Japan's high-speed rail system, the shinkansen, may soon be flying across the U.S., with plans to connect 2 major cities in Texas. Traveling between Dallas and Houston now takes up to 4 hours by car or plane, but with support from Tokaido Shinkansen operator, JR Central, the project aims to connect the cities in just 90 minutes. Join us as we look at the Texas Bullet Train, a project scheduled to begin operations in 2023 that could be the foothold for future exports of shinkansen technology.

There are currently over 100 tourist trains in service throughout Japan. Among the various companies operating tourist trains, the Kyushu Railway Company, also known as JR Kyushu, operates 11 unique tourist trains which helps endorse tourism in the area. In this program, we introduce JR Kyushu's popular tourist trains and their strategy that links tourist trains to the revitalization of the region.

The Toden Arakawa Line is a streetcar service in the center of Tokyo. There are over 30 stops on the 12.2km line, and transports over 16.6 million people annually. Throughout the years, the line has operated as a means of local transport but recently has been gaining interest among tourists from overseas. In 2015, the line was awarded the "Certificate of Excellence" from the world's largest tourist website, TripAdvisor. In this program, we introduce the Toden Arakawa Line and the everyday lives of local Tokyo residents. Then "Trains in Focus" grants a peek of Yamagata Shinkansen's "Toreiyu Tsubasa".