Early last month, French engineers nearly broke the record set by Japan's magnetically elevated high-speed train that ran at 361 mph (581 kph) in 2003. Although it fell short of that ultimate record in 2003, the super-fast French train still set a record for conventional rail trains: reaching 357 mph (574.8 kph), it was faster than any humans had ever traveled in a train on rails.

With a souped-up engine, the high-speed French train — codenamed V150 — also required new tracks with greater banking on the curves and special larger wheels than the usual train à grande vitesse (TGV). The rails were treated so the wheels could make perfect contact, Alain Cuccaroni, the man in charge of the technical aspects of testing, told the International Herald Tribune. Further, electrical power in the overhead cable was beefed up from 25,000 volts to 31,000.

The TGV's normal cruising speed is about 186 mph, and the train reached its maximum speed of 357 mph in about 16 minutes.

This was a "test of French excellence," according to The New York Times, and a chance for Alstom, the train's manufacturer, to show that it can make some reeeaally fast trains. Alstom is considered the world's high-speed train leader, with 21 percent of the market.

France operates 400 TGV trains on about 1,100 miles of track built especially for high speeds.

However, the French engineering team is not the only one on track to provide super-fast trains. Nor was its intention just to break a record. It is also big business.

The New York Times reports:

High-speed trains are a potentially lucrative market in developing countries — China and India are the biggest markets, with China spending about 15 billion euros a year on its rail network, while India is looking at developing a high-speed train system.

China
For one, the Chinese use a maglev train to carry passengers from Shanghai to the international airport. The distance the train travels is only 18.6 miles, but it can reach up to 267 mph. China built its maglev train using technology from Germany, which had its own maglev train until it hit a maintenance vehicle.

China further plans to build more than 7,500 miles of high-speed railways in coming years at a cost of $250-$310 billion, according to the country's media reports last year. Nationwide, 140 pair of high-speed trains with a speed of 200 km per hour or faster began to hit the railways last month, according to China Daily/Xinhua. The number will increase to 257 by the end of this year.


High-speed maglev train takes passengers between Shanghai and Pudong airport.
Credit: Transrapid International

Japan
Japan is best known for its super-fast trains, holding the speed at 552 km/h. The Register recently noted that "Japan wants levitating trains by 2025." The trains will have a top speed of 310 mph and will run between Tokyo and Nagoya, according to BBC News reports. Eventually, authorities plan to extend the line to run to Osaka, a route currently served by the famous "Bullet Trains," which have a top speed of 186 mph. The track for this train will cost nearly US$126 million per mile, according to The Register.

United States
And in the U.S., installing high-speed trains seems stunted. It's been considered, and some research has been done at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and at California University, south of Pittsburgh.

Nonetheless, high-speed trains have not caught on in the U.S. as they have in Europe, where TGV travel is generally considered faster transportation than air travel for distances that the TGV can cover in less than three hours.

The lack of interest in high-speed trains in the U.S may be due to the high up-front cost. According to American Maglev Technology (AMT):

High-speed trains and Japanese or German Maglev train systems have been reported to cost $40- to $80-million per mile. Public and private studies show that only Maglev technologies costing under $20 million per mile can be fully self-sufficient.

AMT anticipates it could construct a Maglev system for $19 million per mile or less. Should this occur, there would be no need for government subsidy.

California is studying a high-speed line running from Sacramento to San Diego via San Francisco and Los Angeles. Perhaps the governor could govern in the morning and act in the afternoon after lunching on the train.

Resources

French Set Rail Speed Record
by Ingrid Rousseau and Marco Chown
The Associated Press, April 3, 2007

Whoosh! France woos global markets with world speed record for trains
The Associated Press, April 4, 2007

Research Model of French Train Beats a Speed Record, Hitting 357 Miles an Hour
by Ariane Bernard
The New York Times, April 4, 2007

Bullet trains join fastest in the world
By Xin Dingding
China Daily/Xinhua, April 18, 2007

Japan Wants Levitating Trains by 2025
by Lucy Sherriff
The Register, April 27, 2007

'Floating' rail link gets support
BBC News, April 21, 2007

Is It a Bird? A Plane?
by Ron Gluckman
Asian Wall Street Journal (via Gluckman.com), Feb 21-23, 2003

General Atomics Urban Maglev Program Status
by Sam Gurol, Bob Baldi and Richard Post
General Atomics, Electromagnetic Systems Division, & Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Affordability: Requiring No Government Subsidies
American Maglev Technology