FASTER THAN BULLET - BUT BULLET

1.The popular English name bullet train is a literal translation of the Japanese term dangan ressha a nickname given to the project while it was initially being discussed in the 1930s.The name stuck due to the Shinkansen locomotive's resemblance to a bullet and its high speed.

2.Test run speeds have been 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record of 581 km/h (361 mph) for maglev trainsets, in 2003.

3.Eric Laithwaite, Professor of Heavy Electrical Engineering at Imperial College, developed a functional maglev passenger vehicle. It weighed 1 ton (1 tonne) and could carry four



4.MAGLEV, or magnetically levitating train is a form of transportation that suspends, guides and (usually) propels vehicles, predominantly trains, using magnetic forces. This method has the potential to be faster, quieter and smoother than wheeled mass transit systems, potentially reaching velocities comparable to turboprop and jet aircraft (900 km/h, 600 mph).

5.The highest recorded speed of a maglev train is 581 km/h (361 mph), achieved in Japan in 2003, 6 km/h faster than the conventional TGV speed record.

6.Shinkansen is the world's busiest high-speed rail line and carries 375,000 passengers a day, and has transported more passengers (4.5 billion) than all other high speed lines in the world combined.

7.The first commercial Maglev "people-mover" was officially opened in 1984 in Birmingham, England.

8.There are two primary types of maglev technology:

* electromagnetic suspension (EMS) uses the attractive magnetic force of a magnet beneath a rail to lift the train up.
* electrodynamic suspension (EDS) uses a repulsive force between two magnetic fields to push the train away from the rail.

9.An EMS system can provide both levitation and propulsion using an onboard linear motor. EDS systems can only levitate the train using the magnets onboard, not propel it forward,Over long distances where the cost of propulsion coils could be prohibitive, a propeller or jet engine could be used.

10.Maglev trains are not compatible with conventional track, and therefore require all new infrastructure for their entire route.

11.Due to the lack of physical contact between the track and the vehicle, maglev trains experience no rolling friction, leaving only air resistance and electromagnetic drag, potentially improving power efficiency.

12.The high speed of some maglev trains translates to more sound due to air displacement, which gets louder as the trains go faster. A study found that high speed maglev trains are 5 dB noisier than traditional trains.

13.One advantage of maglev's higher speed would be extension of the serviceable area (3 hours radius) that can outcompete subsonic commercial aircraft.

14.These ratios can exceed that of aircraft (for example Inductrack can approach 200:1 at high speed, far higher than any aircraft). This can make it more efficient per mile, and potentially give greater range.

15.During the Shinkansen's 44-year, nearly 7 billion passenger history, there have been no passenger fatalities due to derailments or collisions (including earthquakes and typhoons). Injuries and a single fatality have been caused by doors closing on passengers or their belongings; attendants are employed at platforms to prevent this.

16.Experimental Fastech 360 trains have ear-like air resistance braking flaps to assist emergency stops at high speeds.

17.Noise pollution concerns mean that increasing speed is becoming more difficult. Current research is primarily aimed at reducing operational noise, particularly the "tunnel boom" phenomenon caused when trains exit tunnels at high speed.