Shinkansen Bullet Train by ~michaeljbaker @ Deviantart

Two companies have been established to introduce current and future bullet-train technology to the American market. The first one was set up to sell the N700-I trains which are currently in use in Japan. The second, U.S.-Japan MAGLEV, is looking to introduce maglev trains like those now being tested in Japan, where they are not expected to go into operation for at least another 15 years. Both the companies are based in Washington and funded by the U.S. venture capital firm New Magellan Ventures. They are headed by important former high ranking government officials who have been deeply concerned with America and Japanese defense relations, including Richard Lawless, the president and CEO of U.S.-Japan High Speed Rail.

The N700-I series may be introduced in various regions, including Florida, Los Angeles-Las Vegas, Texas and possibly in the Midwest on a Chicago-St. Louis route. An initial line will link Tampa and Orlando, Florida which will eventually link with Miami. According to the officials most of the bureaucratic obstacles regarding the introduction of high speed trains have been or nearly resolved.

If Japan wins the contract the first American bullet train will start operating within next three to four years. This is only possible if a contract is signed by year’s end, and federal, state and local government and private funding is arranged. The federal government has set aside $8 billion for this year to start the project, and it seems that Obama will pressure Congress for more funds in the coming years. Florida is the most likely place to see the N700-I debut and has received $1.25 billion of this amount to actually build the line. But Japan is not the only country hoping to deal with the United States. European and Canadian companies are also looking for contracts and are lobbying the American government.

Series 500 Bullet Train by ~Astro-Nut @ Deviantart

The Americans appear to prefer shorter bullet trains than the 14- to 16-car trains that run between Tokyo and Osaka. American bullet trains would probably require larger seats. . Freight cars in use in America have a variety of designs depending on the commodities they carry, and are not efficient for the types of speeds reached by bullet trains. The standard U.S. gauge (the distance between rails) differs from that of the Shinkansen. Yet the bullet train coaches would be able to haul mail and other packaged items such as Federal Express parcels which could interest shipping companies.

Promising  projects like these will create jobs and promote prolonged economic growth. For the success of this project  the state and federal partners need to come together.

During the meeting, the Senators discussed the economic benefits of the Lackawanna Cutoff and emphasized on the Department of Transportation to support this project through upcoming funding opportunities. The Senators, with the Department of Transportation, planned a follow up meeting with federal and state partners to take these efforts further. In addition, Specter and Casey discussed the benefits of Maglev as an investment in next-generation technology. The Senators proposed to LaHood to grant the sum of $28 million  that the Federal Railroad Administration awarded to the project in September 2009.

The Recovery Act included $26.4 million for the Pennsylvania’s Keystone Corridor to improve the rail service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, as well as funding for a feasibility study for high speed rail service between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Funding to reestablish rail service between Scranton and New York City, as well as for Maglev in Pittsburgh, was not included.

Pittsburgh Maglev

The high speed railway is equivalent to an eight lane highway with traffic moving constantly at 60 mph or to 55 fully loaded 747s landing everyday in Las Vegas. The train is estimated to carry 43 million passengers by 2025.  This ambitious project is said to generate 90,000 jobs. All these factors will enlighten the future of this area and Las Vegas will literally be the suburb of Los Angeles.

Vinean Maglev Train by ~UweG @ deviantart.com

The DesertXpress is the rival project of the high speed maglev train and is gaining a lot of support. It is electricity propelled high-speed train which is said to initially run between Las Vegas and Victorville, California, and then eventually connect to a rail system in Palmdale. The train reaches a top speed of 150 miles an hour, transporting passengers to Victorville in an estimated 84 minutes. The maglev train reaches a top speed of up to 300 mph with a total travel time from Anaheim to Las Vegas just 86 minutes. The maglev commission has requested $83 million in grants from the federal government.

According to the maglev officials the funding that was lost could have distressing effects on Las Vegas in the struggle to attract conventions, especially because Florida secured $1.3 million for a high-speed train linking Orlando to Tampa and Miami.  The maglev officials are still hoping on the amount of $ 45 million set aside for the high speed project in 2005. They have also secured some private funds to reach their desired sum.

Maglev Interstate vs. DesertXpress

According to Bordeaux their business plan is dependent on the general contractors of Southern Nevada as the construction of this project cannot be completed without them. Also the contractors’ help will play a significant role in gaining the support of the federal government over the other projects in the country.

Even after 20 years of hard work the maglev project is struggling as there is more support for a proposed high-speed wheels-on-steel train line to Victorville called the DesertXpress. The DesertXpress has private funding and the construction is expected to begin within a year. The maglev train uses the latest technology and is fast and can go all the way into the Southern California population centre. But the federal transportation officials haven’t promised funds as yet to work on the final design and technicalities of the project owing to its high costs. On the other hand the contractors seem to support the maglev train. The contractors feel that the maglev project is a better option for the benefit of Southern Nevada and its companies.

California Maglev / DesertXpress Route

The maglev project will open up lot of jobs for the locals and also bring more tourists to Las Vegas. It would be a huge boost for Las Vegas as well as to all the towns along this route where stations would be built. The project is estimated to cost US $ 12.1 billion to build, which will be done in segments. The train would take 81 minutes to reach Anaheim once completed. The project is said to be labour intensive and can also surpass the capacity of the Las Vegas contractors.

Once this project is built the contractors would be in huge demand in the construction market as they would be the first ones to have the experience of building the new technology. Sean Stewart from Aggregate Industries guaranteed his support for this project and said that this project is the future of travel between the two cities and that his company would love to be a part of it as it is a great boost to their economy.

Download: California-Nevada-Super-Speed-Train-Project-Guide.pdf

Indonesia - West Java map

This railway line measures 357 kilometers and is designed to connect the capital city Jakarta to numerous cities in West Java. The estimated cost of this project is US $ 3 billion, which would be funded by a corporation of 15 domestic and foreign companies. According to the statistics on the website of Indonesian Ministry of Transportation, the country would be the first to operate this type of super efficient railway system faster than that in Paris, France and Japan’s Shinkansen “Bullet Train” which operates at a speed of 287 kmph.

Serpong Banten Indonesia by jhon_ipenk

On the brighter side the construction cost of this railway project is much less as compared to that of the other high speed railway systems. For instance the railway project in Indonesia costs US $ 10 million per mile as compared to US $ 36 million per mile incurred by other projects. As a result the estimated period for capital repatriation of the hydrogen hi- speed rail super highway is only 2 years as compared to 50 years taken by other projects. One of the huge advantages of this rail system is that it is designed not only to carry people but transport goods as well.

Indonesia Train Ride

The Director General of the Transportation Ministry Tunjung Inderawan said that the prime objective of West Java administration in initiating this rail project is to increase private investment on the lines of government policies especially in the infrastructure sector. He also added that the government will provide all kinds of facilities and assistance to the investors for research and detailed engineering studies by providing them with all the required information and helping them with the necessary license processes.

Argogede Train Bridge

This high speed railway system is a part of the Corridor Economic Development Project in West Java covering the areas of Bandung, Sumedang, Majalengka and Cirebon. The total stretch of this area is 7200 square kilometers which is equal to the area of Silicon Valley in California in the United States of America. The estimated cost of this entire project is US $ 500 billion, which includes construction of International Airports in Kertajati, Majalengka and an International Seaport in Cirebon.

The Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Magplane Dr. Bruce Montgomery said that the 1 km demonstration line includes various land topographies such as grade climbs and curves to study the requirements for commercial installations. The testing would be done using components manufactured for commercial systems. This will authenticate the operation, reliability, and maintenance requirements under real working conditions. Also the continuous operation and power loss scenarios are included in it.

The Inner Mongolia Joint Venture has built the first manufacturing building (100m x 40m) on its 32 acre construction site in the Baotou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone. This building features two 20 meter overhead cranes traveling the length of the building, which will be used to manufacture the 1 km system and then the first commercial systems. This building also includes the MagPipe Short Demonstration System which was built in July on a temporary location. This short demonstration system will now be used to test particular components and generate data for certification of the first commercial MagPipe systems.

The Magplane Technology Inc was founded by a group of MIT engineers. This company has developed a unique magnetic pipeline system that transports material from mining operations thereby reducing the fuel costs and pollution from the diesel trucks. The Magplane Maglev System was also developed by this company. This innovative magnetic levitation transport system offers significant benefits over the other high speed trains and light rail transit systems.

Shinkansen 500 Bullet Train by Altus ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/altus/ )

According to the Japanese Railway company JR Tokai the other two routes have higher construction costs as they divert towards north into the Nagano Prefecture. While addressing to a press conference the President of JR Tokai, Masayuki Matsumoto showed interest in the shorter route and said that all the information is in favour of the straight route.

Hikari by William Bullimore ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/5cheherazad3/ )

On the other hand the Nagano Prefectural Government has emphasized more on the other two routes. The Nagano Government’s Jin Murai has suggested that a fair amount of discussion is required to identify the correct route. From the next spring the advisory panel of the land, infrastructure, transport and tourism minister Maehara will consider which the best route.

Super Express 500 series by Kamomebird ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/kamomebird/ )

The Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, a public enterprise handling railway construction is also jointly associated with the presentation of this report. The JR Tokai is aiming to commence the maglev train service between Nagoya and Tokyo in the year 2025. The company has also assured that it will take care of the total construction cost estimated up to 5.1 trillion yen for the shortest route. If the government approves the project the JR Tokai will plan to start the construction in fiscal 2015.

JR 500 West Japan by Kamoda (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kamoda/ )

The JR Tokai has also stated that it is essential to construct an alternative railway line to the currently operating 45 year old Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka as the infrastructure including bridges and other facilities is getting old and needs extensive renovation. The alternative railway line is a feasible solution as it would be very difficult to do the renovations considering the tight schedule of the current Shinkansen bullet trains.

Tokyo 1344 by chrisjongkind (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisjongkind/ )

The next generation transport project was started in 1973. The train ride from Tokyo to Nagoya is expected to take 40 minutes at a top speed of 500 kilometers per hour on the shortest route. But the details of the Nagoya and Osaka project are still undecided. The Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Company has estimated economic gains of 10.7 trillion yen upon the launch of the maglev train between Tokyo and Nagoya for the first fifty years. Yoshito Kato, a senior researcher with the Mitsubishi UFJ has stated that the project should begin as soon as possible to prevent loss of more economic benefits caused by delaying completion of the construction work.

A renowned business advocate from Long Island presented to the Suffolk Lawmakers with the benefits of the super conducting magnetic levitation trains for the local economy.

The maglev train works on the principle of magnetic levitation where in the train hovers over tracks with magnetic field and is propelled at a speed of up to 300 miles per hour. According to Ernie Fazio, the president of LIMBA, the Long Island Metro Business Action (and also the spokesman for the private concern Maglev 2000), the latest maglev train can reach 0 to 60 mph in just 11 seconds and is even quick in stopping than the conventional trains using instant reversal of the magnetic force propelling the train.

This concept was originally developed by two Long Island scientists Gordon Danby of Wading River and James Powell of Shoreham in the Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1966. The firm Maglev 2000 is owned by Danby and Powell. This concept is now widely employed in the Asian countries.

Maglev 2000 in partnership with the Riverhead Town has asked for an amount of $59 million in order to demonstrate the maglev technology on the three mile Grumman track which lies unused in Calverton. According to Fazio this demonstration needs to be done to certify this technology for commercial use. He also added that the in second generation maglev technology the distance between train and the track is four to six and a half inches. This makes the system resistant to ice and snow.

Fazio told the lawmakers that if the maglev train system is implemented throughout the country they would simply outdate the long distance truck delivery and even compete with the airlines, carrying passengers and freight across both the coasts in a single day. As projected by the Maglev 2000 Company the transportation cost for freight is predicted to go down to $0.7 per ton/ mile versus $ 0.27 per ton/ mile via trucks.

The existing conventional trains on Long Island tracks can be transformed to adapt to the high speed maglev technology by fitting them with magnetic pads. This will save a lot of money which can be utilized to construct new routes across the country. As this site is the invention and testing ground of this technology, Fazio wishes that Long Island would eventually become the manufacturing centre for maglev.

Fazio’s presentation to the lawmakers was more of a glimpse of the future rather than just for funding. Maglev 2000 is planning to fund its transportation systems completely from the private sector. The existing conventional rail system in the United States of America is totally dependent on public or government funding. But in the case of the high speed freight service operated by the freestanding maglev enterprises the ratio of profitability is so high that it makes the company economically viable.

Today, Fazio is still seeking for government funding to draw attention of the potential maglev manufacturing companies to set up on Long Island. He is trying for everything to cash on this opportunity and secure thousands of new jobs for the residents of the islands.

The county’s lawmakers were very impressed with the potential of the maglev technology and questioned about its applicability for the Long Island rail transport. The question was that would it be feasible in a place like Long Island where the trains have too many stops. Upon this question Fazio responded saying that it is not necessary for the trains to travel to their maximum speeds to improve the journey on the Long Island rail route. He also emphasized its benefits like lowering the costs and resistance to bad weather.

Long Island

Long Island Map

This first thing that needs to be done is to support the movement to construct high speed maglev train between Las Vegas and Anaheim. The American Magline Group has estimated that this construction activity will provide employment for 90,000 workers in the beginning. Once the rail system is built and in operation, it will fetch 27 million people per year to Las Vegas from Southern California. There would be trains departing every 10 minutes at a speed of 310 mph, completing the journey from Las Vegas to Anaheim in 84 minutes.

People living or working in Los Angeles could finish work and take a quick ride by the maglev train to Las Vegas and have fun and excitement. The number of visitors in Las Vegas would increase drastically and improve their economy. If a number of people decide to stay in Las Vegas and go to Los Angeles for work then a huge number of cars would be taken of freeways and the pollution free maglev train would be preferred.

The Shanghai maglev in China has been functioning without any problem all these years. This maglev project would be a life saving one for Las Vegas and all it needs is a thorough support of all its residents.

Las Vegas to Anaheim in 84 minutes

Las Vegas

The JR Tokai has got into an agreement with a consulting firm from the United States of America in August to explore the possibilities to export its technologies. Along with the Shinkansen bullet train the chairman has also mentioned an intense interest of the foreign companies in the Japan Railway’s very well planned maglev train system. This Tokyo to Nagoya maglev service is predicted to commence in 2025.

Japanese High Speed Train

This American consulting firm is scheduled to submit a report to the JR Tokai which will analyze the potential to commercialize high speed railway technology in the overseas market. The JR Tokai will take into consideration the information from the report and other relevant aspects while recognizing the countries to be targeted to market their Shinkansen projects.

On being questioned about the export of the maglev train system along with the Shinkansen, the chairman replied saying that the maglev technology is not suitable for long distances and that the company will leave no stone unturned to explore opportunities for shorter distances.

Shinkansen