It was just the other day when I was regaling a few friends with an account of the time that California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, almost walked right over me while I was taking a photo. I was alerted that Gov. Schwarzenegger had just visited Japan to check out the shinkansen (high speed rail) system we have here, which made for a very kitsch news piece about Schwarzenegger towering over everyone present during his inspection.

While the shinkansen was theorized in many years before actually being built in Japan, the project really came together when it got government backing in 1958. From that point, it only took 6 years to open the main line, stretching from Kyoto to Tokyo to the public, in 1964. Since then the line has been aggressively upgraded with new extensions added to bring most of the country into the reaches of the system. For more about the history of the shinkansen, check out wikipedia.

I’m sure you’re all thinking, “So what? That was then, this is now. The issue in the Northeast is complicated especially by all the existing, modern infrastructure.” That’s true, so let’s compare it to a modern example of shinkansen building in Japan, which, as luck would have it, is happening right in my back yard. The project to which I refer is the Kyushu shinkansen line stretching from Fukuoka to Kagoshima.

This project has taken a bit longer, with the inaugural stretch from Yatsushiro to Kagoshima City taking from 1991 to 2004. Progress here, of course, was slowed by the mountainous terrain in Japan’s westernmost reaches. However, major construction on the Kumamoto section of the rail only began in the last few years and is scheduled to be completed on March 12th, 2011, meaning that hundreds of kilometers will be spanned by completely new rail in just a few years.

Back to the U.S., ABG reports that Amtrak is planning on building a high speed rail stretching from Boston to Washington D.C.. The proposed line would cut the commute by train from over six hours to less than four.

I’m sure there are many good reasons why they are predicting a project on the East Coast could take 30 years to complete. Expenses, construction equipment, location, etc. all factor in to such a protracted timeline. However, if you really want to cut to the quick of the issue, it’s all about priorities. It might cost more, it might be loud and noisy, but if we really wanted a convenient, fast, low-impact transit solution between Boston and Washington D.C., we could have it in 10-15 years.

So the real question is, how much is an extra 15-20 years of high speed rail worth to commuters and taxpayers? I’m no engineer, but doubling the cost and floating some debt might be worth it to give our aging transportation infrastructure along the coast a full two decade jump ahead of the current best estimate.

Photo credit: laszlo photo

If you haven’t heard yet, in the recent elections California passed an initiative to fund a high-speed railway stretching all the way from San Francisco to San Diego. The construction will cost $10 billion and take several years, but when it’s completed it will reduce commute times dramatically and create a feasible alternative to the pollution-intensive aviation industry. Sure, it’s a lot of money, but nearly everyone thinks it’s a good idea.

Here’s why

Currently in California it takes 6 hours to drive between major cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. If you want to take the train, the commute time jumps up to 12 hours. The plane trip is only an hour long, but you have to show up to the airport early, deal with security, and wonder if your luggage is going to get lost. You might also end up sitting on the runway for several hours due to weather or air traffic.

Though I’ve never been to California, I know these things because I’ve recently planned a trip that will take me into LA, up to SF, and then back to New Hampshire. I spent a short period living in Japan and using exclusively public transportation, so my first thought was “oh, I’ll take the train up to San Fran, get some work done, take in some nice views, and nap.”

Boy, was I wrong about that. When I logged on to the Amtrak site and searched for a trip between LA and SF I was in disbelief: Did it seriously take 11 hours? I asked my friend and got an affirmative response. To make the story less profane, I was livid. There’s absolutely no reason for a long distance train trip to take any longer than a similar drive. In fact, considering the time that you have to show up at the airport by, it should be comparable to flying for that distance.

The solution

Now, that’s more like it, California. With this rail system in place the LA to SF trip should only take 2 hours and 40 minutes. I would change in my plane ticket for a ride on that in a heartbeat. Perhaps in the future we’ll see something like this on the East Coast connecting major cities like Boston, NYC, and Philadelphia.

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One of the many places where Japan leads and the rest of the world follows is in high speed rail. Japan has had its shinkansen for over 40 years, and California is about to get the first in the US in a few years. China and Europe are a little further ahead, but Japan has the most comprehensive and smoothest running system in the world. And once again, a Japanese company is coming out with a “bullet train” that will beat speed records.

Yesterday, EcoGeek reported that Kawasaki is going to be building the next, fastest shinkansen. The train will be able to go 217 mph using lighter materials and aerodynamics to boost the top speed. The last time I was on a shinkansen, it could belt down the tracks at up to 180 mph. This wasn’t the fatest shinkansen out there, but I believe they currently top out just shy of 200 mph.

The interesting thing, however, is not that this train can go faster, it’s that it will. Most shinkansen can go well beyond their max speeds, but create too much noise and would break local laws limiting noise pollution from trains. This new train has obviously been designed to be more neighborhood friendly, and hopefully it will be able to get more Japanese of the roads and out of the skies to give the environment a break.

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