News and Exhibitions - Maglev Shinkansen work to start this year

Caledonian Rolling Stock Cables

CABLE CONSTRUCTION

Conductors:
Tinned fine copper strands according to VDE 0295 / IEC 60228 class 5 are generally used for railway cables. For nominal cross section of over 50mmsq, 0.41mm strand wire may be used instead of 0.51mm as stipulated in IEC 60228. The IEC 60228 class 5 enhances flexibility and the ease of handling, thus lengthening the product life of the cable. These class 5
conductors are extremely flexible, and easy-to-install in the compact rolling stock environment.
Insulation and Outer Sheath:
Crosslinked polyolefine copolymer or EPR will generally be used for insulation whereas electron-beam cross-linked elastomer is employed for sheathing. Cross-linked elastomer compounds offer very good durability that can resist heat, oil, vibration, chemical aggression, etc.

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD

As an OEM, Caledonian rolling stock cables provide our railway customers with future headroom by meeting the following European Norms (EN) and international standards :

EN 50264

EN 50306

EN 50382

NF F 63808

NF F 63826

NF F 63827

BS 6853

DIN 5510-2

NF F 16 101

UIC 895

Maglev Shinkansen work to start this year

JAPAN: Construction of JR Central’s Chuo Shinkansen between Tokyo Shinagawa and Nagoya using superconducting maglev technology is expected to start towards the end of this year, possibly in October or November.

The date will depend on satisfactory completion of the environmental impact assessment process following the publication of a report last September. At that time JR Central also announced details of the route and the location of intermediate stations.

Work is expected to start at several sites, with construction teams likely to commence with the major tunnels because of the long lead times; a high proportion of the alignment will run in tunnel.

JR Central has tested and developed the technology on the ‘priority section’ of the alignment in Yamanashi prefecture since 1997, which was extended last year from 18·4 km to 42·8 km.

The 286 km line is due to be open in 2027, but there is pressure to complete another 5 km segment linking the priority section to the site of the planned station at Kofu in time for the 2020 Olympics. This would allow JR Central to demonstrate its superconducting maglev technology to large numbers of visitors.

JR Central has committed to bear the ¥5·4tr construction cost of the Tokyo – Nagoya line; the company has already spent ¥355bn of its own capital on extension of the test guideway.