美 텍사스 고속철도 2021년 개통 목표…日 신칸센 기술 도입 Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail review set to begin VIDEO
출처 http://www.wnewskorea.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=town_news&wr_id=7346
출처 http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2010/09/hop_aboard_the_houston-to-dall.php
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일본의 JR도카이(東海)가 신칸센(新幹線) 기술을 도입해 추진하는 미국 남부 텍사스주의 달라스-휴스턴 간을 연결하는 고속철도 건설계획이, 2021년까지 개통을 목표로 하고 있다는 사실이 1일 밝혀졌다.
계획을 추진하는 ‘텍사스 중앙고속철도’(TCR)의 상담역을 맡고 있는 시퍼 전 주일 미국대사가 교도통신과의 전화 인터뷰에서 밝혔다.
공적 자금에 의지하지 않는다는 계획에 따라 거액의 투자를 민간으로부터 모을 수 있을지 등의 과제도 있지만, 시퍼 전 대사는 “실현 가능한 사업이라고 생각한다”고 강조했다.
미국 서부 캘리포니아주의 고속철도 계획에서는 가와사키(川崎) 중공업과 JR히가시니혼(東日本) 등이 신칸센 방식을 선전하고 있어, 미국에서는 신칸센 기술에 관심이 고조되고 있다.
TCR의 계획은 도카이도(東海道)∙산요(山陽) 신칸센의 ‘노조미(のぞみ)’에 사용하고 있는 N700계를 기초로 한 차량을 최고속도 200마일(약 322킬로미터) 이상으로 운행해, 달라스-휴스턴 사이를 1시간 반 미만으로 연결한다. 루트는 미정이지만 공기를 단축하기 위해 기존 철도 노선의 토지 활용을 검토하고 있다.
주요 타겟으로 정하고 있는 비즈니스 객이 차내에서 쾌적하게 업무를 볼 수 있도록, 좌석에 콘센트를 설치하고 공중무선 LAN서비스 ‘WiFi’도 설치할 계획이다. 시퍼 전 대사는, 항공편과 경쟁할 수 있는 운임을 설정해 “30분 간격으로 운행할 것을 상정하고 있다”고 설명했다.
[뉴욕 교도] |
Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail review set to begin
following feds’ OK today
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By Robert Wilonsky
The EIS will study various route alignments, including “shared corridors with other existing linear infrastructure corridors such as railroads, roads, and electric utility lines.” Also, says the FRA, it will “analyze the potential impacts of stations, power facilities, and maintenance facilities to support HSR operations.” The review could take some time — several months, say transportation officials, and possibly longer than a year.
The public notice comes as no surprise: Back in January U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx gave his blessing to the project, which has been around since the 1980s — when Southwest Airlines crashed a proposal from what was then known as Texas TGV. But this line’s looking more and more like … well, if not a reality, then something less pipe-dreamy. From the FRA’s notice today, which announces a public-comment period, a little background for those who dismissed this as never-gonna-happen:
TCR is a Texas-based company formed in 2009 to bring HSR to Texas as a private-sector venture. Working closely with Central Japan Railway Company (JRC), TCR is proposing the deployment of JRC’s N700-I Bullet System based on the world’s safest, most reliable, lowest emission, electric-powered, HSR systems, the Tokaido Shinkansen System. Developed and operated by JRC and the former Japan National Railways, the Tokaido Shinkansen has operated safely for almost 50 years and carries over 400,000 daily passengers. The most current generation Shinkansen train, the Series N700, runs at speeds up to 186 miles per hour.
In other words, Dallas may not have a great deli. But it won’t take forever to get to Houston’s any more.
TCR reps were in D.C. just last week drumming up bipartisan support for high-speed rail. Richard Lawless, chairman and CEO of Texas Central Railway, says today’s announcement “marks another step forward for the transformational high-speed rail project that will span the 240 miles between Dallas and Houston.”
Tom Schieffer, the former Texas Rangers president-turned-U.S. ambassador working with TCR as a senior advisor, says in a statement sent to The Dallas Morning News that “transforming the way Texans move around the state starts with bringing our infrastructure into the 21st century. Texas can blaze the trail for a new America by being the first to demonstrate the value of letting the private sector lead the way on high-speed rail.” We’re awaiting comment from the FRA.
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