Originally Posted by jaygee:
I'm guessing that this would absolutely require a dedicated ROW...hopefully rather elevated with zero chance of a motor vehicle confrontation. I personally think this would be pretty cool, as the area on either side of the dedicated ROW could be used to develop some serious high speed freight lines. Of course this would cost zillions...so most us will continue to take the bus!
It will definitely be a dedicated right of way just like the Tokaido Shinkansen. The Magllev line will mostly be tunnels. Japan is a totally different environment. Relatively little freight goes by train. The biggest share is by ship.
Here's a JR Central Visitors Guide to the existing Tokaido Shinkansen. It includes several pages on the Chuo Maglev project.
