UK v Japan High Speed Rail In 1963 vs 2025 – Brilliant Maps

The
map
above
shows
the
huge
difference
in
the
size
of
the
UK
vs
Japan’s
highspeed
rail
networks
in
1963
compared
to
2025.

Given
the
UK’s
invented
passenger
railways
it
seems
even
more
strange.
So
why
is
the
UK
network’s
so
small
compared
to
Japan’s?

The
UK’s

Stockton
and
Darlington
Railway
(25
miles;
40km
long)
opened
in
1825
as
the
first
passenger
railway
anywhere
in
the
world.

And
according
to
the

Institution
of
Civil
Engineers

“Allowing
for
stops,
the
first
train
to
run
on
the
S&DR
averaged
a
speed
of
8mph
(13km/h)
on
its
inaugural
journey.”

It
also
cost
£5.1m
(in
today’s
money)
and
took
only
3
years
to
complete.

Thus
2025,
is
the
200th
anniversary
of
the
existence
of
passenger
rail.

At
that
time,
the

Tokugawa
shogunate
(Edo
period)
still
ruled
Japan,
which
remained
more
or
less
closed
off
to
the
rest
of
the
world.
And
wouldn’t
start
opening
up
until
it
was
forced
to
do
so
by
the
Americans
from
1853.

Japan
wouldn’t
open
it’s

first
railway
line
from
Tokyo
to
Yokohama
until
1872
almost
50
years
after
the
UK.

Here’s
a
map
of
Japan’s
railway
network
in
1900:

and
here
are
the
main
passenger
railways
in
just
England
and
Wales
in
1898:

However,
despite
it’s
early
lead
in
rail
and
the
fact
it
was
on
the
winning
side
in
World
War
2,
it
was
Japan
and
not
the
UK
which
opened
the
first
highspeed
rail
line.

The

Tokaido
Shinkansen
debuted
in
1964
at
515.4
km
(320.3
mi)
in
length,
nearly
13x
longer
than
the
Stockton
and
Darlington
Railway.

And
according
to

Business
Insider:

“On
October
1
that
same
year,
the
line
was
officially
opened,
with
the
first
train,
Hikari
1,
traveling
from
Tokyo
to
Shin-Osaka
with
a
top
speed
of
210
km/h
(130
mph).”

Around
16x
faster
than
the
OG
S&DR.

And
it

cost
around
380bn
Yen
in
1964.
This
works
out
to
around
1.8
trillion
Yen
in
2024
or
£9.3
billion
2024
GBP.

The
UK’s
only
operational
High
Speed
1
(HS1)
line
opened
in
2007
and
cost
£6.84
billion
(in
2007
pounds;
£11.3
billion
in
2025),
but
runs
only
109.9-kilometre
(68.3-mile)
from
London
to
the
Channel
Tunnel
or
around
1/5th
of
the
distance
as
the
Tokaido
Shinkansen.

Trains
run
at
speeds
of
up
to
300
km/h
(190
mph)
and
is
estimated
to
carry
around
19
million
passengers
per
year
between

Eurostar
and

Javelin
services.

Contrast
that
with
the
current
Japanese
Shinkansen
network:

As
for
the
UK’s

HS2:

“By
February
2023,
a
total
of
£24.7bn
had
been
spent.”
With
estimates
of
the
total
cost
easily
toping

£50bn
despite
the
reduced
scope.

So
why
is
the
UK
so
bad
at
high-speed
rail?

The
UK’s
limited
high-speed
rail
development
compared
to
Japan
by
2025,
despite
pioneering
passenger
railways
in
the
early
19th
century,
results
from
many
factors:

1.
Historical
Infrastructure
and
Early
Success

• 
  Early
  Leader’s
  Dilemma:
  Because
  Britain
  built
  the
  world’s
  first
  extensive
  rail
  network
  in
  the
  early
  to
  mid-19th
  century,
  it
  inherited
  a
  dense
  network
  with
  winding
  alignments
  and
  limited
  clearances,
  mostly
  designed
  for
  slower
  steam
  trains.
  Upgrading
  these
  to
  high-speed
  rail
  standards
  requires
  significant
  demolition,
  tunneling,
  or
  completely
  new
  lines,
  greatly
  increasing
  complexity
  and
  cost.
• 
  Legacy
  Infrastructure:
  Many
  UK
  railway
  lines
  are
  already
  heavily
  used
  for
  commuting
  and
  freight,
  leaving
  little
  room
  for
  the
  introduction
  of
  high-speed
  trains
  without
  substantial
  disruption
  to
  existing
  services.

2.
Geographical
Factors

• 
  Urban
  Density
  and
  Geography:
  The
  UK
  is
  geographically
  smaller,
  densely
  populated,
  and
  highly
  urbanized.
  Compared
  to
  Japan—which
  has
  densely
  populated
  but
  elongated
  urban
  corridors
  that
  lend
  themselves
  naturally
  to
  long-distance,
  high-speed
  travel—the
  UK’s
  geography
  means
  cities
  are
  often
  closely
  spaced.
  Shorter
  distances
  between
  major
  urban
  areas
  reduce
  the
  relative
  time-saving
  advantages
  of
  high-speed
  rail,
  meaning
  marginal
  benefits
  are
  often
  perceived
  as
  less
  significant
  compared
  to
  the
  large
  upfront
  costs.

3.
Political
and
Institutional
Factors

• 
  Short-termism
  and
  Political
  Instability:
  The
  UK’s
  political
  climate
  has
  historically
  exhibited
  frequent
  shifts
  in
  policies
  and
  priorities,
  resulting
  in
  a
  lack
  of
  continuity
  necessary
  for
  long-term
  infrastructure
  investment.
  Projects
  like
  HS2
  (High
  Speed
  2)
  have
  been
  repeatedly
  scaled
  back,
  delayed,
  or
  redesigned,
  partly
  due
  to
  political
  controversy
  and
  budgetary
  debates.
• 
  Planning
  and
  Legal
  Obstacles:
  The
  UK’s
  planning
  laws,
  property
  rights,
  and
  local
  governance
  systems
  make
  large
  infrastructure
  projects
  more
  challenging
  and
  slower
  to
  implement
  compared
  to
  centralized
  systems
  like
  Japan’s.
  Public
  consultations,
  appeals,
  environmental
  inquiries,
  and
  litigation
  processes
  in
  Britain
  can
  prolong
  major
  projects
  by
  decades.

4.
Economic
Factors
and
Cost
Constraints

• 
  High
  Construction
  Costs:
  Britain’s
  construction
  costs,
  especially
  tunnelling
  and
  urban
  infrastructure,
  have
  significantly
  increased
  due
  to
  high
  labour
  costs,
  stringent
  safety
  and
  environmental
  standards,
  complex
  planning
  processes,
  and
  property
  acquisition
  expenses.
  This
  has
  raised
  the
  financial
  barriers,
  causing
  frequent
  political
  reassessments
  and
  cancellations.
• 
  Funding
  Priorities
  and
  Budget
  Competition:
  In
  the
  UK,
  investment
  priorities
  frequently
  shift,
  with
  healthcare,
  education,
  and
  road
  infrastructure
  often
  politically
  favored
  over
  expensive
  rail
  projects.
  By
  contrast,
  Japan
  has
  maintained
  consistent
  public
  funding
  and
  support
  for
  high-speed
  rail,
  with
  a
  strong
  political
  consensus
  recognizing
  its
  critical
  importance
  to
  economic
  competitiveness.

5.
Cultural
and
Social
Attitudes

• 
  Car-Centric
  Society:
  The
  UK
  developed
  strong
  automotive
  infrastructure
  post-World
  War
  II,
  leading
  to
  deep-rooted
  car
  dependency.
  This
  reduced
  political
  urgency
  to
  invest
  significantly
  in
  rail.
  In
  Japan,
  limited
  space,
  high
  population
  density,
  and
  less
  practical
  car
  usage
  promoted
  rail
  development
  as
  an
  efficient
  and
  practical
  transport
  choice.
• 
  Public
  Acceptance
  and
  Nimbyism:
  In
  the
  UK,
  significant
  opposition
  from
  residents
  (often
  referred
  to
  as
  the
  “not-in-my-backyard,”
  or
  NIMBY
  phenomenon)
  has
  greatly
  delayed
  infrastructure
  projects.
  This
  social
  dimension
  has
  posed
  fewer
  obstacles
  in
  Japan,
  where
  the
  public
  traditionally
  accepts
  government
  infrastructure
  decisions
  more
  readily.

6.
Private
Ownership
and
Fragmentation

• 
  Privatization
  of
  UK
  Railways:
  The
  UK’s
  privatization
  of
  rail
  infrastructure
  and
  operations
  from
  the
  1990s
  onward
  led
  to
  fragmentation,
  complex
  regulatory
  environments,
  and
  competing
  commercial
  interests,
  all
  complicating
  the
  integration
  and
  coordination
  needed
  to
  build
  comprehensive
  high-speed
  networks.
  Japan,
  though
  partly
  privatized,
  still
  maintains
  robust
  governmental
  control
  over
  strategic
  infrastructure
  investment
  decisions.

What
do
you
think?
Why
does
the
UK
do
so
badly
at
high-speed
rail,
not
only
compared
to
Japan,
but
many
countries
in
Europe
as
well.

Additional
Sources:

Go to Source
Author: Brilliant Maps