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L0 Series

超電導リニアL0系

The L0 Series is a high-speed maglev train that the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) has been developing and testing for use on the Chūō Shinkansen, the maglev line under construction between Tokyo and Osaka. The 'L' in the name stands for 'Linear' and the '0' denotes a first-generation vehicle, echoing the 0 Series that inaugurated the Tōkaidō Shinkansen. The train uses the Japanese-designed SCMaglev system, in which superconducting magnets carried in the bogies interact with coils on the guideway to levitate, guide and propel the set; because propulsion power is supplied and consumed at the trackside rather than on board, the original cars carried only a small gas-turbine generator for auxiliary power. Fourteen pre-production vehicles were built, with the cars constructed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Sharyo, a JR Central subsidiary; the superconducting magnets are built by Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric, and the bogies are arranged in a Jacobs configuration. The end cars are 28 m long with a 15 m nose for better aerodynamics and reduced noise in tunnels, and a 12-car formation is 299 m long. JR Central plans to run the L0 Series at a maximum of 500 km/h in commercial service.

History

The first L0 Series vehicle was delivered to the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line and unveiled in November 2012. The first five vehicles were coupled and placed on the guideway in June 2013, and the five-car train began test running on the 42.8 km test line that month, after completion of extension and upgrade work and earlier than the originally scheduled September date. The maximum test speed was raised gradually, reaching 500 km/h by the end of July 2013. The set was lengthened to seven cars in September 2013, and test running as a 12-car formation began on 25 June 2014 before the train was reverted to a seven-car formation and used for public preview rides.

A series of endurance and speed tests on the test track in April 2015 set several records. On 16 April 2015 a manned seven-car set reached 590 km/h, breaking the 581 km/h world record set by a Japanese MLX01 maglev in December 2003; the speed was sustained for 19 seconds. That record was broken again on 21 April 2015, when a manned seven-car set recorded a top speed of 603 km/h — a land speed record for rail vehicles — carrying 49 JR Central employees and sustaining the speed for 10.8 seconds while travelling 1.8 km. The set had also run 4,064 km in a single day on 14 April 2015, breaking the previous distance record of 2,876 km set in 2003. The infobox gives the train a design speed of 550 km/h and an operational speed of 500 km/h, alongside the 603 km/h record.

An upgraded trainset, the Improved L0 Series, was completed in March 2020. It is the first L0 set to receive power from the guideway through induction, removing the need for the on-board gas-turbine generator used in the original cars, and its end cars are more aerodynamic and carry a relocated, enlarged camera. At its press presentation, lead designer Motoaki Terai stated that the model represented completion of around 80–90% of the design goals for the final train, and on 26 March 2020 the Improved L0 Series began operations on the test track. A further updated design, the M10, was announced in February 2025, and a single M10 intermediate car began testing in July 2025; it features a shark-skin-inspired riblet film to reduce drag and high-temperature superconducting magnets that require less cooling.

Timeline
  • 201026 October: JR Central announces the L0 Series, the SCMaglev train type intended for the Chūō Shinkansen.
  • 2012November: the first L0 Series vehicle is delivered to the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line and unveiled (five cars delivered 22 November).
  • 2013June: the first five vehicles are placed on the guideway and a five-car train begins test running; test speed reaches 500 km/h by the end of July.
  • 201425 June: test running as a 12-car formation begins on the 42.8 km Yamanashi test line; the set is later reverted to seven cars for public preview rides.
  • 201516 April: a manned seven-car set reaches 590 km/h, breaking the 581 km/h record set by MLX01 in December 2003.
  • 201521 April: a manned seven-car set records 603 km/h, a land speed record for rail vehicles, carrying 49 employees and sustaining the speed for 10.8 seconds; later certified by Guinness World Records.
  • 2020March: the Improved L0 Series is completed — the first L0 set to draw power from the guideway by induction rather than an on-board gas-turbine generator; it begins test-track operations on 26 March and runs at 550 km/h on 19 August.
  • 2025An updated design, the M10, is announced in February; a single M10 intermediate car begins testing in July, featuring a shark-skin-inspired riblet film and high-temperature superconducting magnets.

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