High Speed Trains

[woohooitsme83]

Reminds me of another cross-continental HSR plan. Kinda old, but Chinese officials are trying to set up a route to connect to the US via Russia, the Bering Strait, Alaska, and Canada. http://www.cahsrblog.com/2014/05/the-case-for-chinas-cross-bering-railway/. Of course, NIMYS would get in the way, though (like always) >

[Team USA]

Then when one country invades the other all they have to do is secretly sent troops into the tunnel and BAM

[reindeer]

I just went to this amazing website called The Man in Seat 61 (Brits might know it) and there was a page on how it's possible to take trains from London to Singapore. Not really much High Speed Action outside of Eurostar and ICE but really wanted to share Looks like an amazing trip

London - Moscow - Beijing - Hanoi - Saigon - Bangkok - Singapore (or vice versa)

If you have the time (we're talking a minimum of 3½ weeks one-way), you can travel from London to Singapore overland, see the route map here. The links below cover travel in either direction, from London or to London:

I think the Transsiberian route is quite popular among travellers and many people indeed continue to southern China or all the way to South East Asia. In theory one could also take the southern route through Turkey, Iran and India, but it would most likely be more complicated and I guess even longer in time though not in distance. Some parts between Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand would have to be crossed by bus, but the route you described is not uninterrupted either between Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

This is the southern route:

http://www.seat61.com/India-overland.htm#.VD2HXxaDsYQ

[gotosy]

JR Tokai begins building maglev stations

Kyodo

• Dec 18, 2014

NAGOYA – Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) has started to build underground stations at two terminals that will host a magnetically levitated train for service between Tokyo and Nagoya that is expected to begin in 2027, it said Wednesday.

In October, JR Tokai, operator of the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train service, gained government approval to build the maglev line, which is expected to cost ¥9 trillion ($77 billion). The next-generation train service uses magnetic levitation to carry vehicles and reaches a top speed of 500 kph.

Maglev trains will link Tokyo’s Shinagawa and Nagoya in only 40 minutes, compared with 88 minutes on the shortest route taken by its current bullet train.

JR Tokai started the work at Shinagawa Station in Tokyo’s Minato Ward and at Nagoya Station in Nagoya’s Nakamura Ward after holding safety ceremonies.

The company plans to extend the line further west to Osaka by 2045, shortening the trip between the two major cities to 67 minutes from the current minimum of 138 minutes for a bullet train.

The company plans to start negotiations with some 5,000 land owners to acquire the land for the railway construction.

JR Tokai said it has finished briefings for residents along the maglev train line in 47 cities, towns and villages in seven prefectures: Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano, Shizuoka, Gifu and Aichi.

The company intends to shoulder the entire Tokyo-Osaka maglev train line construction cost. The Tokyo-Nagoya section is estimated to cost a total of ¥5.52 trillion.

In September, the company successfully completed a test run of the maglev train on its test track in Yamanashi Prefecture. The seven-car train moved along on tires and accelerated to around 160 kph, at which point it began levitating and reached 500 kph moments later.

Kyodo

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/12/18/business/jr-tokai-begins-building-maglev-train-stations/#.VJRvb8FDgM

[LatinXTC]

It's sad the US never invested in a modern train system. I took an Amtrack train from Florida to Houston almost 14 years ago for a school trip and it was probably the worst traveling experience I ever had. It took longer than it would if you had driven, and the train itself wobbled so badly I thought any moment now we were going to de-rail.

There is discussion of building a fast-speed train in Texas that will go from Houston to Dallas that will go a minimum of 200mph. Hope it happens.

[mr.bernham]

It's sad the US never invested in a modern train system. I took an Amtrack train from Florida to Houston almost 14 years ago for a school trip and it was probably the worst traveling experience I ever had. It took longer than it would if you had driven, and the train itself wobbled so badly I thought any moment now we were going to de-rail.

There is discussion of building a fast-speed train in Texas that will go from Houston to Dallas that will go a minimum of 200mph. Hope it happens.

I think there is also a plan for a line between Atlanta and Dallas is in the works. I hope those two lines will pave the way for some connections in Louisiana.

and Florida.

[LatinXTC]

I think there is also a plan for a line between Atlanta and Dallas is in the works. I hope those two lines will pave the way for some connections in Louisiana.

and Florida.

Atlanta and Dallas? That's even less likely to happen considering all of those state governments a project that size will have to go through. A Houston and Dallas train would actually make sense and boost tourism in NOLA.

[mr.bernham]

Atlanta and Dallas? That's even less likely to happen considering all of those state governments a project that size will have to go through. A Houston and Dallas train would actually make sense and boost tourism in NOLA.

Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia all approved it and it is privately funded. The other line is rumored to go from Dallas to Houston to Lake Charles to Baton Rouge to New Orleans. According to coffee shop talk over here the plan is to build the Dallas to Houston line and the Baton Rouge to NOLA line separately and then link them up with a Houston to BR line in the future.

[LatinXTC]

Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia all approved it and it is privately funded. The other line is rumored to go from Dallas to Houston to Lake Charles to Baton Rouge to New Orleans. According to coffee shop talk over here the plan is to build the Dallas to Houston line and the Baton Rouge to NOLA line separately and then link them up with a Houston to BR line in the future.

Actually scratch the train idea to Louisiana, let's just vote yes on casinos in Texas and keep our gamblers in Texas happy and within state lines! To hell with boosting tourism in Louisiana!

[mr.bernham]

Actually scratch the train idea to Louisiana, let's just vote yes on casinos in Texas and keep our gamblers in Texas happy and within state lines! To hell with boosting tourism in Louisiana!

Haha! I think that Texas and Louisiana could do some seriously awesome stuff if they worked together, hell our governments are both red as hell lets just become a mega state!

[LatinXTC]

Haha! I think that Texas and Louisiana could do some seriously awesome stuff if they worked together, hell our governments are both red as hell lets just become a mega state!

Oh no, we're good. We've got our own crazies to deal with the last thing we need is for Texas to associate itself with the Louisiana swamp rats, or swamp people, or whatever it is you call those.

[gotosy]

Japan Opens First Bullet-Train Service to Island of Hokkaido

TOKYO—Japan on Saturday opened its first bullet-train service to the northern island of Hokkaido, part of an extension of high-speed rail to more corners of the country frequented by tourists.

The trains will travel through the Seikan Tunnel, one of the world’s longest, and connect Tokyo with some ski areas in Hokkaido as well as the port city of Hakodate. The new service follows the opening last year of Shinkansen, or bullet-train service, to Kanazawa, a city on the Japan Sea coast known for its feudal castle and gardens.

...

Plans to construct bullet train lines between mainland Japan and Hokkaido started in 1973, nine years after the fast-train system made its debut between Tokyo and Osaka. Construction of the section that opened on Saturday cost approximately $5 billion, according to the Hokkaido government. Plans are in place to extend the line to Sapporo, the biggest city in Hokkaido, by 2030.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/japanopens-first-bullet-train-service-to-northern-island-of-hokkaido-1458943992

[asrhairtransplant]

Thanks for sharing information with us.