RDA Hunter this week hosted General Manager of Central Japan Railway Company, Mr Shohei Yoshida to address the business community about the regional development and nation building economic flow-on effects that the high speed rail system has had in Japan.

“Japan Central Railway Company’s Australian representative, Shohei Yoshida, said magnetic levitation trains would take 39 minutes to get from Newcastle to Sydney, while Newcastle to Brisbane would take 2 hours and 28 minutes.”

“Melbourne to Sydney would take 2 hours and 44 minutes, with another 2 hours and 37 minutes to go from Sydney to Brisbane.”

Sydney to Melbourne was the world’s fifth-busiest air corridor, showing there were enough people to support high-speed rail. He said critics argued Australia was too big for high speed rail, but it was journey time, not distance, that counted, and less than three hours between capital cities made high-speed rail very feasible. A 2013 federal study estimated the price of the Sydney to Brisbane leg at $64 billion, with Sydney to Melbourne costing $50 billion, but the cost would be spread over many years.” Mr Yoshida continued.

“Infrastructure like high speed rail that connects people within and between urban areas is a key driver of economic growth and that’s why RDA Hunter continues to keep it on our agenda.” said RDA Hunter CEO, Todd Williams

“High speed rail has huge potential to grow businesses and employ people. It delivers opportunities for regional development by connecting population bases, spurring the revitalisation of cities, and broadening labour markets.” continued Mr Williams.

Since its inauguration in 1964, approximately 5.6 billion people have used the Tokaido Shinkansen, the transportation artery linking Japan’s three largest metropolitan areas, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. The Tokaido Shinkansen (operated by Central Japan Railway) has supported Japan’ s economic growth. It operates 342 trains and moves 424,000 people every day.

View the Newcastle Herald story http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3736644/levitating-from-city-to-city/?cs=303

View the NBN Television story http://www.nbnnews.com.au/2016/02/18/high-speed-rail-will-transform-australian-future-says-japanese-expert/

View the ABC radio story http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-19/japanese-fast-rail-expert-talks-up-sydney-to-newcastle-link/7182684