Shin Kaneko, president of Central Japan Railway Co, speaks to reporters after a meeting with Shizuoka Gov Heita Kawakatsu Friday at the Shizuoka prefectural government office. Photo: KYODO
tech

JR Central to delay planned start in 2027 of maglev train service

32 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

32 Comments
Login to comment

@ Mark

Your coming at this wrong.

Most meetings can be done on-line however some can't.

Sometimes face to face meetings are required for a number of obvious reasons so I won't cover them here.

Additionally (as just one example) Nagoya is near Toyota HQ and mgmt' in Tokyo need to visit the factory/suppliers there (again for a number of obvious reasons so I won't go in to them here).

So how much are these people getting paid p/h? Let's say ¥ 3~5000+ per hour at the very least.

So for every journey saving 40 minutes that's about ¥ 2,000 to ¥3,000 saved each way, every single time they travel, which can be many times a week for staff across the company.

Think about it.... The Tokaido Shinkanen's user base is primarily business people Mon~Fri.

Time really is money and by reducing the time taken to travel companies save vasts amounts of money they would have had to have paid as salary/overtime as a result.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The US loses badly on the passenger side of things, no matter how badly you want to put a lipstick on that pig.

It's an issue of priorities. If Japan had FREE and extensive highways and relatively lost costs of owning and maintaining a car, like the US does, then Shink passenger traffic could be a small fraction of what it is today. Financially punishing motorists with a host of artificial costs is what largely supports the Shink network.

US does very well by dedicating its rail network to freight.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

as a local governor did not approve the start of preparatory construction work, citing concerns over environmental damage

I'm calling BS on this. The environmental concerns are just an excuse, as historically Japan hasn't had much concern for these issues when big business and government connections are involved. I suspect it is more likely that the local governments involved haven't received enough 'greasing of the palms' one way or another for this to proceed.

The old incentive used to be promising a station somewhere close to the aggrieved area. However this completely goes against the concept of high speed rail (and more so Maglev) if the train never gets to its top speed if it has to keep stopping every couple of minutes.

As it stands, the areas will never see any economic benefit from it, but reasonable disruption during the construction process.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nice to see social distancing in action... elsewhere

3 ( +3 / -0 )

And what a lot of people were commenting on here, is a very good point. Do we really need a faster route from Tokyo to Osaka?

The same argument could have been made when building the first roads between the two. Or the first trains. Or the first bullet trains.

Each one however has brought increased benefit to the country, making Japan the first-world nation that it is.

Do we need a faster route? Maybe not. But will it benefit the country? Definitely. I'll be able to take clients in Osaka for example, and visit them as well as clients in Tokyo, on the same day, and still hit the office.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

When people use airplane even neighbor city it means that maglev train (linear motor train) I relly don't care, I only want less cars with petrol fuel or many congestion on the main streets, Shinkansen is quite enough.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

However though, personally, I lean towards supporting projects like this. I mean yes, if they have too much environmental damage and stuff like that, then don’t do these routes. But on the whole, projects like these push our society forward. Cause to be fair, I’m sure that a lot of people were making the same arguments that we are, on the original Shinkansen lines that were being built decades ago. You know, just to put things in perspective.

Also from what I’ve been hearing, these maglev trains have the capability of going as fast as passenger airline jets, but without having to go through airport security on both ends. If that’s true, then it’s definitely worth pursuing, because it would avoid the headache and hassle of having to go through all that, just to get from one destination to another in a reasonable manner time.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@yoshisan88 you know, these are very good questions to ask. Now this is something that I like to call constructive criticism.

And what a lot of people were commenting on here, is a very good point. Do we really need a faster route from Tokyo to Osaka? Especially considering that Japan already has the fastest commuter trains in the world.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Really pity as the delay will mean a lot of missing income during the delay time. This is a question for the goverment.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Rail ships more freight than any other mode in the United States, but is rather minor in Europe and Japan, where highways are the dominant form of freight shipments."

"https://www.masterresource.org/railroads/us-most-advanced-rail-world/#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20far%20from,freight%20per%20person%20per%20year."

From your own link.

You've got to be careful with links (and the parts of it you wish to emphasise), as other people can read too.

To sum up:

US freight is efficient because of long distances; Japan and Europe are smaller, thus such efficiency is necessarily deficitary.

Japan and Europe concentrate more on passengers than freight.

The US loses badly on the passenger side of things, no matter how badly you want to put a lipstick on that pig.

Thank you for all your concerns.

Japan will build the Maglev, in spite of that.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Who need to get to Nagoya in 40 minutes?? and if they really want to get their fast for an important meeting!! hold it on the internet.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Pay Off the opposition, the project shall be done on time and possibly ahead of schedule.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

""the 9 trillion yen ($84 billion) project, the new system will connect the two major metropolises located 286 kilometers apart in 40 minutes, less than half the travel time for existing shinkansen train services.""

9 Trillion yen for a 40 minutes train ride instead of 80 or 90 ? what the H.

I would rather take the local train, enjoy the views, meet the pleasant relaxed retirees, hook up a couple of sweet hearts, stop and have a local cool Soba with tempura, instead of getting zipped @ 500km/hr. get sick & vomit then pay an extra 20,000 ye. for it.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Meeting the press after the meeting, however, the governor said, "It can't be approved." Some local people have claimed that the planned route, a large part of which is underground or in tunnels, runs the risk of disrupting groundwater and damaging the natural environment in Japan's Southern Alps.

NIMBY's. 

Fast, efficient, and environmentally friendly mass transit is NOT a pipe dream, it's just a matter of priorities (and which companies line politicians' pockets with more cash).

3 ( +3 / -0 )

"We have to consider how to strike a balance between the Linear and the environment."

(TRANSLATION) We have to receive more cash under the table before the Linear will be approved.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

glad they have axed it.

They haven’t axed it. It will be built.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This was just a money sink hole for lining Abe's buddies pockets, glad they have axed it.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I might be sad if I had any reason in the world to go to Nagoya.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Local trains don't 'take over', they're forced to take up the slack because when a JR shinkansen goes in, JR stops all the local and express trains so people are forced to take the shinkansen or walk.

A local line is forged out of all the existing transport companies in the hopes of making at least a small profit.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The hokuriku Shikansen from Kanazawa to Osaka is really not needed. There already is Thunderbird 特急and Shirasagi 特急 and that is enough. Everytime a New Shikansen is built a slow expensive privately owed local railway takes over. The chuo shikansen is also a true waste of money especially in an earthquake zone between Tokyo and Nagoya.

Instead of creating new Shikansen lines. Allocate the money to improve the lives of local communities in areas like Noto, Hida, asahi, and many other places in Hokuriku. Create insensitives for economic growth, education, and give insensitives for people who are willing to relocate here to rebuild these communities. There is also infrastructure problems old hospitals, decaying buildings, and a high elderly population that does need help.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Linear Chuo Shinkansen, which will have a top speed of 500 kilometers per hour.

With the 9 trillion yen ($84 billion) project, the new system will connect the two major metropolises located 286 kilometers apart in 40 minutes, less than half the travel time for existing shinkansen train services.

The maglev train project is viewed as a second high-speed link for the country's three key metropolises -- Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka -- as a backup for when the existing shinkansen line becomes obsolete or is damaged by a major earthquake

There are things that needs some answers:

What is the risk of having trains travelling at 500km per hour?

You spend 9 trillion yen in order to cut a little over 40 minutes of travel time.

The existing shinkansen line is becoming obsolete?

Is the new train line earthquake proof?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Very few people know that commercial high speed rails is a very costly, unprofitable program that generates social goods. Countries with massive bureaucracy, China and Japan, are likely to adopt high speed rails to exert the state control over transportation even more. Even more sinister, it is all about the good old corruptions. In case of China, the state-owned high speed rail corporation racks up more than 1 trillion USD in insolvent debt. However, the company will never go bankrupt because the CCP allows it to exist for the provision of social goods. Japan is the same story as well as many European countries.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2019-01-29/zhao-jian-whats-not-great-about-chinas-high-speed-rail-the-debt-101375797.html

The US refuses to adopt high speed rails because they already have one aka high speed freight that Japan or China is very envious of. American railroad system is so efficient that it can transport cargoes at more than 300km/h. Of course, American high speed freight is a profitable investment that provides social goods and profits at the same time.

https://www.masterresource.org/railroads/us-most-advanced-rail-world/#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20far%20from,freight%20per%20person%20per%20year.

Well, I am going off quite long on the hidden side of high speed rails because there has been a disturbing trend of "nationalist socialists" like AOC or Shinzo Abe who thinks that deficits and debts don't matter. These people also subscribe to the voodoo theory of MMT. The Covid Depression is testing whether "national socialism" of unlimited Central Banking will work.

I like high speed rails but don't like the unprofitable aspects of it. Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation almost went bankrupt over the unprofitable aspect of the system.

http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/download/6370/6325

Japan's debt has been downgraded recently by Moody and S&P, while the Covid economic depression severely damages the Japanese economy. There is a paper from S&P that predicts Japan won't be able to service their debt after 2026. The Covid Depression pushed the possibility even closer and faster. I am afraid that Japan may not be able to service Maglev train by 2027. They should look for different methods of transportation for growth. There will be a lot of technological changes, likely outside Japan, coming between 2020 and 2027. Maglev isn't the only choice.

6 ( +14 / -8 )

This project is just a ego boosting project.

It is a complete waste of money and is extreemely inefficient, using huge amounts of enery compared to regular high speed trains.

Madness!

0 ( +6 / -6 )

In time for the 2040 Olympics?

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Perhaps they should have received the go-ahead for the whole route before they started work on it. If it does indeed cut the water supply, there will be no going back.

@Hamburger,

The proposed route travels through the mountains in the north of Shizuoka Prefecture where there is absolutely no call for a station. It is being halted for purely environmental reasons which should take priority over yet another unnecessary train line.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Really now. Do we really need another faster way to get from Tokyo to Osaka?

9 ( +14 / -5 )

Too many trains, too many links will squeeze Japan into rabbit hole.

Maybe focus more into projects that can avoid dark alarms of the nature by 90% ie Earthquake, Volcano, Landslides, Tsunami and the Japanese Society.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Last sentence is the key- as soon as a stop is promised in Shizuoka Prefecture, environmental concerns will disappear. Probably right near the Oi River no less.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites