China unveils 600 kph maglev train

Re:China unveils 600 kph maglev train by jcranmer on Tuesday July 20, 2021 @04:27PM (#27898849)

The root context of this discussion is basically whether or not it makes sense to add in intermediary stops on a rail line. If you're insisting that people have to be seated and have no drinks out for every intermediate stop, that rather sharply raises the discomfort level of stops. Another unpredictable element of train acceleration is the need to slow down to negotiate a curve, which isn't necessarily the case only in the immediate vicinity of a station.

FWIW, the numbers I generally see bandied about for acceleration on (decent) trains is about 1 m/s^2.

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Re:China unveils 600 kph maglev train by sudosysgen on Tuesday July 20, 2021 @04:35PM (#27898943)

The "intermediate stop" being mentioned was Philadelphia. I don't think asking people to be seated for 45 seconds before and after each stop adds that much discomfort.

0.1g is the acceptable lateral acceleration when standing up without bracing. (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40864-015-0012-y)

If you get caught standing up, even 3.5 m/s/s is not dangerous. It is uncomfortable, but in a high speed train you are expected to be sitting down.

Also you wouldn't need to put drinks away. As I said, that's the acceleration of a Toyota Corolla. You would need the drinks to be covered though.

The limiting factor in longitudinal acceleration in trains is that we expect people to be standing up for the whole trip. This isn't the case in a high speed train.

As for curves - the solution is not to go through any sharp curves unless you are already close to a stop and would have to slow down anyways.

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