Recently, an important document in Guangzhou has made the high-speed maglev train the focus of attention again.
According to the "Guangzhou Comprehensive Three-dimensional Transportation Network Plan (2023-2035)", Guangzhou is actively planning the layout of high-speed maglev corridors and the construction of experimental lines with other megacities, and has specially reserved two important passages: Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao high-speed maglev and Shanghai-Shenzhen-Guangzhou high-speed maglev.
Guangzhou's move is not isolated, in fact, in the tide of transportation development, high-speed maglev has long become the object of competition in many regions. Hainan, Anhui, Zhejiang and other places have put forward their own high-speed maglev plans, showing the mainland's active exploration and layout in this field.
As a major high-speed rail country, why do we still invest a lot of resources in the research and development of high-speed maglev? These questions undoubtedly affect the hearts of the public. There was a lot of discussion.
High-speed maglev trains, as an emerging means of transportation, have attracted much attention for their ultra-high operating speed and unique operating principles. It uses magnetic levitation technology to make almost no contact between the train and the track, which greatly reduces frictional resistance and achieves extremely high operating speeds.
However, just when the mainland's "imminent" maglev line was launched, Japan, a pioneer in the field of maglev, has only just started the "Chuo Shinkansen" project for more than 10 years. What's going on?
Japan introduced their "Shinkansen" high-speed train in 1964, which ran from Tokyo to Osaka in just a few hours, and the world was the envy of the world at the time. But the Japanese are not satisfied with the status quo, they feel that it can be faster! So, they began to study maglev trains.
After decades of hard work, Japan has finally come to fruition. They ran 581 kilometers per hour on the test line, which is the fastest speed a human can run on the ground, much faster than the speed of a plane before takeoff!
At that time, everyone thought that Japan's maglev train was about to take off, and it only took 67 minutes to get from Tokyo to Osaka, which was like a dream.
But there is always a distance between dreams and reality. This maglev project is called the "Chuo Shinkansen", and the section from Tokyo to Nagoya, which was originally planned to open in 2027, has been postponed to 2037, a full 10 years late! And the budget has also increased from 5.5 trillion yen to 7 trillion yen!
What's the problem? The Chuo Shinkansen tunnel passed through Shizuoka Prefecture, but the Shizuoka prefectural government did not agree to the project due to environmental concerns, so the project stalled in the pursuit of speed while considering environmental protection and people's livelihood. In order to move forward with the project, the railway company often relies on throwing money to solve the problem. For example, the problem of the return of water from the Oigawa River in Shizuoka Prefecture cost a lot of money to solve. But in this way, the budget is overspent even more, and it is almost like "burning money" to play a game!
So much so that the current Japanese, when it comes to Japan's "Chuo Shinkansen" maglev project, bluntly say that it is a "big pit"!
What was originally thought to be a cool high-tech project has now become a live version of "step by step". As of the end of 2023, the project has run into big trouble in almost every section, it's like playing an "ultramarathon" and the finish line is not yet in sight!
In the case of the Kitashinagawa area in Tokyo, only 124 meters of the 9,200-meter section has been excavated since the start of construction, and the construction of this 124-meter area has been interrupted twice, and the progress is as slow as a snail crawling. Not to mention the tunnels and bridges, if the Chuo Shinkansen maglev project is a race against time, there is no doubt that time wins every time!
The progress of tunnel excavation in Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures is more like squeezing toothpaste. As for the bridge? Don't ask, it's still dangling on the design drawings! The station was not even ready to be prepared. The whole project is like a big "rip-off" site. Land requisition, contracts, legal disputes, all kinds of problems. Now the builder says that it will be opened to traffic in 2034, but looking at this progress, only God knows whether it can be delivered!
And even if it opens as scheduled, it is unknown whether Tokyo to Nagoya will be able to attract enough traffic. After all, it's not convenient for everyone to transfer, who wants to toss it badly?
There is another problem, which is even worse: the "Chuo Shinkansen" maglev project has to pass through geologically active areas, and in the event of a geological disaster, rescue is a big problem.
The troubled "Chuo Shinkansen" project is far from open. It seems that if we want to get on this speeding maglev train, we will have to wait patiently! But then again, our high-speed maglev train in China is about to start construction, and Japanese friends want to try it, so you can come to China to experience it first!