SoylentNews

takyon writes:

Just days after setting a world speed record of 581 km/h, a Japan Railways Group maglev train set a new speed record of 603 km/h (375 mph):

In terms of actual travel, it will be some time before the actual speeds achieved this week translate into real train journeys. The first commercial maglev trains will run between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027, and will likely run at 500KPH [sic], taking 40 minutes to connect the two cities.

Until then Japanese passengers will have to make do with the existing 320KPH bullet trains that take twice as long.

Those Stateside may also have reason to celebrate: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is due to push the train technology in Washington DC later this month, proposing a high-speed link between America's capital and New York City.

Were that to happen it would reduce current travel time from about four hours to under an hour.

Some question the necessity of newer, faster trains:

One argument against Japan's plan to install new high-speed routes is the country's declining population. Bloomberg reported that the nation's population may fall to 117 million by 2027, down 10 million from the current population. By 2060, the population could be as few as 80 million according to current projections by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. The country simply does not have the demand, said Edwin Merner, president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp. in Tokyo.

"[High-speed transportation is] good for growing, developing countries, but not for Japan that's decreasing in population," Mr. Merner told Bloomberg. "It's mis-allocation of resources. Demand for bullet trains will be limited."