What's the fastest speed you've ever traveled at on the ground? until a couple of years ago I would have said around 193 kph (120 mph). Then we did a tour of China, and in the last city we visited, Shanghai, we were treated to a ride on a Maglev train.
Maglev is short for magnetic levitation, which means that these trains will float over a guideway using the basic principles of magnets to replace the old steel wheel and track trains. The trains literally hover a couple of centimeters above the track, allowing them to move at speeds you would never experience otherwise unless you were a race car driver. The train line runs from Longyang Road station in Pudong, on the Shanghai subway line 2 to Shanghai International Airport. The journey takes 7 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the distance of 30 km (18 2/3 miles). A train can reach 350 km/h (220 mph) in 2 minutes, with the maximum normal operation speed of 431 km/h (268 mph) reached thereafter.
It's difficult to describe what it feels like to accelerate that quickly and then travel at 268 mph. Think of the fastest roller coaster you've ever been on and then multiply that by a factor of 5. That would be close. The view out the window is amazing. cars appear as dots of light whizzing past. You can't recognize them as what they are. The most amazing part of the journey is when a train passes going in the opposite direction. There is a sudden sonic boom that startles everyone who experiences it for the first time. The regulars just smile.
It's an experience I highly recommend. The Shanghai train line was the first in the world, but there are now trains in Japan and, I believe, Europe. We were told that if the line were extended farther speeds of up to 600 kph (373 mph) could theoretically be reached!
The picture above to the left was taken inside the train after we reached cruising speed. There are LED displays in every car that give you the time and speed being traveled.
