US President Joe Biden is set to revive interest in a plan to build the first high-speed railway in the United States using Japanese superfast trains, with the project likely to be discussed with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington this week, Reuters reports.
Leaders might publicly pledge support for a multibillion-dollar Texas project after Wednesday talks that were partly complicated by US opposition to Nippon Steel’s planned purchase of US Steel.
Prime Minister Kishida’s first state visit to Washington in nine years is aimed at demonstrating closer security and economic ties between the two countries. A project linking Dallas and Houston would be on the agenda of the talks, three sources familiar with the summit preparations confirmed.
However, a senior Biden administration official stated that the project did not appear to have reached a point where leaders could publicly announce progress. Japan’s foreign ministry declined to comment, arguing that the governments were still agreeing on joint statements following the talks. The White House declined to comment.
The leaders’ support could provide new revenue streams from the Federal Railroad Administration and other Department of Transportation funds. However, the roughly $25-billion to $30-billion project still faces potential obstacles in Texas and the US Congress. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg endorsed the plan.
We believe in this. Obviously it has to turn into a more specific design and vision but everything I’ve seen makes me very excited.
The United States attracted many high-speed railway proposals, but none were ever built because of political controversy, land ownership issues and skyrocketing costs. A train linking Houston and Dallas, the fourth and fifth most populous metropolitan areas in the US, has been discussed since the 1980s. Previous efforts have been blocked due to objections from private landowners along the route.
The support of Biden and Kishida, project proponents say, will help raise money from private investors to implement a “shovel ready” plan. The 240-mile (380 km) rail link, to be built and operated by Texas Central Partners and Amtrak, is expected to cut travel time between the cities to about 90 minutes from 3.5 hours by car.
Japanese government lenders, including the Japan Bank for International Corporation, have provided loans to help develop the project, which is to purchase shinkansen bullet train technology from Central Japan Railways.
However, the project is expected to draw criticism, especially from conservative Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives. They have opposed the use of public funds for railway projects in the past and are now opposed to using them to rebuild Baltimore’ Francis Scott Key Bridge destroyed by a cargo ship last month.
The leaders’ plans for a possible endorsement followed Biden’s opposition to Nippon Steel’s plan to buy US Steel Corp, arguing it should remain in US hands.
Biden, who signed a $1-trillion infrastructure bill in 2021 that includes $66 billion for rail projects, would face Donald Trump in a presidential rematch in November.
