Shinkansen Marking 50 Years (5): Overseas Expansion

Japan Eyes Shinkansen Exports Tokyo, Sept. 30 (Jiji Press)--With the Shinkansen bullet train network already covering many parts of Japan and set to expand further, the government, Japan Railways Group firms and other concerned parties are facing the next challenge--promoting exports of Shinkansen trains and related technologies. The high-speed train service was launched on Oct. 1, 1964, on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line linking Tokyo and Osaka, western Japan. In the 50 years since, the country's bullet train network has expanded gradually. Currently, the total length of all Shinkansen lines in Japan, including the Tohoku, Joetsu and Kyushu Shinkansen Lines, stands at more than 2,000 kilometers. In March 2015, a section between Nagano Station and Kanazawa Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line is scheduled to open. The Hokkaido Shinkansen Line, linking Shin-Aomori Station and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station, will go into service in 2016. In the longer term, a branch line of the Kyushu Shinkansen Line will start operating in fiscal 2022 between Takeo-Onsen Station and Nagasaki Station, while services will be launched in fiscal 2025 between Kanazawa and Tsuruga Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line. In fiscal 2035, a section of the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line connecting Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and Sapporo Station will enter service. The government and the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito are considering bringing forward the longer-term projects. Overseas, the first market to which Shinkansen technologies were exported was Taiwan. In January 2007, high-speed railway services were launched in Taiwan using the 700T train, based on the Series 700 Shinkansen model, which was jointly developed by Central Japan Railway Co. <9022>, better known as JR Tokai, and West Japan Railway Co. <9021>, or JR West, for use on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen Lines. During his U.S. visit in early September, Satoshi Seino, chairman of East Japan Railway Co. <9020>, or JR East, expressed the firm's strong desire to take part in a high-speed rail link project in California. In Asia, where economic growth remains robust, high-speed railway projects are drawing keen attention from European and other rolling stock manufacturers. In India, where the proposed project is viewed as lucrative, China has shown a strong interest. In mid-September, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the South Asian nation and promoted his country's high-speed train technology in a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, Japan's transport minister, Akihiro Ota, has voiced confidence about winning the Indian project, pointing to Japan's superior tunnel construction technology. He also brushed aside concerns that Japan's Shinkansen would be costly, saying, "From a long-term perspective, the Japanese technologies are not necessarily expensive." Ota called on India to adopt Shinkansen technologies for its high-speed rail link project when he met with senior Indian officials, including Railways Minister Sadananda Gowda, during his recent visit to the country. Toru Takahashi, a JR East official in charge of international operations, says that what is important for Japan in selling the Shinkansen technologies overseas is making proposals that best meet the needs of each country and region. Flexibility is also necessary, Takahashi stresses, saying that if necessary the Japanese side should consider teaming up with foreign firms with know-how and experience, rather than forming a consortium of only Japanese companies. END