History of the Development of the HSST Maglev Transportation System in Japan
These data have been provided by the HSST Development Corporation of Japan.
June, 1972 - Japan Airlines begins developing HSST as a transportation system to provide high speed access to airports.
November, 1975 - HSST-01 completed (two passenger capacity)
December 1975 - Successful test of levitation and propulsion on a 200 m test track
February 1978 - Test and open-to-the-public demonstration begins, using HSST-02 (8 seats)
March 1985 - HSST-03 (50 seats) makes a demonstration run at Tsukuba Science Expo. From March to September, 610,000 passengers are carried.
October 1985 - the HSST Corporation established and development efforts are transferred from Japan Airlines to the corporation.
May 1986 - HSST-03 makes a demonstration run at Vancouver, Canada at the Transport Expo. From May to October, 470,000 passengers are carried.
March 1987 - HSST-03 makes a demonstration run at Aoi Expo in Okazaki. From March to May, 90,000 passengers are carried.
March 1988 - HSST-04 (70 seats) makes a demonstration run at Saitama Expo in Kumagaya. From March to May, 240,000 passengers are carried.
April 1988 - HSST receives a railway business license for the Yokohama Expo from the Ministry of Transport.
March 1989 - HSST-05 (2-car train, 158 seats) begins commercial operations at Yokohama Expo. Between March and October, 1.26 million passengers are carried.
May 1991 - Chubu HSST Development Corporation (a joint venture in the semi-private sector with the Aichi Prefectural Government, Nagoya railroad and HSST Corporation) begins test runs of the HSST-100. HSST is evaluated by two committees: one to evaluate the technologies of normal conduction magnetic levitation railways and the other to research urban applications for electromagnetic levitation linear motor cars.
January 1993 - HSST Development Corporation is established.
March 1993 -This new company receives all rights of HSST from HSST Corporation.
April 1993 - The Ministry of Transportation acknowledges the safety and reliability of HSST-100 and announces that HSST poses no technical problems concerning its commercial use.
May 1993 - Aichi Prefectural Government announces that HSST presents no practical problems concerning its commercial use as an inner-city transit system.
March 1995 - The Ministry of Transport issues an amendment to the railroad regulations to cover maglev systems and HSST commercial operations become legal.
March 1995 - two-car train of HSST-100L (stretched body version) is completed.
May 1995 - HSST-100L test runs are begun.
June 1995 - Agreement signed to adopt HSST-100L on the 5.3 km line between Ofuna and Yokohama Dreamland.
December 1995 - the Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture announces the adoption of HSST for an Airport Access Line (Phase I is 8.3 km between Hiroshima Airport and Shiraichi Station).
March 2005 - Initial maglev line opened for public service near Nagoya city
The major stockholders in the HSST Development Corporation are: Japan Airlines, Nagoya Railroad and the Hazama Corporation. Their holdings were slightly more than 50% of the shares outstanding, as of August, 1996.
Contact information: Mr. Ken Takao, Project Director, ITOCHU International Inc. E-mail: ken.takao@itochu.com
Tel: 213-488-8353; Fax: 213-624-8446
Last modified: March 10, 2005
