JR Tokai promotes N700 Shinkansen to Obama Administration

[bikkuri bahn]

Ok, it's for a foreign market (California?), but it is a Japanese train:

 

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/jr-tokai-chief-urges-us-to-introduce-japans-n700-bullet-rail-system

[Bernard]

You mean that someday I could ride on a Shinkansen in the USA? That would be great but you should see how dirty our trains get in a few months.

[Tenorikuma]

Ok, it's for a foreign market (California?), but it is a Japanese train:

 

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/jr-tokai-chief-urges-us-to-introduce-japans-n700-bullet-rail-system

 

 

I hope JR Tokai realizes that if they try selling the Shinkansen to the California government, they'll be paid in IOUs instead of money.  :icon_tongue:

[Guest ___]

CA can pay for it in Arnie movies. 

 

Sadly the problems would all revolve around NAFTA and where the cars would be built, how much of it is assembled in the sates and all the fun labor union agreements. And I can tell ya this from personal experience, Bechtel won't stand by idling.

[bikkuri bahn]

Yes, with all the "buy American" regs and other hurdles mentioned above, it will end up costing the taxpayer more than it really needs to be.  And I'm afraid there will be pressure to custom build and add nonsensical features for California's "unique conditions", a la BART (broad gauge- why?).

[scott]

But....they look like rolling basketball shoes!!!

[Guest ___]

Yes, with all the "buy American" regs and other hurdles mentioned above, it will end up costing the taxpayer more than it really needs to be.  And I'm afraid there will be pressure to custom build and add nonsensical features for California's "unique conditions", a la BART (broad gauge- why?).

 

The other problem is going to be the US-crash worthiness which is going to add a HELL of a lot of weight to those trains, so even if we got the "duck-clones" in the states, they're not going to run nearly as fast due to the extra weight. But considering how bad in the red CA is, I really don't see this happening anytime soon. Even Obama is going to realize that a quadrillion dollar budget is not going to be feasible (thoguh he's not far from it)

[bikkuri bahn]

For HSR to be feasible, those archaic FRA regulations need to be revised (or waived), to take into account that (hopefully) the HSR lines will be passenger-only.  Collision avoidance>collision "survivability"- though weight doesn't automatically equal safety.

[Guest ___]

The FRA will never do it, even if it's a passenger only rail system. Hell, great proof of this fact is the recent Metrorail accident in DC where the 1000's are taking all the heat for their crash worthiness. When it comes to the American bureaucratic machine, once something is set a certain way, the only way to change things is to tighten up the regs.

[to2leo]

Hmm I thought Japan is already in the US Transit system.  I am thinking the NYC subway stocks...aren't they built by a Japanese company Kawasaki Industries?

[Bernard]

Hmm I thought Japan is already in the US Transit system.  I am thinking the NYC subway stocks...aren't they built by a Japanese company Kawasaki Industries?

 

Yes they are and the interior design isn't practical for the NYC rush hours. They did fix the seating problem in recent cars but on a whole, there is less seating when you have seats jutting out in the aisle. Most NYers like the straight bench seating along the walls of the cars, easy to get in and easy to get out.  

There is a photo of what "Rush Hour" looks like in a NYC subway car.

[alpineaustralia]

You would have thought they would have adopted the Tokyo JR and Metro designs given NYC transit must move a massive population like Tokyo.

[bc6]

We should at least have the guys with the white gloves in the Subway stations like 42nd street right Bernard lol.

[Guest ___]

Hmm I thought Japan is already in the US Transit system.  I am thinking the NYC subway stocks...aren't they built by a Japanese company Kawasaki Industries?

 

One of the things that came to light over the recent Metro accident is that mass-rapid transit cars for heavy rail/subways do not need to meet FRA crash standards. Something that to this day boggles my mind. Kawi has supplied train cars to commuter rail like MARC and VRE. Our bi-level cab cars we have on MARC/VRE meet FRA crash standards when they entered service a decade ago, though under the new rules they will not and will require major refit.

 

The only actual Japanese rail cars that I am aware of in service on a Class I rail line with propulsion are the R-series Kawi cars that look like old Budd RDC's on SEPTA and the Tokyu cars that run in Cleveland, thoguh  I think the Cleveland cars run separate from other rail traffic and are under wire, so they might not count. These car were specifically designed and engineered from scratch to meet FRA crash specs.

 

There might be others, but none that I know of off the top of my head. the new 7000-series DC Metro cars will be Kawi's, but I know of nothing off-the-shelf from Japan running on Class-1s.

[Mudkip Orange]

California's "unique conditions", a la BART (broad gauge- why?).

 

In planning for the BART system, it was determined that long-term expansion might take the trains across the Golden Gate Bridge on a retrofitted lower deck. The broad gauge was chosen to allow for superior wind resistance, as it can get quite gusty there.

 

As far as the Cali system goes, FRA jurisdiction only covers railroads engaged in "interstate commerce," which means they can escape it completely if they build a "non interchange" system. That means considerable additional cost at the terminals, since the HSR won't be able to share tracks with METROLINK or Caltrain. But that cost would soon be outweighed by the reduced operation and maintenance costs as compared with an FRA-compliant system.

[Guest ___]

Note, DC Metro does travel between states falling under the STB/ICC regulations.

 

The FAA regulated both commercial aviation and GA, and the FRA shouldn't decern regulations between STB regulations between Amtrak or a transit system. The FRA opened a case on the Metrorail accident last month, but then closed it as soon as the FBI walked on the scene.

[Mudkip Orange]

the FRA shouldn't decern regulations between STB regulations between Amtrak or a transit system.

 

You really think this?

 

Imagine how it would've stunted the growth of New Starts LRT if they had to go through FRA approval...

 

No, it's good that "transit systems" fall outside of the FRA's jurisdiction, and what is California's HSR concept but a big transit system? Does it carry freight? Nooo...