The groundbreaking Japanese Maglev has been in development so long that I remember seeing its maiden mini-journey on 7km of test track back in the 90s on Blue Peter. I’m sure you’re aware of it by now – a train that can top 600kph by magnetically levitating on the tracks… that’s nearly twice the speed of the current fastest Shinkansen and will cut the journey time from Tokyo to Nagoya in half.
The project has been riven with complications and political deadlock. 85% of it is underground, which involves blasting tunnel after tunnel through the Japan Alps. The project was the stalled for a decade as Shizuoka prefecture blocked the last leg due to worries an important river would be drained by construction.
The great news for train lovers like me is the project is back on the (magnetic) rails. As of July this year the dispute has finally been resolved. I mentioned it to a Chinese engineer I happened to meet, and he said comparing it to the Shanghai airport shuttle maglev is like comparing an airplane to a space rocket. Expect blast off around a decade from now…