by Jadebenn
John_Perkowski wrote:This just in...Ah, that's the piece I was talking about! I totally forgot to link it here like I said I would, though...
WFAA Original: The Texas Bullet Train Now Looks Likely; Heres What To Expect
Here's the full article with some more coverage if any of you are interested. I highly recommend giving it a read, and wouldn't hesitate to say it's the best local coverage of the project so far. Probably some of the best coverage of it period. I think that's mainly because the news crew they sent to Japan got hands-on-experience with the technology, meaning that the lack of experience that leads to so much of the bad coverage on trains in American news wasn't a problem here. They even cover the land-use and development angle, which almost no-one talks about in the US!
While the report mostly summarizes already-known facts, it also officially confirms something I've heard rumors and speculation about for a while now: JR Central intends for the Texas export models to be eight-car trains based off the N700S design.
Personally, I think if Texas Central can achieve even a fraction of the reliability and service the Shinkansen is known for in Japan, it will be a game-changer for the state. Most of our officials are skeptical of passenger rail currently (to put it kindly), but attitudes have been changing. After all, it wasn't that long ago that the state was outright hostile to passenger rail. If anything can bring them around fully, it's this project.