Will the San'in Shinkansen ever become a reality? Aiming to develop an ultra-high-speed railway linking Fukui and Yamaguchi prefectures via the San'in region, 55 cities, towns and villages from seven prefectures, including Matsue City, will establish the San'in Longitudinal Ultra-High-Speed Railway Development Promotion Council (tentative name) in Tokyo on June 5th. In addition to convenience, they will lobby the national government, emphasizing the disaster prevention aspect, saying that "it will also serve as an alternative route in the event of a disaster on the San'yo side," but the hurdle of cost-effectiveness is a large one. (Kishishita Beniko)
The Great East Japan Earthquake brought attention to the importance of alternative transportation methods, and this spring the three cities of Matsue, Tottori, and Kyotango (Kyoto Prefecture) made the call. Participating municipalities include Fukui, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Tottori, Shimane, and Yamaguchi prefectures. Thirteen municipalities from Shimane Prefecture, including Masuda and Hamada, are also participating.
The group's founding statement argues that while other regions are making progress in building Shinkansen trains and linear motorcars, "San'in has been left behind." They will urge the national government to allow the Shinkansen or linear trains to run, as this will help avoid the risk of the high-speed rail network on the San'yo side being cut off in the event of a disaster.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and other sources, the San'in Shinkansen (Osaka City - Shimonoseki City), which would pass through Matsue City and Tottori City, was actually included in the basic plan for the Nationwide Shinkansen Railway Development Act in 1973 as a line for which construction should begin. However, due to the oil crisis that year and the national financial difficulties, the plan has been shelved for 40 years.
The key to realizing ultra-high-speed railways is whether the benefits are worth the enormous construction costs. The Kyushu Shinkansen (Hakata-Kagoshima Chuo Line), which opened in full in 2011, cost a total of 1.521 trillion yen to build. The Linear Chuo Shinkansen (Tokyo-Osaka) cost an estimated 9.03 trillion yen.
In fiscal 2012, an average of 24,900 people used the Kyushu Shinkansen (Hakata-Kumamoto) per day. Meanwhile, according to JR Yonago Branch, the number of passengers on the Yakumo Limited Express, which connects Okayama and Yonago with the Sanyo Shinkansen, was around 2,500 per day, even on busy days during the Golden Week holidays in May.
The Ministry of Railways' Main Line Division stated, "We also consider disaster prevention measures, of course, but the issue of cost effectiveness remains unchanged." Matsuura Masataka, Mayor of Matsue, said, "I don't know if it will be realized in my lifetime, but if we don't start now, it won't happen. I want to connect it to the formation of a national axis along the Sea of Japan side."
(Yomiuri Shimbun, June 4, 2013)
