Since high-performance speed has been a popular topic here of late — America’s Cup World Series AC45 catamarans and the 77.9 mph Vestas Sailrocket 2 — another bobbing greyhound deserves special mention. When it debuts in 2027, this floater is expected to clock in at around 310 mph.
A true speedster, the 1,000-passenger corvette will embark from Shinagawa, on the Tokyo waterfront, bound for Nagoya, which in and of itself will be quite a cruise. Considering that Shinagawa is at sea level (it’s where Godzilla first came ashore in his 1954 movie debut) and Nagoya is in the Japan Alps.
But this vessel is buoyed by an electromagnetic field, and it is in planning at JR Tokai, otherwise known as Central Japan Railway Company. It is, of course, the next generation of high speed, magnetic levitation or maglev Bullet Trains or Shinkansen.
Worth noting, the anticipated 310 mph velocity for the Shingawa-Nagoya run will still be shy of the world speed record for maglev trains: 341mph. That’s some fast floatin’!