Japan is working on A 500 KPH Floating Train

The Central Japan Railway Co. unveiled a prototype it believes will bring faster train service than ever before to Japan. The Series Lo prototype is a magnetic levitation train, floating above its track and moving forward thanks to powerful magnets. It will run from Tokyo to Nagoya, and travel as fast as 311 mph (500 kilometers per hour).

The idea of maglev-powered transportation has been around for over a century. The first pertinent patent was issued in 1905; Britain operated a low-speed maglev shuttle in Birmingham between 1984 and 1995. Presently, only two commercial systems are in service. The first started operation in Shanghai in 2004, followed in 2005 by a Japanese system called Linimo, which runs at only 60 mph, 20% of the top speed the JR Tokai predicts for the new maglev train.

Japan is already operating by high-speed bullet trains, but maglev systems offer several advantages, which is frictionless, as they are faster and quieter than trains that make use of wheels, and even are not impacted by bad weather. Japan Railway Tokai plans to fabricate a train that will seat nearly 1,000 passengers that will be in function by 2027, and expand service to Osaka by 2045.