Japan-led maglev project in U.S. east faces cost, regulatory hurdles

"Private companies in the United States tend to view passenger rail in the U.S. as unprofitable so it will not be easy to attract investors."

This is true.

Americans love their cars as well.

Never invest in any huge project there. Is a constant battle with politicians there. They can't seems to agree on anything. They haven't been able to create any major projects for a long time now. Republicans and democrats hate each other so much they would never agree on the same thing just to spite each other. And not to mention they work extremely slow

CaHSR is basically the case study of how not to build a major infrastructure project.

The greatest of all Japanese white elephants, in 2021 it was estimated to have an overall expected cost of $95 billion. It died the day its main sponsor Shinzo Abe did, and will remain a fitting tribute to his legacy.

Maglev is too risky and too expensive. The US should build their own high-speed service, not rely on foreigners for an untested technology. The US already has the world's best freight rail system, so it's definitely doable.

JeffLeeToday  08:18 am JST

Maglev is too risky and too expensive. The US should build their own high-speed service, not rely on foreigners for an untested technology. The US already has the world's best freight rail system, so it's definitely doable

The US definitely does not have even close to the best freight rail in the world. That aside, how exactly is maglev risky? It’s run on separate track like the Shinkansen. If the superconduction fails it becomes a normal train, not any more or less risky than a standard train.

That said, yes, it is expensive, too expensive probably, but US needs to do something to reduce reliance on cars.

a transportation system that would connect Washington and New York in one hour, one-third of the current travel time for Amtrak's Acela express train

do people really need to get there faster? people are quite sufficiently rushed and stressed already.

@Weiwei

The US definitely does not have even close to the best freight rail in the world.

You don't know what you are talking about. See:

"America’s system of rail freight is the world’s best." *

https://www.economist.com/briefing/2010/07/22/high-speed-railroading.

Agree with Hiro. Trains are wonderful but Americans prefer cars and planes and won't change, regardless of climate change or green issues.

The 1.4bn yen is cash down the drain. Offer Shinkansen and Maglev trains to nations that actually want them. Make sure they can take freight too. That will be important for developing countries, especially in Africa.

I never consider train travel when in the USA. It just isn't cost competitive for passenger transport. About 10 yrs ago, I looked what it would take to fly, drive, take a bus or take a train between 2 cites that I travel between frequently.

Flying was 4 hrs each way - assuming commercial air travel getting to the airport 90 min before the flight. It was a $120 ticket, round trip. Getting to the airport and airport parking is $8/day.

Driving was 7 hours each way. Got to leave when I liked. Used about $80 in fuel total.

A bus was 12 hrs each way with the ticket costing $130 round trip. Would take an Uber to the bus station - $30 each way.

Train was a 22 hour trip with an overnight about halfway - so $100 hotel room would be needed. The train was $88 for a 14 trip overnight which requires changing trains around 3-4am. Arrival was either half a day late or a full day late. The return was easier, $85 for a business seat (cheaper than coach) ... but did have me arriving mid morning the day after I wanted. Total cost was $177. I could bring a bike for a $40 fee. I'd probably want a folding bike for a trip like this.

So ... why would I take a train when every other method is faster, more convenient AND cheaper? I don't have any idea where the train station is for my local town, if there is one.

There are a few sweet spots for train commuting which make sense.

DC -- NYC

Houston -- Dallas

LA -- SFO

Those are about it. There might be some need from SFO to SEA, stopping at PDX too.

Waste of time.

The Americans can't even properly run the train system they have now. No chance of these twits being able to manage an HST.

Politicians are mostly corrupt and bribed by special interests to put the kibosh on these sorts of things (they call it lobbying there, but it's bribery).

I'd like to know exactly what safety standards the US has that a company that runs Shinkansen without incident in a earthquake zone for decades can't meet.

My only guess is that the magnets may not be of sufficient strength to carry all the overweight Americans.

Just to add --- I traveled on a EuroPass across southern Europe from Spain -- Italy -- Prague in 2012. It wasn't cheaper than air and certainly not more convenient. Think we paid about 30% more and certainly wasted much more time than flying would have taken. Scenic views are nice and we all like 1-2 hours on a coastal train ... but after that, it is just wasted time.

Trade expert: the (ridiculous) price tag makes it a complete non-seller abroad. (Actually, he was pretty snarky, as he strongly hinted that...only Japan would be foolish enough to pay such a ridiculous amount for such a silly toy...)

Shanghai has had an operational maglev train running to Pudong International Airport from central Shanghai for 19 years. So you were saying ???

The same story as Japan's promise of HSR to India during the Shinzo Abe era. It has been 6 years, and nothing even moved forwards in India.

..Err, that Linia was simply no export product, which it still isn't as the Shangai Maglev is not Japanese...So, what's your point again?

You claimed "only Japan would be foolish enough to pay such a ridiculous amount for such a silly toy." You are apparently wrong because the Chinese paid for one and have made it work for them. It has been operating for 19 years and believe me it is quite a sight to see it ripping by you as you poke along at 100kph on the freeway next to it.

There are 6 commercial systems now, but all are limited in scale and were built as gimmicks, image or prestige rather than for practicality. Germany, Canada and Uk stopped running theirs a a couple of decades ago. They are associated with the 80s there. Japan's was built for an expo.

Its quite a sight to see it ripping by you as you poke along at 100kph on the freeway next to it.

After which the Maglev passengers need to get off at the inconvenient location of Longyang Rd to carry on their journey by other means, with luggage in tow.