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Japan enters high-speed train sales race

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presto345,

Reread what I wrote, not just the last sentence; they all go together. Amtrak is a money-loser in the US. Who is going to lend them $$ billions more to rebuild hundreds or thousands of miles of track with not a good chance to recover the losses? It took them a long time just to get the high-speed Acela. It'd be tough to convince your politicians, yes, even TARP supporters. When Americans do not prefer to fly, they prefer to drive - the train is usually lower on the list, probably just above buses (where applicable - a good rail system still misses much of the vast country).

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America's train system will very likely involve bullet trains that will be able to adjust quickly to changing demographics of the train users. Unlike Japan, people relocate and pursues new oppurtuniites in differed cities consistently in this country. This in turn leads to a consumer base which in turn we must all expect to be inadequate and insufficient to use the complex system of a Japanese high speed bullet train. Here in California, I just don't think the up to the secod train system would work. People will always be late to their trains. People will always complain and nag. Train system will have to support that kind of an overall 'dumb'ifued society.

I'm sorry but people are just anal enough like they are in Japan...

So...a flexible robust system that allows customers to be somewhat late to their train, a gutsy train system where a certain level f human error will not lead to a major catastrphy, and a quick speedy train system that can somewhat compensate for the tardiness of the society would be likely to succeed (at least here in California)

we just don't want to have the hustle and bustle Tokyo lifestyle here. Sorry.

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It'd be tough to rebuild 1000 miles or more of rail system that can accomodate the speeds of a bullet train.

Huh? Tough? A thousand miles? How many miles of track do you think were built in Japan, new track, not rebuilt track, in less than half a century? Google it. "Prefer to fly" is going to be out really soon with the pressure of high security and the need to reduce emissions.

Another wrinkle: Japan’s high-speed trains run on their own tracks, with no crossings and dedicated bridges over crowded areas. Building such lines from scratch in the U.S. would be costly, but executives like Morimura say it’s an advantage to be unconstrained by the standards of conventional networks.

If Japan could build it, why not the U.S.? Japan's consumers footed the bill. America's consumers/economy can't?

Non-Japanese high speed trains may have set speed records, only because they don't run on the terrain like in Japan with kilometer after kilometer of tunnel. The Shinkansen trains are still the best. And the safest. What happened in the Eurotunnel a while ago?

“If you rely totally and completely on a single country, when a problem arises there is a lot of risk, so the fundamental stance of many buyers is not to rely on the technology from one country,” said Credit Suisse analyst Osuke Itazaki.

The analyst is right in a sense. You don't rely on Alstrom or Siemens or TGV because of their limited experience. You go for the Japanese system which has proven its reliability and safety many times over. But if the Unites States have a better way, like its automobile industry, well, them show the world.

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Most US rail networks can't handle the speeds of a bullet train. Even America's national railway Amtrak's fastest train Acela has to slow down on turns, and in cities where by law it has to slow down (to 60 mph I believe). In effect, it's not maximizing its speed.

Oh, and Amtrak's been bleeding money for years. For relatively "short" distances, Americans prefer to drive in the convenience of their cars on an extensive highway system. For "longer" distances (like 1000 miles), that's when they prefer to fly. It'd be tough to rebuild 1000 miles or more of rail system that can accomodate the speeds of a bullet train.

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There's no talk about China here. I just read somewhere that they have the fastest and most modern train system now......

China's "fastest train" is built using French technology. China also has some Japanese Shinkansen trains. China's high-speed trains aren't theirs to export (not that a little thing like intellectual property rights ever stopped the Chinese).

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There's no talk about China here. I just read somewhere that they have the fastest and most modern train system now......

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otherwise it can sell in Korea,Taiwan or vietnam

Again, it is the weakness of Japan not having the most updated infromation in the jungle of international business market. Korea is in fact the most formidable competitor for the high speed train market.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN2731564620080527?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

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This article shows why Japan is lagging behind in the world of business.Its arrogance.I think Chinese have German system but soon they will copy it to export to third world.Hatayoma proposed the bullet train to Indians during his recent visit.But Indian tracks are ancient as well as its signal system.It just cannnot afford to relay the whole track but Japan has the bullet train. It is here Japan has to show innovation.otherwise it can sell in Korea,Taiwan or vietnam

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Japanese train-bullet works wonderfully in Japan, the size of an US state. To deal with continent-countries like US or Brazil, their technology has yet to be proven successful.

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The taiwan system is going bankrupt because:1 - they located all of the stations so far away from urban centers ( except in Taipei and Kaoushiung) that it costly and time consuming to get there. Because of this retarded idea, now people have to rely on shuttle buses ( only every thirty minutes) or expensive taxis or driving themselves ( add parking costs ) to get to and from the stations. 2 - the stations and the surrounding areas were totally over built. They even built mini communities thinking that the high speed train would attract people to come and live in the middle of nowhere just cause there was a train station there. Absolutely idiotic. 3 - because of the first two, it takes longer to wait for the bus, get to the station, wait for the train, go to your destination, wait for another bus to get you to where you are going. The time saving is totally negligible in a country where you can get from one end to another in two hours. This train system here was built on graft and corruption, with wealthy landowners or investors selling the land to themselves ( the high speed rail corporation ) for prices way above market value. Now these losers want the government to take it over now that they are losing money. A total joke of a system here in Taiwan, but very typical of chinese thinking

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but the U.S. is the ultimate prize.

Does that hurt you?

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Japan's best overseas Shinkansen customer, Taiwan, built its high-speed rail line but is now effectively bankrupt. The commercial success of rail travel in Japan has to be considered from the perspective of aging, crowded highways (the Tomei hasn't been expanded since it started 4 decades ago) and an aging domestic air infrastructure. But the latter is finally being addressed and when Haneda starts using its new runway next year the domestic airlines will once again challenge the railways, provided the prices remain competitive.

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Does it hurt you Yes. Greatly.

I'm American. Fantastic.

miles per hour OR kilometers per hour, but both is annoying. Agreed.

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Does it hurt you to realise not all the world conforms to America and the metric system when it comes to speed?

Does it hurt you to realize that Hehehohohaha might not even be American and that he was simply asking for figures to be written in the same increment so as to make the story more coherent?

I'm American and I would be happy if the speeds were written in either miles per hour OR kilometers per hour, but both is annoying.

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Does it hurt story writers and editors to do simple conversions in order to make the reading easier?

Does it hurt you to realise not all the world conforms to America and the metric system when it comes to speed?

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200 mph = 321 kph

Does it hurt story writers and editors to do simple conversions in order to make the reading easier?

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The "Shinkansen runs on its own tracks" comment is a problem only to Japan, given its mainline railways are 1067mm (Cape Gauge). UK/USA both have their mainline railways running on 1485mm (Standard) gauge meaning the shinkansen in those markets is on an equal playing field to the TGV and ICE concepts.

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The Shinkansen is most suitable for long runs where almost absolutely: no fatalities; dependable; and minimal human error is required. It is expensive, but it is a complete "envelop".

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With 50 different States to deal with in the USA, Japan Rail had better be flexible. Big mistake going for the all or nothing approach.

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