United States – President Joe Biden is pursuing to revive the idea of laying down a high-speed train line in the U. S., which will utilize a technology of Japanese bullet trains, according to the sources, who say he will talk about the project to Japan’s prime minister in Washington this week.
Strengthening Relations
The leaders may come to speak out in favor of the multi-billion-dollar Texas venture after Wednesday’s meeting. The trade tensions have been partly camouflaged by the US opposition to other Japanese investments. That is Nippon Steel’s plan to buy US Steel.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s trip to Washington was the first visit of a premier to the nation in nine years. It underscored the strengthening relations between the partners on security and economic fronts.
Potential Joint Statement
The plan to join Dallas and Houston will be on the agenda of talks. The three sources familiar with the summit preparations said they do not have the right to speak to the public and recalled anonymity, as reported by Reuters.
These will feature in a joint statement coming out of the talks, one of the sources said.
While a Biden administration official noted that the project may have not yet matured to the point where the leaders would make such announcements, that also appears to be the case.
And all of the sources cautioned that the content of the final treaties might be adjusted before the visit.
Spokesman of the Japanese foreign ministry did not respond to the request, informing that the governments involved were still agreeing on joint press statements. The White House kept mum on the issue.
The leaders must make available new funding resources from the Federal Railroad Administration and other Department of Transportation funds by their commitments.
However, bearing in the mind that the project, estimated to require $25 billion to $30 billion, could face Texas or the Congress danger, it is not clear yet.
Transportation Secretary’s Endorsement
The president’s Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, sent a signal that he was on board.
“We believe in this,” he said in an interview with NBC 5 on Sunday. “Obviously, it has to turn into a more specific design and vision, but everything I’ve seen makes me very excited.”
In the United States, the distances between the major cities, the large commuter population, and the lack of public transport all play essential roles in the development of high-speed rail projects.
However, no facility ever came into being, and it was stalled by political issues, location issues, and spiking costs.
The train has been talked about since the 1980s in the USA between Houston and Dallas, the nation’s 4th and the 5th biggest cities using their population. Private landowners’ objections along the tunnel’s entire route blocked the earlier attempts.
The proponents say Biden and Kishida’s support will be particularly helpful in securing large-scale investments in a project that can be launched immediately.
The rail link, to be built and operated by Texas Central Partners and Amtrak, will be 380 km (240 miles) long and shorten the travel time between the cities to about 90 minutes, compared to currently 3-1/2 hours by car.
Central Japan Railways Company has been selected by Japanese state lenders, including the Japan Bank for International Corporation, to supply Shinkansen bullet train technology to the project being developed through loan provision.
Climate-Friendly Policy Initiative
The success of this project will not only be of great significance to the Biden administration, but it will also be a manifestation of their climate change-friendly policies and rail investment policies.
However, this measure will likely invite criticism, especially from traditionalist Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives, who previously opposed rail projects with taxpayers’ funds. Similarly, they are opposed financially helping rebuild Baltimore’s Tinker’s Creek bridge, which was damaged recently by a cargo ship.
A nod of support from leaders is next to come in the wake of Biden’s refusal to allow Nippon Steel to make US Steel Corp a part of themselves, ensuring they remain in American hands.
Significance for Biden’s Administration
Joe Biden, who signed the $1-trillion infrastructure bill in 2021 that also features half a billion dollars to improve rail projects will be competing against Donald Trump in November’s second run for the presidential office, as reported by Reuters.
Voters concentrate on the economy in their voting ratings, and Democratic president Biden advocates government-backed construction projects, which his assistants claim will create employment opportunities and reduce inflation pressures.