r/BeAmazed • u/zzill6 • Sep 02 '25

Technology Reporter left speechless after witnessing Japan's new $70 million Maglev train in action at 310 mph

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u/BatPsychological9999 Sep 02 '25

Why can’t we have nice things

120

u/discourse_friendly Sep 02 '25

California probably has a better train by now, they've spent 5 billion on their fast train from SF to LA *checks in on the project*

ooooh fuck

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u/DreamsOfLlamas Sep 03 '25

Well they’re over the hard part (getting sued by every single city in the state trying to delay the project just because) and have broken ground. Before the feds started looking into pulling the funding the projected in-operation year was 2032 for the first segment, merced to bakersfield, which would at the very least greatly shorten the existing bus/train routes (currently 13 hours).

For a more optimistic HSR outlook, see brightline west, a privately run project that makes use of existing highway right of way to connect LA county to vegas that is projected to be fully operational by 2028

California has a lot of environmental protection laws that are unfortunately prone to abuse by NIMBY groups, and land surveys ate up a lot of time since the area is prone to earthquakes.

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u/halavais Sep 03 '25

I don't think Brightline is a great model to replicate. It's publicly funded and privately profitable (at least in the Florida case). I'll be curious to see what the Vegas route ends up costing.

Mind you, most of the trains in Japan are public-private partnerships, but they tend to be more tightly interwoven, and actually serve the public.

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u/Optimal-Golf-8270 Sep 03 '25

If its a public private partnership, it'll go to absolute shit. That's how everything in the UK is built and everything is very expensive whilst not working.

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u/wasmic Sep 03 '25

Typically for PPPs, you'll have the government providing a loan to a private company; the private company then builds and operates a line for a certain period of time while paying back the loan, and getting to pocket the profit. The government then gets to own the infrastructure after the agreed period ends.

Some of the more recent PPPs in Japan are the other way around. For example, the connection between the Tokyu and Sotetsu railway networks. It was paid for and is owned by the Japanese government, and then the private companies get to operate them, using the operating profits to gradually pay for the infrastructure until they have eventually purchased it in full, after which it will be fully privatised.

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u/discourse_friendly Sep 03 '25

that's good news