Biden, Japan leader likely to discuss bullet train idea
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is seeking to revive interest in a plan to build the first high-speed rail in the U.S. using Japanese bullet trains, with sources saying he is likely to discuss the project with Japan’s prime minister in Washington this week.
The leaders may publicly voice support for the multibillion-dollar Texas project after Wednesday’s talks, which have been partly overshadowed by U.S. opposition to another Japanese investment, Nippon Steel’s planned purchase of U.S. Steel.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit to Washington, the first by a Japanese leader in nine years, aims to showcase closer security and economic ties between the allies.
The project linking Dallas and Houston will be on the agenda for the talks, said three sources familiar with summit preparations, who sought anonymity as they were not allowed to speak to the media.
It is likely to be mentioned in joint statements following the talks, two of the sources said.
However, a senior Biden administration official said the project did not appear to have matured to the point where the leaders would announce progress publicly.
All the sources cautioned that the details of the final agreements could change before the visit.
Japan’s foreign ministry declined to comment, saying the governments were still coordinating joint statements from the talks. The White House declined to comment.
Support from the leaders could unlock new cash from the Federal Railroad Administration and other Department of Transportation funds.
But the project, estimated to cost between $25 billion and $30 billion, still faces potential hurdles in Texas and Congress.
Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has voiced support for the plan.
“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.”
A train linking Houston and Dallas, the U.S.’s fourth- and fifth-largest metropolitan areas by population, has been discussed since the 1980s. Previous efforts were stymied by the objections of private landowners along its route.
Biden and Kishida’s support, say the project’s advocates, will help attract money from private investors for a “shovel ready” plan.
The 240-mile-long rail link, which will be built and operated by Texas Central Partners and Amtrak, is expected to cut travel times between the cities to about 90 minutes, from 31⁄2 hours by car.
Japanese state lenders, including the Japan Bank for International Corporation, have provided loans to help develop the project, which is procuring bullet train technology from Central Japan Railways Company.
The project is likely to draw criticism, particularly from hard-line Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives who have opposed using public funds for rail projects in the past, and oppose using them now to rebuild Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed last month after being struck by a cargo ship.