There are a few things I would like to point out about this article:<p>• He goes on about linear trains being confused with maglev trains. Huh? In the exact Wikipedia article he links to, it has a section on maglevs that use linear motors (including JR&#x27;s SCMaglev), and he describes a linear train (the Linimo = Linear motor) as a maglev later on.<p>• Before JNR (the old state-owned rail company) was split into separate companies, it was hemorrhaging money from the cost of running marginal routes. Japan is a developed country, why does it need more infrastructure?<p>• I&#x27;m not sure about the Hokuriku or Hokkaido shinkansens, but calling the Chuo Shinkansen is a public work is wrong. JR Central are financing it entirely on their own. They seem to think it&#x27;s a viable investment, so good on them. US $72 billion overall isn&#x27;t that bad. That&#x27;s only ten billion more than it cost to develop the JSF, or 72 Instagrams, and this is actually expected to make a profit at some point (sooner if you believe it brings an economic benefit to the cities it is connecting).<p>I can&#x27;t really trust this article at all. Reader beware?