‘World’s fastest train’ could cut London to Edinburgh journey to 60 minutes

Commuters who spend five hours on the train from London to Edinburgh will be excited to hear that there’s soon to be a new high-speed service in town.

Specifically, one that could connect both major cities in just one hour. Well, kind of. If it ever comes to the UK.

The L0 Series is a Japanese maglev train that is currently being developed and tested by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). It promises to reach speeds of up to 375mph, earning the title of the world’s fastest train.

For comparison, China’s Shanghai Maglev (the world’s only commercial one) has a top speed of 286 mph, while Germany’s ICE 3 train can reach up to 186 mph.

The new L0 Series’ Chuo Shinkansen line, which is currently under construction between Tokyo and Nagoya, promises to cut travel times to 40 minutes.

There are then plans to extend from Nagoya to Osaka, which will merge the three cities into a single mega-region.

So, what makes the L0 Series so different? And more importantly, how is it so fast?

The L0 Series train and its speed explained

It’s all down to the name: maglev.

Standing for magnetic levitation, it lifts the train above the tracks, while the carriages are pushed forward by another electric motor.

With a combination of magnets and electricity, this science allows the train to literally glide through the air at impossible speeds.

Once in commercial working order, the Japanese train will be able to travel from the capital, Tokyo, to Osaka on the island of Honshu in one hour.

Currently, the bullet train (Shinkansen) is the fastest way to travel this distance, taking around 2 hours and 30 minutes on the Nozomi service.

If the same technology were to be adopted in the UK, it would revolutionise notoriously long cross-country journeys.

This includes the London to Edinburgh route. Plus, similar distances like London to Glasgow, or London to Penzance, respectively.

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How much does the train cost?

It’s no surprise that such a huge project requires an even bigger budget.

In addition, the ambitious nature of it means that there have inevitably been setbacks — in the L0 Series case, production has been delayed by eight years due to high costs, totalling £52 billion.

This has pushed the opening past the original 2027 target, with completion now expected between 2034 and 2035.

Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun reported that the ‘maglev has been plagued by difficulties excavating tunnels needed to accommodate the train’s high speeds.’

Could this work in the UK?

Paul Herriotts, Professor of Transport Design at Coventry University, tells Metro that, while Japan has shown this is technically possible, ‘we should ask UK travellers what they really want.’

‘As always in transport design, sometimes it’s not about the fastest journey.’ Rather, ‘it’s more about the end of the end travel experience: comfort, accessibility and even luxury.’

Plus, with new transport infrastructure, Herriotts says that sometimes we focus only on one element. In this case, he says it’s the high-speed train, much to its possible detriment.

‘If this were to be implemented, we need to make sure it is joined to existing travel hubs and modes, and is accessible to everyone within the population.’

Finally, Herriotts says there’s no point in cutting this train time to 60 minutes if it has taken a passenger 90 minutes just to get across London to catch the train.

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