



BLOOMBERG/TIC TOC

Japan has started testing a new bullet train called the Alfa-X, and it is being designed and constructed by a company called Kawasaki Heavy Industries in collaboration with Hitachi. When passenger-less, the train is expected to be able to travel at speeds up to 400 km/h (248 mph), and when it has passengers, it can go up to 360 km/h (224 mph). The train is going to be available for public use by the middle of 2030. Alfa-X is going to be tested by traveling between the Japanese cities of Aomori and Sendai.





The train nose is 72 feet long, in order to minimize the amount of sound the train produces and is designed to be as aerodynamic as possible. In order to allow the train to stop, it has specially designed brakes. It has air brakes in combination with magnets placed on the bottom.





While Alfa-X is going to be the fastest bullet train in the world, it will still not be the fastest overall train which is the maglev train.