Japan Rail hopes to sell its bullet train systems, known as the Shinkansen, to the U.S. (photo / Joshua Williams)
January 25, 11:21 PM
By Joshua Williams
Central Japan Rail Co. announced on Jan. 25th that they are aiming to build bullet train systems in multiple regions around the U.S. with the help of two U.S. venture companies. The companies are touting the Japanese technologies as safe and environmentally friendly.
In a press release, JR-Central announced that it was partnering with venture U.S.-Japan High-Speed Rail to sell its latest system, the N700-I Bullet, which is capable of moving at over 200mph. The companies say they are looking at track options that include Florida (Tampa – Orlando – Miami), Los Angeles – Las Vegas, and Texas.
JR-Central is also partnering with venture U.S.-Japan MAGLEV to sell its Superconducting Magnetic Levitation Transportation System, which is capable of going over 300mph, for tracks between Baltimore and Washington D.C, Chattanooga and Atlanta, and in Pennsylvania, among others.
The companies are pushing both systems as safe and environmentally friendly, hoping to receive part of the $8 Billion dollars President Obama is looking to invest in nationwide high-speed rail as part of the “Green New Deal” stimulus package.
While JR-Central and its partners are aiming big, they see a potential for over 100 tracks nationwide, they realize that there is stiff competition for the money from other major companies, including some in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. As a result, they plan to initially focus their efforts on a few locations.
CEO of U.S.-Japan High-Speed Rail, Richard Lawless, stated “Of all the corridors we looked at, the one that looks the most promising and immediate is Florida,” according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The Chairman of JR-Central, Yoshiyuki Kansai, promoted the company’s activities at a press conference on the 25th in Tokyo, saying “Japan’s Shinkansen is completely independent of existing tracks; and while being used as a specialized line there have been zero passenger deaths in the past 45 years. Japan’s high-speed rail is the world’s best total system,” as reported by SankeiBiz.
The Shinkansen is the local Japanese name for the bullet train, which was the world’s first when it was built in the 1960s. It originally opened just in time for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and connected Japan’s two largest cities, Tokyo and Osaka. Since then tracks have expanded around Japan. JR-central reports over 150 million annual passengers on its Shinkansen system.
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