Japan’s Latest Export - The British Bullet Train
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| An Artist’s Impression of the British Bullet Train |
The first train of what will eventually be a new fleet of high-speed trains in the United Kingdom arrived from Japan this morning. The high speed trains, which can travel up to 140 MPH, will eventually link the heart of London to the famous Channel Tunnel in southern England.
The trains will cut the current travel time by more than half, allowing easy access to the London Olympics in 2012.
Ironically, it was the Tokyo Olympics that spurred the creation of the original Bullet Train in 1964. The Shinkansen, as the trains are known in Japan, has since become a source of national pride to Japan. The British system will not be the first time Shinkansen technology has been used outside of Japan; both China and Taiwan have Japanese-built high-speed trains. However, as a vital link between Europe and the London Olympics, the British system may be the most high-profile display of the Japanese technology to date.
High-speed rail has become an increasingly popular form of mass transit outside of the United States. The closest thing to high-speed rail currently operating in the United States is the Amtrak Acela, often referred to as “the American Bullet Train.” However, due to a lack of political will to refurbish the tracks in the American Northwest, the Acela service averages speeds far slower than that of the Japanese system.
Michael
via - The Japan Times
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