High-Speed Train Travel in America May Be on the Way in the Near Future

President Obama's vision of adding high-speed rail service between major cities in the United States was advanced March 1 at a program held at the University of Missouri - St. Louis Millennium Center. The event, entitled, "Shall We Travel by Train?" was sponsored by the Centers for Transportation Studies and International Studies at the University, as well as the Japan Foundation and other local commerce groups. Attendees, mostly academics and transportation policy wonks, were informed about the Japanese system of Bullet Trains, and how these vehicles could contribute to the development of high-speed rail service in the United States.

Professor Naoyuki Agawa, Vice President of International Affairs at Keio University in Tokyo and Georgetown Law graduate, invoked childhood memories of growing up in the shadow of the new Shinkansen Bullet Trains connecting Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka beginning October 1, 1964. He illustrated the history of train service in Japan from the early influences of the United States and Britain to the current high-speed rail systems now exported from Japan. Professor Agawa emphasized that the successful Japanese high-speed rail system not only provides safe and efficient transportation, but also embodies the culture of not only the nation, but also that of the cities it serves. The Shinkansen system, he continued, can be adopted (including local manufacturing facilities) to the national and local cultures of other countries, like China currently and the United States should it choose to make the necessary investment in a similar system.

The second main speaker, Professor and Industrial Designer Tetsuo Fukuda from the Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology in Tokyo, addressed the technical aspects of high-speed Shinkansen rail vehicle design. He illustrated how the conceptualization of the transport system incorporates emotional and functional forms, and styling combined with engineering results in an effective design. The combinations of functions results in new forms, which in turn results in new functions. All aspects of the rail system are involved, including color, technological amenities, comfort, convenience, station design, safety and reliability. The point of the illustration is that an effective finished product is really the optimal synthesis of evolving human needs and desires with the technical ability of designers to satisfy them within the given culture, no matter where the system operates. This Japanese model of government support and private technological development may also be a suitable model for future U.S. high-speed rail transport system development.

As the United States Congress and President Obama negotiate the future funding of an American high-speed rail system, the Japanese Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and has come forward in programs such as this to offer Japanese systems for consideration. The event was valuable not only as a primer on Japanese high-speed rail systems, but also as a thought-provoking look into the future of a possible American high-speed rail system as well.