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Japanese bullet trains to run in UK ‘within 20 years’

by Paul Conneally | December 27, 2008 at 11:17 pm

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With the UK train network increasingly under fire news comes that the British government are looking to introduce Japanese style bullet trains to improve the UK transport system.

The UK is similar to Japan in that its major cities are relatively not far apart in terms of distance and in that both countries have high traffic congestion. The bullet train system is seen as a positive way forward in tackling intercity travel problems but it can only work if the infrastructure as well as the technology is put in place.

The transport minister Lord Andrew Adonis would like to see the bullet trains introduced within the next 20 years.

The transport minister, Lord Adonis, is proposing a 200mph high-speed rail service modelled on the bullet trains pioneered in Japan in the 1960s.

He believes there is a strong case for building a £20 billion high-speed line that would cut journey times from London to Manchester, one of Britain’s most congested routes, from 2hr 7min to just 80min.

The plans have been given impetus by a visit Adonis made with Iain Coucher, the head of Network Rail, to Japan last month. “Britain has a lot to learn from Japan about high-speed rail,” the minister said. “In Japan it has been a powerful force for economic regeneration and national pride. It could be the same in Britain.”