Marks

PGT105

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT 2

TITLE: BULLET TRAIN

Student’s name MUHAMAD HAFIZUDIN BIN CHE 181382469

MUHAMAD NOR
NURUL NAJWA BINTI AZLAN 181382482
FARHAN HANANI BINTI AHMAD 181382459
HUSSIN
Programme (RY) RY44
Introduction of the Bullet Trains

In 1964, Japan amazed the world by introducing the bullet trains, or Shinkansen,
between Tokyo and Osaka, possibly the busiest rail corridor in the world. By today’s
standards, these trains weren’t high-speed rail (which is commonly defined as 150 miles per
hour or more), as their top speeds were just 130 mph. But they were the fastest trains in the
world, taking that title from the United States, where the Burlington and Milwaukee had
previously vied for number one in the Chicago-Twin Cities corridor.

Oddly, this booklet barely mentions the speed factor, focusing more on the increased
capacity of the new line which was built from scratch. The only mention of speed is in a
section called “Safety Precautions,” which says that that speeds of 159 mph are “quite
feasible” but scheduled speeds would be kept to 125 mph. Another part mentions that the
speeds would be increased when “the roadbed of the new line settles down.” In actual
practice, the average speed from Tokyo to Osaka was 86 mph (with a top speed of 130),
speeded up to 108 mph in 1965 (with a top speed of 137).

Since the Shinkansen began operation just before the 1964 Olympics, the world could
hardly fail to take note, and many other countries saw this as a challenge to their
technological skills. Americans concerned about the space race and missile gap with the
Soviet Union suddenly had another technology to worry about.

By 1964, Americans routinely flew around in jet aircraft at 500 mph, and passenger
trains were considered to be on their way out. Yet the bullet trains led Congress to take
actions that set the precedent for creating Amtrak six years later.
History of the Shinkansen: 50 years of the Japanese bullet train

The Shinkansen are Japan’s gleaming symbol of technological development, its fast
and efficient means of transportation. The Shinkansen are bullet trains that connect cities
throughout Japan high speed railways.

Most visitors to Japan desire to experience the Shinkansen trains, which attain top
speeds in excess of 320 kilometres per hour (199 miles per hour), although most regular
trains don’t go beyond 300 km/h. Tourists may not realize, however, all that has gone into
making this unique rapid transportation possible.

Today’s bullet train system is over fifty years in the making. It is also one of the safest
means of transportation, one of the few transit systems in the world that can boast of having
no fatal accidents across its long history. In this article, we will consider some of the major
events that have made Japan’s rail system the one you can today enjoy with the Japan Rail
Pass.
The Shinkansen Timeline

The first rail lines in Japan opened in 1872, but these steam-powered trains were a far cry
from the speeds attainable today. Planning for the bullet train system began even before
World War II, with land being acquired as early as the late 1930s.

Inauguration, 1964. A ground breaking ceremony was held for the railway project in 1959,
near what would be Mishima Station on the Tokaido Line. In just five years, the first train
line was completed. On October 1, 1964, the line opened to commuter traffic at 6 AM. The
Hikari bullet train made its debut, with one train departing from Tokyo Station and the other
from Shin-Osaka Station. These 0 Series Shinkansen models remained in use until 1999.

The Sanyo Shinkansen, 1975. The Sanyo Shinkansen bullet trains connect the two largest
cities in western Japan, Osaka and Fukuoka. This line extended the Tokaido Line from
Tokyo, making it possible to travel from Tokyo to Fukuoka in about five hours. Dining cars
were also added to many trains.

The Green Class, 1985. The year 1985 saw the release of a new type of Shinkansen train,
known as the 100 Series. Green Class cars became available on these trains, giving
passengers the option to enjoy a first-class travel experience.

The Nozomi Trains, 1992. The word nozomi means “hope” or “wish,” and these new trains
originally 300 Series Shinkansen, but today N700 Series trains – carried with them the wishes
of their designers. The Nozomi trains run on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen Lines, and
are the fastest trains currently in operation in Japan.

The Akita and Nagano Shinkansen, 1997. The Akita is a mini-shinkansen E6 Series train.
Creating the mini shinkansen line included the need to convert existing narrow-gauge tracks,
used by non-shinkansen trains, into narrower rails. These lines meet other Shinkansen tracks
in certain areas. These trains run at slower speeds than their full-sized counterparts, but reach
areas not previously serviced by bullet trains.
The Hokkaido Shinkansen, 2016. The Hokkaido Shinkansen is unique in its use of an
undersea tunnel, called the Seikan Tunnel. The tunnel thus connects the northern island of
Hokkaido with the main island of Honshu. Future plans include connecting this line to
Sapporo by 2031.

How it works?

A brief review of magnets will help explain how maglev (magnetic levitation) trains work.
Every magnet has a north pole and a south pole. Similar poles of two magnets repel each
other; opposite poles attract each other. These principles govern the levitation of maglev
trains.

Permanent magnets are always magnetic. Electromagnets are magnetic only when an

electric current flow through them. The north and south poles of an electromagnet are
related to the direction of the current. If the direction of the current is reversed, the poles
are reversed.

In maglevs that levitate by magnetic repulsion, the train lies over the guideway. Magnets
on top of the guideway are oriented to repel similar poles of magnets in the bottom of the
maglev. This pushes the train upward into a hovering position. This system is designed for
maglevs that contain groups of extremely powerful superconducting electromagnets. These
magnets use less electricity than conventional electromagnets, but they must be cooled to
very low temperatures—from −269 degrees Celsius to −196 degrees Celsius.

In maglevs that levitate by magnetic attraction, the bottom of the train wraps around the
guideway. Levitation magnets on the underside of the guideway are positioned to attract
the opposite poles of magnets on the wraparound section of the maglev. This raises the
train off the track. The magnets in the guideway attract the wraparound section only
strongly enough to raise the train a few centimetres into a “floating” position. The
wraparound section does not touch the guideway. (Imagine a C-shaped bracelet floating
around your wrist without touching it.)

To picture how a maglev train is propelled forward, think of three bar magnets lined up on
the floor. The magnet in front is pulling with an attracting (opposite) magnetic pole and the
magnet in back is pushing with a repulsing (similar) magnetic pole. The magnet in the
middle moves forward. A maglev's guideway has a long line of electromagnets. These pull
the train from the front and push it from behind. The electromagnets are powered by
controlled alternating currents, so they can quickly change their pull and push poles, and
thus continually propel the train forward.
Future Trends

Tohoku Shinkansen
E5 series trains, capable of up to 320 km/h (200 mph) (initially limited to 300 km/h), were
introduced on the Tōhoku Shinkansenin March 2011. Operation at the maximum speed of
320 km/h between Utsunomiya and Morioka on this route commenced on 16 March 2013,
and reduced the journey time to around 3 hours for trains from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori (a
distance of 674 km (419 mi)). Extensive trials using the Fastech 360 test trains have shown
that operation at 360 km/h (224 mph) is not currently feasible because of problems of noise
pollution (particularly tunnel boom), overhead wire wear, and braking distances. On 30
October 2012, JR East announced that it is pursuing research and development to increase
speeds to 360 km/h on the Tohoku Shinkansen by 2020.

Gauge Change Train

This is the name for the concept of using a single train that is specially designed to travel on
both 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway lines and the 1,435 mm(4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard
gauge used by Shinkansen train services in Japan. The trucks/bogies of the Gauge Change
Train (GCT) allow the wheels to be unlocked from the axles, narrowed or widened as
necessary, and then relocked. This allows a GCT to traverse both standard gauge and narrow-
gauge tracks without the expense of regauging lines.
Three test trains have been constructed, with the second set having completed reliability trials
on the Yosan Line east of Matsuyama (in Shikoku) in September 2013. The third set was
undertaking gauge changing trials at Shin-Yatsushiro Station (on Kyushu), commencing in
2014 for a proposed three-year period, however testing was suspended in December 2014
after accumulating approximating 33,000 km, following the discovery of defective thrust
bearing oil seals on the bogies.[55] The train was being trialled between Kumamoto,
travelling on the narrow gauge line to Shin-Yatsushiro, where a gauge changer has been
installed, so the GCT could then be trialled on the Shinkansen line to Kagoshima. It was
anticipated the train would travel approximately 600,000 km over the three-year trial.
A new "full standard" Shinkansen line is under construction from Takeo Onsen to Nagasaki,
with the Shin-Tosu – Takeo Onsen section of the Kyushu Shinkansenbranch to remain
narrow gauge. GCTs were proposed to provide the Shinkansen service from the line's
scheduled opening in March 2023, however with the GCT now being unavailable for service
until at least 2025, other options are being considered, such as a 'relay' service.
Maglev (Chuo Shinkansen)

Fifty years after the bullet train, Government of Japan has just approved the plans to build
the world’s fastest train line using magnetic levitation technology, an endeavour that will
make the industrial centre of Nagoya, 178 miles away, a suburb of Tokya, effectively. It
potentially could be the future of public transport.

Japan started developing the maglev trains over a decade ago in a research and test centre
in Yamanashi, outside Tokyo, in 1997. The train will run at speeds of over 500 km/h
(310 mph) an hour and will cut the journey time from Shinagawa to Nagoya in 40 minutes,
down from 1.4 hours currently. An extension of this test track from 18.4 km to 42.8 km
was completed in June 2013, enabling extended high-speed running trials to commence in
August 2013.The train is to start operating in 2027 and will eventually link Tokyo to
Osaka, beyond Nagoya. A subsequent extension to Osaka is planned to be completed by
2045. The planned travel time from Shinagawa to Shin-Osaka is 1 hour 7 minutes.
Currently the Tokaido Shinkansen has a minimum connection time of 2 hours 19 minutes.

The magnetic levitation technology for the new trains, the Chuo (Central) Shinkansen is
being demonstrated at a test track outside Tokyo. It uses powerful magnets to push the train
cars which will levitate or float four inches above a concrete pathway, rather than ride on
wheels on tracks. A short-stretch maglev (magnetic levitation) line currently operates in
Shanghai and runs at speeds of 430 kilometres per hour.
Conclusions

As we know, Japan’s build the world’s first high-speed rail network. The first line in
Japan’s now world-famous shinkansen network, which is known as “bullet train”, was built
against all odd, in the face of fierce public opposition, technical difficulties and astronomical
costs. With no engine, no wheel, no pollution new source of energy floating on air, the
concept has taken many years to develop. Bullet trains are the new ways of transportation in
the near future, just some obstacle is in the way, but with some researches nothing is
impossible. So over all an investment in high-speed train it will increase our efficiency, will
be more environment friendly. Other that that, will be more economically profitable and will
empower the businesses and the common man.
Attachment
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