Biden, Kishida likely to discuss Texas bullet train project, sources say

Great for the US. Great for Japan. Get it done, please.

Railroads were integral to the development of the historical US, and they can play a key role in the modern US too.

Texas bullet train project...?

I'll take whatever odds anyone is offering on that never happening.

Japanese state lenders, including the Japan Bank for International Corporation, have provided loans to help develop the project, which is procuring shinkansen bullet train technology from Central Japan Railways Company

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Japanese banks giving loans for a project in the US?

Try to get a loan as a fledgling company or entrepreneur in Japan and there’s no chance.

Double standards!

But it is likely to draw criticism, particularly from hardline Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives who

Republicans will probably continue to oppose public transportation projects because some from the lower wealth castes might ride the trains, which would benefit those not able to afford having private planes and limo services. The far right think anything that might benefit those in lower wealth castes is something the rightists call 'socialism', the only socialism they support is socialism for the rich, a variant of national socialism. Plus Texas is ruled by wealthy Republicans beholden to big oil and gas, who also oppose public transportation because if enough people use public transportation it could result in people driving fewer miles and not burning as much gasoline.

Japan lost to Europe in the bid for high-speed rail in Aussie a few years ago due to communication issues etc.

I hope they have learned from that and can beat out the Europeans and Chinese in Texas.

The only thing the central government should be concerned about in Texas is securing the border. If Texans want a high speed train they can arrange it themselves.

Japan lost to Europe in the bid for high-speed rail in Aussie a few years ago due to communication issues etc.

Which bid was that? There's not a single metre of high speed railway in Australia either built or under construction.

The US is broke they are too busy caring for the illegals flowing into the country. I suppose Biden will hire them to do the labor cheaply. Is this is plan? Senile Joe!

They won't see it completed even if the project starts next month

METATTOKYOToday 06:24 pm JST

I hope they have learned from that and can beat out the Europeans and Chinese in Texas.

There's absolutely zero chance that China will be building this.

Europe may be involved at some point, but it seems not to be in the conversation at the moment.

Kishida likely to discuss Texas bullet train project

Why? What bullet train(s) does he ride or know about?

all he does is fly on private jets and roll in private cars.

He has no idea what it costs to operate or use it, let alone build and plan for it.

Great for the US. Great for Japan. Get it done, please.

Railroads were integral to the development of the historical US, and they can play a key role in the modern US too.

It will never happen. More wasted taxpayer money down the drain.

The US is broke they are too busy caring for the illegals flowing into the country. I suppose Biden will hire them to do the labor cheaply. Is this is plan? Senile Joe!

Those are my thoughts exactly.

Republicans will probably continue to oppose public transportation projects because some from the lower wealth castes might ride the trains,

No, if this were to take place and I pray that it never sees the light of day, the US would be in the same position that China is now with its High-speed rail. In 2022, China's high-speed rail suffered a total loss of US$15 billion.

https://japan-forward.com/weak-demand-for-chinas-high-speed-trains-a-ticking-time-bomb/

which would benefit those not able to afford having private planes and limo services.

Again, it would never work in the US, the country is widely developed and spread out. Do you think people will drive for miles to get to a train station to take the high-speed rail when they could just drive all along? In Japan it makes sense, in Europe it makes sense, along the East Coast in the US it makes somewhat sense, but the other 70% of the US it would be a complete total waste, even for the poor, it would take decades and decades to build millions of miles of far-reaching train stops putting them all over the massive cities and even more in rural areas. Look at California, if anything that mess and lost cause of a project should have taught us a lesson that the West Coast US does not need high-speed rail. it is cheaper to fly and driving doesn't take that long as well.

The far right think anything that might benefit those in lower wealth castes is something the rightists call 'socialism',

Well, it is. Who is going to pay for it? This is the problem with the left and their whacked ideas, it looks good on paper, but when it comes to practicality and cost they don't think anything or even care, they just think like a little impatient child, I want it, where the money comes from or even if there is money available is not their concern. This is why States like California and NYC are a financially unlivable mess.

the only socialism they support is socialism for the rich, a variant of national socialism.

No, they don't, what we support are viable and tried solutions that will work. In many countries high-speed rail makes sense, in the US overall, it does not. If you know anything about Southern California, I am from Orange County and you mean to tell me that they will build a station in each city in OC? Will it take me to the Inland Empire or how about LA County? The project would cost trillions and the blue tape and bureaucracy alone would slow down the project, it would take generations and more than 100 years to build something like this in California alone, not to mention for highspeed rail to properly operate you can't have a lot of curves, so how will they pull this off? What about manpower and salary? You need to pay hundreds and thousands of workers well, the entire project would be bankrupt in a year or even less.

https://www.vcstar.com/story/opinion/2024/03/14/californias-high-speed-rail-line-dream-may-end-up-like-the-whoosh/72967422007/

Plus Texas is ruled by wealthy Republicans beholden to big oil and gas,

Which is the better more efficient and reliable way to go.

who also oppose public transportation because if enough people use public transportation it could result in people driving fewer miles and not burning as much gasoline.

And then it would sit there and rot and collect graffiti as the one in California is. If they wanted to make a decent railway system they should have started in the 1930s "s and should have never taken out the transportation system like the trolleys to make way for the emergence of the car, then they would have had something to build on and add, but now, it just won't work or come to proper fruition. By the way, whatever happened to the Segway? It was supposed to revolutionize the way we get around and change everything, it was supposed to be cheap, user-friendly, and environmentally friendly, so what happened to it, where is it?

Sounds like a wonderful idea! Hopefully after Texas, the US Shinkansen ultimately transits the Pacific and Atlantic coasts in the US. What a massive boost for US tourism it would be, just like in Japan. Hopefully foreigners would get cheaper tickets than locals, too, with special "USA Rail Passes".

The only thing the central government should be concerned about in Texas is securing the border. If Texans want a high speed train they can arrange it themselves.

LOL. You realize building a Shinkansen track in just one state would be rather pointless, right? It would have to be a Federal infrastructure project to make sense - linking major cities ie NY, Chicago etc.

I hope they have learned from that and can beat out the Europeans and Chinese in Texas.

China won't be building model trains in Texas, let alone bullet trains.

America already has a very efficient, widespread high-speed transportation network;

It's called "commercial aviation". Dozens of airlines for healthy competition and reasonable prices, hundreds of airports with scheduled flights. It works very well in a country far too large for a bullet train system.

We don't need this. Nobody will use it. It's just so a few can line their pockets.

I would like to see it succeed, but I don't think it will work the way people think it will.

Florida also introduced high speed rail recently, and finally, but currently it stands as more of an alternative to flying within the state than a means of everyday commuting.

Kind of similar to how ride-sharing was greenlit to Japan, in that it simply doesn't work the same way it does in the US. It's "ride-sharing for the Japanese market", not just "ride-sharing". Trains in the United States are similarly going to have nuances because the US has different needs.

In most of the United States I would NEVER want to depend on public transit. Similarly in Japan, I would never want to own a car. Over time I have come to appreciate the differences and advantages each system has to offer.

LOL. You realize building a Shinkansen track in just one state would be rather pointless, right?

Texas: 696,200 sq km

Japan: 377,915 sq km

America already has a very efficient, widespread high-speed transportation network; 

It's called "commercial aviation". Dozens of airlines for healthy competition and reasonable prices, hundreds of airports with scheduled flights. It works very well in a country far too large for a bullet train system.

We don't need this. Nobody will use it. It's just so a few can line their pockets.

Exactly.

Good idea! new American Shinkansen! By the way bullet train made by Japanese no doubt are the best

America already has a very efficient, widespread high-speed transportation network;

Not everyone wants to travel around by air, as some are suggesting. HSR is very relaxing and less stressful - for some of us. Certainly millions of international tourists in Japan adore the Shinkansen and its supreme comfort and facilities - even if inter-city flights can be obtained cheaper.

Both the Dallas and Houston metro areas have terrible public transportation. This means that once you arrive, you'll need to rent a car anyway to get somewhere ... or force someone 45-90 minutes away from the train terminal to come get you.

Until those 2 cities have great mass transit around themselves, this is DOA.

And, since it is Texas, the train terminal will be someplace different from other, existing, locations where mass transit would already reach, such as it is.

Texas could use high-speed rail between 5 locations to make it really useful.

Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. A route to Abilene, Amarillo Lubbock, and El Paso don't have the passengers numbers to warrant a line. Perhaps if Albuquerque funded 50% of that line, it would make sense?

Why not the Boston to Washington, DC corridor instead? More potential passengers.

@ycgdude

Why not the Boston to Washington, DC corridor instead? More potential passengers.

Land is unavailable, and any bullet train that runs on Northeast corridor must be able to share tracks with freight trains and other legacy locomotives with 1,000 ton compressed static load, 10 times the requirement of Shinkansen.

In other word, Shinkansen is like a Kei car in the land of Hummers and Escalades; it can't pass the crash test.

The only reason Texas was picked for Shinkansen was because there was plenty of land available to build new tracks, as Shinkansen requires exclusive tracks and can't share tracks with AMTRAK trains and freight trains, since US passenger trains must account for collision with freight train as well as dump trucks at gated rail crossings.

But that was when the estimated cost was $3~4 billion. If the cost is $30 billion now, it's not gonna happen.

Why not the Boston to Washington, DC corridor instead? More potential passengers.

It already has the Acela Express which is technically a bullet train.

Acela trains are the fastest in the Americas, reaching 150 miles per hour, but only over 49.9 miles of the 457-mile route

That is 10% of the route that gets 150 mph. The rest is at normal train speeds ... 35-55 mph.

It takes 7 hours!

A flight is 2 hrs. Add in 1 hour on each side to get to the airport/city center and you still save 3 hrs for the same money.