Current Japanese “bullet trains” can travel at an average speed of 300 km/h (188 mph). Recent proposals could mean that we’ll be looking at trains with average speeds of 500 km/h (310 mph). That’s approaching commercial airline speeds.
The trains would run between Tokyo and Nagoya and would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of ¥5.1 trillion ($51.3 billion) to construct.
At such a speed, you’d be able to travel between the cities of Tokyo and Nagoya—some 163 miles—in as little as 40 minutes.
That’s pretty amazing considering it takes something like 90 minutes to travel 70 miles on Metro North in New York State. Remember when the U.S. had top-notch infrastructure?
via Slashdot