FOCUS: Challenges Remain for Japan's Maglev Shinkansen Project

Nagoya, July 8 (Jiji Press)--A closely watched high-speed magnetic levitation train line project in Japan still faces many challenges, including huge construction costs seen totaling 11 trillion yen, although it has cleared a major hurdle with much-awaited consent from a prefectural governor.

On Tuesday, Shizuoka Governor Yasutomo Suzuki gave his nod to the start of construction of the Chuo Shinkansen line's section in the central Japan prefecture, breaking the nine-year deadlock that began with opposition to the project expressed by his predecessor, Heita Kawakatsu, in October 2017 due to environmental concerns, such as a possible drop in the amount of water in the Oi River, which runs through the prefecture.

The Shizuoka section is the most challenging part for the construction of the line linking Tokyo's Shinagawa Station and Nagoya Station in Aichi Prefecture, west of Shizuoka.

After the maglev line of Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, begins operations, the fastest train is expected to connect Shinagawa and Nagoya in only 40 minutes, far shorter than 86 minutes needed for travel between the two stations on a Nozomi train on the existing Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line.

A private-sector estimate showed in 2013 that the economic effect from the new train line would total at least 10.7 trillion yen over 50 years, assuming the launch of the Shinagawa-Nagoya service in 2025.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]