????拜磁懸浮技術(shù)所賜，列車運(yùn)輸終于趕上了我們對21世紀(jì)旅行充滿未來感的夢想。日本即將采用磁懸浮服務(wù)加強(qiáng)自己最繁忙的線路——東京至大阪線，同時(shí)還打算在國外出售這種高新技術(shù)。它最新的海外目標(biāo)是紐約至華盛頓走廊。如果支持磁懸浮的日本人和美國人組成的松散聯(lián)盟獲得成功，一種可與飛機(jī)速度相媲美的列車服務(wù)有望在本世紀(jì)上半葉出現(xiàn)在美國東北線路的某條支線上。

????磁懸浮列車是傳統(tǒng)列車的替代服務(wù)，是一項(xiàng)極其昂貴的交通方式，需要開辟科技含量極高、能夠穿透重重山脈的全新線路。有鑒于此，日本人感到有必要為美國人備上一份厚禮。國有海外投資銀行日本國際協(xié)力銀行(JBIC)承諾提供資金支持，首相安倍晉三也向奧巴馬總統(tǒng)表態(tài)稱，他的國家將贈送價(jià)值50億美元的技術(shù)，以幫助美國啟動這項(xiàng)工程。日本國際協(xié)力銀行將鼎力支持這項(xiàng)協(xié)議——如果這條線路變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實(shí)，它愿意提供50億美元，為潛在的建設(shè)成本買單。但這家銀行在一份聲明中表示，由于這個(gè)項(xiàng)目還為時(shí)過早，目前還無法承諾一個(gè)確切的數(shù)字。

????“由于創(chuàng)建美國磁懸浮系統(tǒng)的計(jì)劃僅處于初步階段，目前還沒有達(dá)成任何具體的成本估算，”負(fù)責(zé)該項(xiàng)目融資事務(wù)的日本國際協(xié)力銀行高級常務(wù)董事忠志前田告訴《財(cái)富》雜志( Fortune)。但底線是，日本將承擔(dān)初始階段（即華盛頓至巴爾的摩線路）的一半費(fèi)用。“然而，”他補(bǔ)充說，“如果這個(gè)項(xiàng)目要成為現(xiàn)實(shí)，美國方面需要做大量的工作。”

????前田證實(shí)，40英里長的華盛頓至巴爾的摩線路的磁懸浮導(dǎo)軌和推進(jìn)系統(tǒng)將由東京至大阪磁懸浮線路的建造者日本中央鐵路公司(JR Central)免費(fèi)提供。

????相關(guān)人士希望，華盛頓至巴爾的摩支線的開發(fā)將吸引投資者為巴爾的摩和紐約之間的剩余線路提供資金。前田表示，考慮到巴爾的摩至紐約沿線的龐大人口，只有到那時(shí)，這條線路才有望盈利。

????項(xiàng)目的美國支持者、總部設(shè)在華盛頓特區(qū)東北磁懸浮公司(Northeast Maglev)聲稱，他們正在與日本中央鐵路公司密切合作，后者將為美國制造商提供技術(shù)和培訓(xùn)支持。

????“對于這個(gè)項(xiàng)目的第一階段，即華盛頓至巴爾的摩支線，除了來自日本國際協(xié)力銀行的資金支持，我們還將尋求公共和私人資金，”東北磁懸浮公司首席執(zhí)行官、可再生能源項(xiàng)目的資深投資者韋恩?L?羅杰斯這樣說道。“我們預(yù)計(jì)，作為這個(gè)項(xiàng)目的第一階段，華盛頓至巴爾的摩支線的成本將超過100億美元。目前提供到紐約的全程線路成本估算還為時(shí)尚早。最終的項(xiàng)目成本將取決于所選擇的路線。”

????由于沿線的人口密度較高，日本國際協(xié)力銀行和東北磁懸浮公司堅(jiān)稱這條路線有盈利的潛力。但前田擔(dān)心，美國經(jīng)濟(jì)正處于艱難時(shí)期，這類項(xiàng)目很難獲得聯(lián)邦資金支持，美國鐵路公司(Amtrak)這類美國行業(yè)領(lǐng)袖也可能不會參與其中。他說：“這個(gè)項(xiàng)目需要適當(dāng)?shù)谋ＷC。”

????Thanks to magnetic levitation (maglev), train transport has finally caught up with our dreams of futuristic, 21st century travel. Japan is about to augment its busiest route, Tokyo to Osaka, with a maglev service and is now looking sell its tech know-how abroad. Its latest overseas target is the New York to Washington corridor. If a loose consortium of pro-maglev Japanese and Americans is successful, a service competing with airline speeds could be running somewhere along the northeast route within the first half of this century.

????Since maglev is an eye-watering, expensive alternative to conventional rail, requiring new, tech-heavy lines that can punch through mountains, the Japanese have felt compelled to offer a massive sweetener to Americans. Japan's state-owned overseas investment bank, the JBIC, is committing funding, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the gesture to President Obama that his country will gift the technology -- valued at $5 billion -- necessary to get the first leg off the ground. JBIC is backing that agreement and will stump up another potential $5 billion in construction costs if the route becomes reality, but the project is too premature, JBIC said in a statement, to promise an exact figure.

????"As plans are just preliminary for the American maglev system, there is nothing concrete agreed as regards a cost estimate," Tadashi Maeda, senior managing director of JBIC in charge of the financing to the project told Fortune. But the bottom line is that Japan will cover 50% of the cost at the initial stage, i.e., Washington to Baltimore. "However," he added, "the project will need a major undertaking from the U.S. if it is to become a reality."

????Maeda confirmed that the maglev guideway and propulsion system would be provided free for the 40-mile Washington-Baltimore link by the creators of the Tokyo-Osaka maglev line, the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central).

????The hope is that development of the Washington-Baltimore segment would entice investors to finance the rest of the line between Baltimore and New York. Only when this is done can the route expect to be profitable, says Maeda, given the sizable population along the Baltimore to New York route.

????The project's American backers, the Northeast Maglev (TNEM) based in Washington, D.C., say that they are working closely with JR Central, which will offer technology and training to American manufacturers.

????"For the first phase of the project, from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, we will be looking at a combination of public and private funding, in addition to the financial support received from JBIC," says TNEM CEO Wayne L. Rogers, who is an experienced investor in renewable energy projects. "We anticipate the cost of the first phase, from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, to be north of $10 billion. It is too early in the project to provide a cost estimate for the full length of the line to New York. Final project costs will depend on the route selected."

????With high population density along the route, the JBIC and TNEM insist the route could be profitable. Maeda, however, expressed reservations over the lack of federal funds in economically straitened times for such projects and the lack of involvement of U.S. industry leaders such as Amtrak. "The project needs proper commitment," he says.