Dreaming of an outlandish trains of the future? It is Japan which has already mastered the levitating bullet train and been ferrying its passengers across the country at speeds of up to 580 km/hour for the past two years.
It is Seibu Railway Co. who now is working to build a train that’s virtually invisible to onlookers.
Yes! You read that right! Designed by Pritzker Prize winner architect Kazuyo Sejima from the Japanese firm Sanaa, said that the train won’t be completely invisible (obviously), but super-reflective which will create a camouflaging effect. it will blend into its surroundings by reflecting them off its pristine mirrored surfaces.
What makes this project a bit more promising than some of the ambitious things architects have been coming up with recently is the fact that the design can be applied to existing trains.
Sejima received the permission from Seibu Railway Co. and will redesign the exterior and interior of its Red Arrow express commuter train, to commemorate its 100th anniversary. its current exterior will be replaced with semi-transparent and mirrored panels, and its boxy shape moulded into a silver bullet is all that we know about the ‘invisible train’.
Expected to hit the tracks some time in 2018, the invisible express will cover over 178 km (111 miles) throughout Japan.
