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Japan's bullet train hits half century

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Fifty years after its inception, the shinkansen is no longer unique—several countries, including China, now have high speed train networks. Whether Japan can ever regain its crown remains to be seen.

Ahem! China copied the technology. But the big difference? Japan's.Shinkansen is proven safe ,half a century .

10 ( +10 / -0 )

When the first Japanese bullet train pulled out of Tokyo station back in 1964, our railway transportation back in the States was in the period of the stage coach.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

CrazyJoeSep. 25, 2014 - 07:57AM JST When the first Japanese bullet train pulled out of Tokyo station back in 1964, our railway transportation back in the States was in the period of the stage coach.

U.S. didn't need it. Gas was too cheap. Even in 1964, U.S. had and still today, has the most advanced network of freeways in the world. I wouldn't want to pay overpriced $300 for round trip to Tokyo - Osaka that is only 400 km (240 miles).

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

I agree with titaniumdioxide on this issue. There certainly is a human factor that played a role in the unfortunate bullet train accident in China. Moral of the story is that it takes more then great technology to achieve 50 years of accident free operations. Great job JR, keep it up!

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Omedetou! Now if only it was a little cheaper id be using it more :)

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It was one of the greatest engineering gambles of the 20th Century. Before the Shinkansen, the fastest train in regular service traveling for long distances was SNCF's Mistral, which had a top speed of 160 km/h (100 mph).

No one at the time built an electric multiple unit (EMU) train that could travel at 200 km/h and over; it was the Japanese, using a revolutionary air suspension system that could counteract both vertical and horizontal vibrations, that finally succeeded when a test trainset achieved an impressive 230 km/h (143 mph) on the (then) test track east of Odawara (that test track is now part of the Tokaido Shinkansen line).

The Shinkansen gave new life to passenger trains, and today all over the world high-speed trainsets have become vital parts of national transportation infrastructures.

15 ( +14 / -0 )

Some people pay for time gain: businessmen, tourists, politicians,... Time is money ! If Japan can crack down on number of lauers of sucontractors, i.e structural reforms of labor code, technology cost reduction and work enhancement could greatly make project affordable. If 40 million tourists coming, sure it will become the norm. Moving forward !

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The maglev project was probably given the go-ahead because the shinkansen to Osaka is ageing and will need to be refurbished at some point, he said.

I disagree with this viewpoint. JR Tokai is doing fine (over 300 runs a day) and just got permission from the government to increase the Tokaido Shinkansen's maximum operating speed to 285 km/h by next spring. The trains on the current line service cities like Odawara, Hamamatsu, Toyohashi, etc. where the maglev trains will never stop. Also tens of thousands of workers and students use shinkansen lines for commuting. It's a practical high-speed rail system that is still growing (undersea from Aomori to Hakodate in Hokkaido by 2016 I believe).

1 ( +1 / -0 )

sfjp, there are a few errors in your post. Tokyo to Shin-Osaka is 552 km (350 miles) and cost $250 round trip.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I think that the distances between the major cities in Japan play a big part in the success of the bullet trains here. Point to point, house to destination, it is still the fastest way to get to Osaka, Niigata etc. The time it takes to get to the airport, check-in, board the plane and wait etc, is usually far slower and more of a hassle than just going to Tokyo station and jumping on the next available shinkansen.

Even recently with LCC airlines offering Tokyo/Osaka routes for as little as 4000yen, it will be a hard slog to beat the convenience factor

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The first fatality involving a bullet train occurred on December 27, 1995 at Mishima Station killing a 17 year old high school student.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E5%B3%B6%E9%A7%85%E4%B9%97%E5%AE%A2%E8%BB%A2%E8%90%BD%E4%BA%8B%E6%95%85

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The trouble with the British trains are not reliable, not punctual, poor/bad attitude from train staff, slow trains, the pricing structure is incredibly complex, in comparison the Japanese staff are polite, the trains are punctual and CLEAN !! but the shinkensen is expensive, but tourists can buy the JR rail pass which is good value for the money.

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A few years ago, some organization planned to have trains running between Las Vegas and a village city in Calif. The plan was scrapped because the planners could not find chu chu train in Japan. So, people travel between Calif and Vegas still use cars.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"So, people travel between Calif and Vegas still use cars."

I'd rather take a car. No highway tolls and the freedom to go wherever you want. And if you're traveling with your spouse and 2 kids, no need to buy 4 return tickets.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

When the plan was revealed, hardly anyone was with the plan. We wondered how come going to a nameless place and rent a car in Calif? Once in a while train idea comes out in Vegas area but no one is interested.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

A few years ago, some organization planned to have trains running between Las Vegas and a village city in Calif. The plan was scrapped because the planners could not find chu chu train in Japan. So, people travel between Calif and Vegas still use cars.

The project is named XpressWest. Yay. Another generation of kids unable to spell because of marketing gimmicks. The "village city" was Victorvile California - about 40 miles from the proposed connection to California's other high-speed rail projects in Riverside, CA. The original plan couldn't get any closer to LA because the LA suburbs had already extended out that far. The newer plan keeps the original line, but adds a line from Victorville to Palmdale where it would hook up with California's high-speed system. Not sure what they planned to do with the houses in their way. As of right now the project... is still on the planning table and the government has pulled back the loan offer (presumably until the organizers can come up with a viable plan).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Amtrak has bus service, $55 one way from Las Vegas downtown to Union Station in LA, 5 hour trip. Air travel on Southwest is $230 for 1 hour trip one way.

Amtrak's Southwest Chief Chicago-to-LA route stops at Kingman, AZ, 85 miles SE of LV but that adds a bus connection. Also Amtrak trains in Southwest can get stuck behind slow freight trains and miss schedule by hours.

Given the alternatives, I think an LV to outside-LA bullet train would probably not get much use at price they'd have to pay.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

People would be happy to have high-speed trains................. so long as it's not their taxes paying for it.

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Last year, In July, U.S. Department of Transportation suspended its review of a $5.5 billion loan request that would be critical for building the private bullet train, leaving the future of the project in jeopardy

It was between LV and Fullerton as Disneyland, Newport and Huntington Beaches are not in LA. They could not ask new sales tax initiative in Nevada as Nevada people are not familiar with State Sales Tax or other State Tax.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Nevada people should have gone for it. Would benefit Nevada the most.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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