Japan’s Iconic Bullet Train Turns 60

Bullet train. Photo by Parag.naik, (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Every day at The Overhead Wire we sort through over 1,500 news items about cities and share the best ones with our email list. Each week, we take some of the most popular stories and share them with Urban Milwaukee readers. They are national (or international) links, sometimes entertaining and sometimes absurd, but hopefully useful.

A new quickbuild roundabout system: A new roundabout installation by Nebraska DOT in Ashland Nebraska has won an award for innovation. The project, which costed $1m instead of the $4-5m for a traditional concrete roundabout was made using a modular system of recycled plastic planks bolted into the existing concrete. Without the need to reconstruct a whole intersection, the new system could cut roundabout construction timelines from several months to just weeks. (Ben Thorpe | Equipment World)

Storymap visualizes transit oriented density: A new storymap from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy allows people to visualize neighborhood density at 15 dwelling units per acre and above, which is the standard for the State’s recent MBTA Communities Law. The law requires zoning changes to allow greater density near transit but many communities have pushed back on the changes. To calm fears, the storymap shows what 15 units actually looks like in the Boston area. (Jon Gorey | Lincoln Institute of Land Policy)

Maps show hazards and migration: As the population of the United States shifts, much of the new growth has come in places that are prone to natural disasters such as wildfires, flooding, and extreme heat. Much of the development has been outside of urban cores, demanding more of infrastructure and services while also putting more people in the path of more extreme weather negating improvements in building codes and resilience measures. (Mira Rojanasakul and Nadja Popovich | New York Times)

60 years of high speed rail in Japan: Japan’s first high speed rail line began service 60 years ago between Tokyo and Osaka just before the start of the Olympics. The line turned a seven hour journey into four, heralding a new era in travel. Since then the Shinkansen, which means “new trunk line”, has now stretched to 1,800 miles and is seen as an efficient example of transportation that other countries have copied around the world. (Justin McCurry | The Guardian)

The problem with long freight trains: The long freight train, defined as a train that stretches over 1.5 miles, is causing delays for Amtrak and safety issues such as derailments, crashes, blocked crossings. Deregulation and consolidation are part of the problem as there are just 6 Class I railroads now, as opposed to 63 in 1976. A recent report requested by Congress has identified solutions, but reforms have been hard to enact. (Pat Garofalo | Boondoggle)

Quote of the Week

I never, ever considered the idea that Asheville would be wiped out. It was our backup plan to move there, so the irony is stark and scary and it’s hard for me to emotionally process. I’ve been working in the climate movement for 20 years and feel like I’m now living in a movie I imagined in my head when I started. Nowhere is safe now.

-Climate campaigner Anna Jane Joyner in The Guardian discussing Hurricane Helene’s destruction in Asheville NC.

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we’re joined by Mike Christensen, Executive Director of the Utah Rail Passengers Association and a tireless advocate for intercity passenger rail.

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