High Speed Rail Seminar “The Present and Future of High Speed Rail in the World”

Organizer	Japan Transport and Tourist Research Institute (JTTRI)
Sponsorship	Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)
Date / Time	Tue, Nov 06,2018 　　Seminar： 13:30～17:10　　Reception： 17:30～19:30
Venue	ROPPONGI ACADEMYHILLS　（49F of Roppongi Hills）　　　Seminar： Tower Hall　/　Reception： Library Cafe

Event Summary

In Japan’s high speed railway network, following the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen and the Hokkaido Shinkansen, the extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen and the Hokuriku Shinkansen, as well as the development of the Kyushu Shinkansen West Route and the Linear Chuo Shinkansen (between Shinagawa and Nagoya)are underway.

Looking overseas, the Taiwan High Speed Rail has been extended to Nangang in Taipei, and the first high speed rail development has begun in India. In addition, the HS2 plan is being promoted in the UK, and high speed railway projects are being studied, planned, and implemented in each countries and regions, as in the United States with the Texas Central railway plan and the Northeast Corridor Maglev concept.

Based on these situations, five high speed rail companies and experts from Taiwan, where Japan's Shinkansen technology was introduced for the first time, India, where businesses using Japan's Shinkansen technology are currently in progress, the UK, the birthplace of railways in Europe, where high speed rail networks are expanding, the US, where high speed rail development is taking shape, and Japan, gave lectures on the current situations and future outlook for high speed railway. In the latter half of the panel discussion, a lively exchange of opinions was held regarding the current issues and future initiatives.

On the day of the seminar, we received a guest greeting from Mr. Okanishi, Director-General for International Affairs, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the seminar was a great success with over 380 participants including research institutions such as universities, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, local governments, railway companies, railway related manufacturers (vehicles, signals, electric power, etc.), general contractors, and media.

Program of the seminar is as the following

Opening Remarks	Masafumi Shukuri Chairman, Japan Transport and Tourist Research Institute (JTTRI) Remarks (Japanese)
Honorable Guest Remarks	Yasuhiro Okanishi Director-General for International Affairs, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Remarks (Japanese)
Keynote Speech 1	Roderick A Smith Emeritus Professor, Imperial College London “European High-Speed Rail: Strengths and Weaknesses as We Approach an Uncertain Future” file
Keynote Speech 2	Brijesh Dixit General Manager, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, New Delhi “Concepts and Challenges for the Growth of HSR in India” file
Keynote Speech 3	John Chen Executive Vice President, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation “Now & Future of Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR)” file
Keynote Speech 4	Hitoshi Saimyo Senior Executive Officer, East Japan Railway Company “JR-EAST Shinkansen Vision” file
Keynote Speech 5	Yoshihiko Uchida Corporate Officer, Deputy Director General of Chuo shinkansen Promotion Division, Central Japan Railway Company "Chuo Shinkansen Plan by Superconducting Maglev and Overseas Development of High-Speed Rail" file (Japanese)
Panel Discussion	Moderator Hirotaka Yamauchi, President for Research, Japan Transport and Tourist Research Institute (JTTRI) Panelists Roderick Smith, Emeritus Professor, Imperial College London Brijesh Dixit, General Manager, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, New Delhi John Chen, Executive Vice President, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation Hitoshi Saimyo, Senior Executive Officer, East Japan Railway Company Yoshihiko Uchida, Corporate Officer, Deputy Director General of Chuo shinkansen Promotion Division, Central Japan Railway Company
Closing Remarks	Hirotaka Yamauchi President for Research, Japan Transport and Tourist Research Institute (JTTRI)