Japan's Shinkansen To Link Houston-Dullas in 1.5 Hours
It's no fixed deal yet but, if all should go well, N700 model Shinkansen will run in Texas, linking Houston and Dallas in 1.5 hours.
The Texas Central Railways (TCR) bared October 15 that the project, if materialized, should bring the state gross economic effects of $36 billion over 25 years till 2040. Central Japan Railway Co or JR Tokai is undertaking the project. JR Tokai has another linear motor scheme in progress to link Boston and Washington D.C.
The Texas project's gross economic effects of $36 billion account for 2.5% of the state's GDP in 2014. The project is estimated to create a total of 40,000 jobs over four years of construction. US Department of Transportation has started environment evaluation and the project's feasibility looks very high.
Apart from JR Tokai, East Japan Railway Co. or JR Higashinihon has its own project ongoing to link San Francisco and Anaheim.
Japan Shinkansen is a bullet train with the maximum operating speed of 200mph. It's reputed for stability with no passenger fatalities recorded due to derailments or collisions over the past 50 years of service during which nearly 10 billion passengers were carried. Its annual passenger ridership was a maximum of 353 million in 2007 but estimated to fall gradually over time due to Japan's decline in population.
Shinkansen runs in Taiwan. Taiwan High Speed Rail or THSR links Taipei and Kaohsiung in 96 minutes.
A few lines may be due in reference to the recent setback in Japan's bid against China for exporting Shinkansen to Indonesia. China was desperate to outbid Japan in whatever means and made a most extraordinary offer. After all it amounts to Indonesia's domestic problem of priority in regional development.
