High Speed Rail (HSR) has attracted worldwide attention as an energy efficient and environmentally friendly mass transport system. HSR projects have been planned or carried out in many countries including the United States and Japan.

 

In the United States, several mega HSR projects are being planned or implemented, including the Texas High Speed Rail Project connecting Dallas to Houston, the Northeast Corridor SCMAGLEV Project connecting Washington D.C. to New York, and the California High Speed Rail Project.

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Japanese high-speed rail systems feature various advantages, especially from the standpoints of safety, reliability, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, Japan’s HSR has supported the economic development of Japan by smoothly dealing with the growth of the intercity transport demand. As Japan’s HSR, or Shinkansen, system has 50 years’ worth of history, Japan is well experienced in HSR projects based on their already learned knowledge and know-how of HSR technologies.

 

The development of HSR projects is progressing in Japan, such as the Hokuriku Shinkansen (between Nagano and Kanazawa) which started operation in 2015, and the Hokkaido Shinkansen (between Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto) which opened in 2016. In addition, the Chuo Shinkansen project (between Tokyo and Nagoya), using the Superconducting Maglev system started construction with plans to open in 2027.

 

For this seminar, JITI USA invited experts on the development of HSR from the U.S. and Japan to discuss the progress so far, especially milestones accomplished, as well as the future path for deploying high speed rail in the United States and Japan.