Maximum operating speed120 m/s
40Running toddlers
24Skateboards
9.68Usain Bolt sprints
431 km/h in regular service
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Shanghai Maglev
The fastest commercial train in regular service/Trains & Rail
The Shanghai Maglev connects Pudong International Airport to the city at a top speed of 431 km/h, making it the fastest commercial train service in the world. It uses magnetic levitation to float about 10 millimeters above the guideway, eliminating wheel friction entirely. The 30-kilometer trip takes just over 7 minutes, which is less time than most people spend trying to find their boarding pass.
Measurements
Single car length24 m
68.6 billionUranium atoms
7.27African elephant heights
500Dominoes
Vehicle mass (single car)42,000 kg
382 septillionHemoglobin molecule weights
28,000Textbooks
Levitation gap1 hundredths m
8.3 hundredthsCandy bar lengths
617 millionthsTractor trailer lengths
6.3 tenthsDice edges
10 mm magnetic gap
Track length30,500 m
381City blocks
401,316Hockey puck diameters
3.7 tenthsPanama Canals
30.5 km from airport to Longyang Road
Trip duration450 s
136 septillionTime light crosses a proton
5 tenthsQuarter hours
2.14Pop songs
About 7 minutes 30 seconds