very marginal benefit compared to "conventional" wheel-on-rail HSR, which can achieve almost the same speed with much less infrastructure.
- melling 3y agoHence, my question about reducing the cost of maglevs. China is pursuing low-speed maglevs that run about 100 mph and are much cheaper. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-12/15/c_139591288.htm http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-12/15/c_139591288.htm Japan is proceeding and will open something by the end of the decade https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2023/04/japanese-maglev-line-unlikely-to-meet-2027-opening-date/ https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2023/04/japanese-m...
- lmm 3y ago> Hence, my question about reducing the cost of maglevs. But you're begging the question. What if they simply are that expensive and can't be made cheaper? > China is pursuing low-speed maglevs that run about 100 mph Why? What benefit do they offer over conventional rail? > Japan is proceeding and will open something by the end of the decade Allegedly. That line's been "about to open" for years but they still haven't even started construction through Shizuoka and still don't have any real path towards doing so. In any case, AIUI they're simply accepting that construction costs are high because on the Osaka-Tokyo route (the most profitable high-speed rail line in the world as well as being one of the busiest air routes) the benefits will justify it.
- cscurmudgeon 3y agoHow many of those 25000 are between ghost cities?
- lmm 3y agoNone. Ghost cities are a myth spread by those who can't comprehend what decent urban planning looks like.
- cscurmudgeon 3y agoLol, including this researcher from one of China's govt universities? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321479456_Ghost_city_phenomenon_along_China%27s_high-speed_railway_grid https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321479456_Ghost_cit... Please let them know.
- lmm 3y agoTry to buy a house in any of them at those prices now, six years on. You'll notice more recent news has mostly stopped talking about "ghost cities" except to look back and compare with how they've actually filled out now.