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SCMaglev

Coordinates: 35°35′N 138°56′E / 35.583°N 138.933°E / 35.583; 138.933
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L0 Series maglev train at Yamanashi test track

The SCMaglev (superconducting maglev, formerly called the MLU) is a magnetic levitation (maglev) railway system developed by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and the Railway Technical Research Institute.[1][2][3]

The SCMaglev uses an electrodynamic suspension (EDS) system for levitation, guidance, and propulsion.

In development since the 1960s, the SCMaglev system will be used in the Chūō Shinkansen rail line between Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan. The line, currently under construction, is scheduled to open in 2034 (after delays pushing back its original opening date of 2027.) JR Central is also seeking to sell or license the technology to foreign rail companies. The L0 Series, a prototype vehicle based on SCMaglev technology, holds the record for fastest crewed rail vehicle with a record speed of 603 km/h (375 mph).[4]

Technology

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Levitation system
Guidance system
Propulsion system
An illustration of the SCMaglev levitation and propulsion system
MLX01 maglev train superconducting magnet bogie
Levitation and guidance coils
See also: Maglev § Technology

The SCMaglev system uses an electrodynamic suspension (EDS) system. The train's bogies have superconducting magnets installed, and the guideways contain two sets of metal coils. The current levitation system uses a series of coils wound into a "figure 8" along both walls of the guideway. These coils are cross-connected underneath the track.[3]

As the train accelerates, the magnetic fields of its superconducting magnets induce a current into these coils due to the magnetic field induction effect. If the train were centered with the coils, the electrical potential would be balanced and no currents would be induced. However, as the train runs on rubber wheels at relatively low speeds, the magnetic fields are positioned below the center of the coils, causing the electrical potential to no longer be balanced. This creates a reactive magnetic field opposing the superconducting magnet's pole (in accordance with Lenz's law), and a pole above that attracts it. Once the train reaches 150 km/h (93 mph), there is sufficient current flowing to lift the train 100 mm (4 in) above the guideway.[3]

These coils also generate guiding and stabilizing forces. Because they are cross-connected underneath the guideway, if the train moves off-center, currents are induced into the connections that correct its positioning.[3] SCMaglev also uses a linear synchronous motor (LSM) propulsion system, which powers a second set of coils in the guideway.

History

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Japanese National Railways (JNR) began research on a linear propulsion railway system in 1962 with the goal of developing a train that could travel between Tokyo and Osaka in one hour.[5] Shortly after Brookhaven National Laboratory patented superconducting magnetic levitation technology in the United States in 1969, JNR announced development of its own superconducting maglev (SCMaglev) system. The railway made its first successful SCMaglev run on a short track at its Railway Technical Research Institute in 1972.[6] JR Central plans on exporting the technology, pitching it to potential buyers.[7]

Miyazaki test track

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In 1977, SCMaglev testing moved to a new 7 km test track in Hyūga, Miyazaki. By 1980, the track was modified from a "┴" shape to the "U" shape used today. In April 1987, JNR was privatized, and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) took over SCMaglev development.

In 1989, JR Central decided to build a better testing facility with tunnels, steeper gradients, and curves.[6] After the company moved maglev tests to the new facility, the company's Railway Technical Research Institute began to allow testing of ground effect trains, an alternate technology based on aerodynamic interaction between the train and the ground, at the Miyazaki Test Track in 1999.[citation needed]

Yamanashi maglev test line

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See also: Chūō Shinkansen § Miyazaki and Yamanashi Test Tracks

Construction of the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line began in 1990. The initial 18.4 km (11.4 mi) “priority section” in Tsuru, Yamanashi, opened in 1997, with MLX01 trains undergoing testing until the fall of 2011. At that point, the facility was closed to extend the line to 42.8 km (26.6 mi) and upgrade it to commercial specifications.[8]

Since 1997, the Chuo Shinkansen has amassed over 2,044,000 miles of test runs, averaging roughly 2,000 kilometers per day. In one record-setting day, the SCMaglev traveled approximately 2,525 miles[9] (4,062 km)—far exceeding the expected daily mileage during routine operation.

Commercial use

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Japan

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In 2009, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism decided that the SCMaglev system was ready for commercial operation. In 2011, the ministry gave JR Central permission to operate the SCMaglev system on their planned Chūō Shinkansen linking Tokyo and Nagoya by 2034, and to Osaka by 2037. Construction is currently underway.

United States

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Since 2010, JR Central has promoted the SCMaglev system in international markets, particularly the Northeast Corridor of the United States, as the Northeast Maglev.[1] In 2013, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe met with U.S. President Barack Obama and offered to provide the first portion of the SC Maglev track free, a distance of about 40 miles (64 km).[10] In 2016, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded $27.8 million to the Maryland Department of Transportation to prepare preliminary engineering and NEPA analysis for an SCMaglev train between Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.[11]

Australia

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In late 2015, JR Central, Mitsui, and General Electric in Australia formed a joint venture named Consolidated Land and Rail Australia to provide a commercial funding model using private investors that could build the SC Maglev (linking Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne), create eight new self-sustaining inland cities linked to the high-speed connection, and contribute to the community.[12][13]

Vehicles

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ML100 at RTRI, October 2015
ML500 at RTRI, October 2015. This train type held the 1979 world speed record holder of 517 km/h (321 mph).
MLU001's superconducting magnet and a liquid helium tank on top of it
MLX01-1 at SCMaglev and Railway Park, April 2013
MLX01-3 at RTRI, October 2015
No. Type Note Built
LSM200 1972
ML100 Single-car Displayed at the Railway Technical Research Institute 1972
ML100A Single-car 1975
ML500 Single-car Displayed at the Railway Technical Research Institute 1977
ML500R Single-car Redesign after a ML500 caught fire at the Kyushu Test Track 1979
MLU001 1980
MLU002 1987
MLU002N 1993
MLX01-1 Kōfu-end car with double-cusp head Displayed at the SCMaglev and Railway Park 1995
MLX01-11 Standard intermediate car
MLX01-2 Tokyo-end car with aero-wedge head Displayed at the Yamanashi Prefectural Maglev Exhibition Center
MLX01-3 Kōfu-end car with aero-wedge head Displayed at the Railway Technical Research Institute 1997
MLX01-21 Long intermediate car
MLX01-12 Standard intermediate car
MLX01-4 Tokyo-end car with double-cusp head
MLX01-901A Kōfu-end car with long head Remodeled and renamed from MLX01-901 in 2009 2002
MLX01-22A Long intermediate car Remodeled and renamed from MLX01-22 in 2009
L0 5 to 12-car configurations Current world speed record holder for all trains. 2013
Revised L0 7-car configuration Currently operating in Yamanashi 2020
M10 Single-car testing began 2025. 2025

Records

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Manned records

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Speed
km/h (mph)		 Train Location Date Comments
60 (37) ML100 RTRI 1972
400.8 (249) MLU001 Miyazaki February 1987 Two-car train set. Former world speed record for maglev trains.
394.3 (245) MLU002 Miyazaki November 1989 Single-car
411 (255) MLU002N Miyazaki February 1995 Single-car
531 (330) MLX01 Yamanashi 12 December 1997 Three-car train set. Former world speed record for maglev trains.
552 (343) MLX01 Yamanashi 14 April 1999 Five-car train set. Former world speed record for maglev trains.
581 (361) MLX01 Yamanashi 2 December 2003 Three-car train set. Former world speed record for all trains.
590 (367) L0 series Yamanashi 16 April 2015 Seven-car train set.[14] Former world speed record for all trains.
603 (375) L0 series Yamanashi 21 April 2015 Seven-car train set. Current world speed record for all trains.[4]

Unmanned records

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Speed
km/h (mph)		 Train Location Date Comments
504 (313.2) ML-500 Miyazaki 12 December 1979
517 (321.2) ML-500 Miyazaki 21 December 1979
352.4 (219.0) MLU001 Miyazaki January 1986 Three-car train set
405.3 (251.8) MLU001 Miyazaki January 1987 Two-car train set
431 (267.8) MLU002N Miyazaki February 1994 Single-car
550 (341.8) MLX01 Yamanashi 24 December 1997 Three-car train set
548 (340.5) MLX01 Yamanashi 18 March 1999 Five-car train set

Relative passing speed records

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Speed
km/h (mph)		 Train Location Date Comments
966 (600) MLX01 Yamanashi December 1998 Former world relative passing speed record
1,003 (623) MLX01 Yamanashi November 1999 Former world relative passing speed record
1,026 (638) MLX01 Yamanashi 16 November 2004 Current world relative passing speed record

See also

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References

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  • Hood, Christopher P. (2006). Shinkansen – From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-32052-6.
  1. ^ a b Central Japan Railway Company (11 May 2010). Test Ride of Superconducting Maglev by the US Secretary of Transportation, Mr. Ray LaHood. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  2. ^ Central Japan Railway Company (2012). "Central Japan Railway Company Annual Report 2012" (PDF). pp. 23–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d He, J.L.; Rote, D.M.; Coffey, H.T. (1994). "Study of Japanese Electrodynamic-Suspension Maglev Systems". NASA Sti/Recon Technical Report N. 94. Argonne National Laboratory: 37515. Bibcode:1994STIN...9437515H. doi:10.2172/10150166. OSTI 10150166.
  4. ^ a b McCurry, Justin (21 April 2015). "Japan's Maglev Train Breaks World Speed Record with 600 km/h Test Run". The Guardian (U.S. ed.). New York.
  5. ^ The airline distance between Tokyo and Osaka is 397 kilometres (247 mi). To achieve an average speed of 397 km/h, such a train would need to be capable of speeds in excess of 500 km/h to allow for acceleration and deceleration times, intermediate stops, and additional distance incurred by a land route.
  6. ^ a b U.S.-Japan Maglev (2012). "History". USJMAGLEV. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Japanese rail company eyes exports to cover maglev costs". Nikkei Asian Review. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  8. ^ Central Japan Railway Company (2012). "The Chuo Shinkansen Using the Superconducting Maglev System" (PDF). Data Book 2012. pp. 24–25.
  9. ^ "About | SCMAGLEV | Central Japan Railway Company". About | SCMAGLEV | Central Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  10. ^ Pfanner, Eric (19 November 2013). "Japan Pitches Its High-Speed Train With an Offer to Finance". The New York Times (New York ed.). p. B8. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Baltimore-Washington Superconducting Maglev Project - Background".
  12. ^ "General Electric, Japan Rail and Mitsui all aboard high-speed rail proposal". Financial Review. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  13. ^ "Consolidated Land and Rail Australia Pty Ltd". www.clara.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  14. ^ リニアが世界最速５９０キロ 長距離走行記録も更新 [Maglev sets new world record of 590 km/h - Also sets new distance record]. Sankei News (in Japanese). Japan: The Sankei Shimbun & Sankei Digital. 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to JR-Maglev.

35°35′N 138°56′E / 35.583°N 138.933°E / 35.583; 138.933

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