Japan’s bullet train just turned 60. Could it finally be coming to America?

Stepping onto a Japanese bullet train feels like taking a trip into the future.The sleek, white cars with blue stripes down the side glide out of stations across the country every three minutes.Passengers are propelled to speeds of nearly 200 mph by the locomotives’ pointed noses. However, this technology is not new.

Known as the Shinkansen, the train made its first journey 60 years ago this month.

Naturally, the train has improved since then, and it can now travel faster than it did when it first opened in 1964. Carriages that tilt as the train turns corners are partially to blame for this speed increase.

Naoyuki Ueno, a manager with the Central Japan Railway Company, said the train was essential to Japan’s recovery from the destruction of World War II.

“Japan’s economy has grown significantly as a result of the Shinkansen train. That is therefore very important to Japanese people,” he said.

Ueno attributed the economic boom to the quick connection between Tokyo and Osaka, the two biggest cities in the nation.

A ten-hour drive on clogged highways is reduced to two hours and twenty-one minutes by the Shinkansen.

“We have had 6.8 billion passengers so far, and that is why a lot of businessmen use the Shinkansen train,” Ueno continued.

The train is also a point of pride for the country.

The highly skilled train drivers serve as a kind of embodiment of Japanese techniques that extend beyond software and hardware. The cleaning staff takes pride in their work and is extremely skilled. As a result, we can operate the Shinkansen train on schedule,” Ueno said.

In Japan’s well-balanced train network of thousands, the Shinkansen runs nearly to the second.

Accurate functioning

Such is the pride of running on time, an operating company once apologized when a train left 25 seconds early.

During a Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Kyoto, NPR was invited into the driver’s cab, demonstrating the operation’s accuracy.

The train’s progress was tracked by the driver using a map that indicated the train’s expected arrival time at key locations, including stations and tunnels.

If slightly ahead of schedule, the driver could ease off the throttle.

Running behind? The driver pushes the train closer to the speed limit.

There was pressure to maintain a rigorous schedule. The train can get to the next stop within 30 seconds, but it can not be more than 15 seconds “early” or “late.”

Travellers depend on accuracy to make seamless transfers to other trains, and it is all part of a finely balanced schedule.

It was difficult to accept that this Shinkansen was not controlled by a computer given its impeccable punctuality.

In the cab, where NPR was not permitted to record audio or take pictures or videos, the speed was more noticeable than anywhere else.

The world seemed to expand around you as you looked down the tracks as the train sped past 170 mph, evoking the scene in a movie where a spaceship enters warp drive.

Operator that is smooth

Roy and Leighanne Neese, visitors from Fort Worth, Texas, were impressed by the ride’s quality despite its high speed.

“It was wonderful. It’s very comfortable. It went fast. It was smooth,” said Leighanne.

“What really impressed me was how fast it got up to speed and how fast it would decelerate and you didn’t really notice it. It was truly impressive,” Roy said. “The seating was comfortable. The crew on board was helpful and kind. It is the best experience you could ask for,” he continued.

The fact that every seat on the Shinkansen faces forward and that staff can switch them out when the train arrives at its destination to get ready for the return trip will be a relief to anyone who has ever experienced motion sickness on a train.

A Shinkansen from a Lone Star State?

If Amtrak has its way, the Neeses may be able to take the Shinkansen in their home state of Texas.

The company was recently awarded a nearly $64 million grant to continue planning a high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas.

At a conference in Texas earlier this year, Amtrak’s head of high-speed rail, Andy Byford, told rail fans that not building the long-proposed line would mean missing out on a chance to transform what’s now a drive that takes over three hours.

He stated that “you would be forgoing the opportunity to take 12,500 cars a day off the I-45; you would be forgoing the opportunity to get from Dallas to Houston in 90 minutes.” “You would be missing out on something that, in my opinion, would spark a rail revolution in the United States.”

The planned route also includes a stop in College Station to serve Texas A&M University.

A successful bullet train in Texas, Byford continued, would encourage other city pairings to design their own versions to stay competitive.

Like any big infrastructure project, it faces opposition.

The plan is the “biggest bait and switch that’s ever been put on taxpayers,” according to Trey Duhon of Texans Against High Speed Rail.

That’s because it was originally conceived as a privately funded project by a consortium known as Texas Central.

Now, Amtrak is involved in a project that is expected to cost billions of dollars to complete, putting taxpayer money at risk.

Duhon told NPR that the name of his group is misleading because they only oppose this project and not all high-speed rail.

He asserted that constructing a high-speed rail line along the current I-45 corridor would be preferable.

“Coming out to Waller County, Grimes County, Madison County, all these counties, and just tearing up land would be a much worse option, in our opinion,” Duhon continued.

Many landowners in the vicinity of the proposed route who may be forced to sell their property if eminent domain laws are applied are represented by Texans Against High Speed Rail.

Liberty

Putting politics aside, another Texas visitor who rode the Shinkansen told NPR that he wanted to see it constructed in his state because it was a very Texan value.

“I think it would give freedom to a lot of people,” Jared Wilken said, outside of Kyoto’s main station.

The size of the state makes it impossible to get around without a car, Wilken added.

“It just makes a lot more sense to invest in the infrastructure for the people so they can actually go to these places and see family and friends and have adventures,” he stated.

Wilken also wanted to see the Shinkansen come to the U.S. for another reason.

“It seems like we’re a bit in the dark ages,” he said. “With this technology right there, it seems like we ought to take advantage of it.”

Byford of Amtrak predicts that a Texan bullet train might be operational by the early 2030s, when the Shinkansen celebrates its 70th anniversary, if it is approved.

Meanwhile, Japan is building the next generation of high-speed trains, which use magnetic levitation to power passengers past the 300mph mark.

The future is indeed that.