As Hockeyfan says, such fast trains could replace some airline routes. Okay, the trains don’t travel as fast as a plans – not far of half the speed, but still ‘very’ slow in comparison. That said, it’s a train. Usually train stations are easier to reach than airports; there isn’t all the waiting about and faff that’s involved in air travel; nervous flyers would have a real alternative; but most importantly, that reduced speed isn’t such a problem when you’re talking about short flights, especially as a train can probably – I’m no engineer! – accelerate to and deccelerate from top speed much quciker and easier than a plane can. All this means that to travel on short routes it may be as quick to go by train as by plane. Great news.

I’ve actually been on Shanghai’s high-speed train, the Maglev. That hits speeds of over 400kmh. It’s a surprisingly quiet and smooth ride. And fun too – there’s a digital readout in each carriage that shows the current speed. People take photos of it. Even applaud when it hits the top speed.

Yes, if this was rolled out globally, it could be of tremendous benefit in our fight for the environment.
Steve N. Lee
author of eco-blog http://www.lionsledbysheep.com
and suspense thriller ‘What if…?’