JR Tokai aims to win an order for a 130 km [81 miles] line connecting the cities of Tampa and Orlando. It hopes to build a system based on the Tokai shinkansen bullet train it operates in Japan. The project’s cost is expected to fall in the 2 billion dollar range, with the federal government already allocating 2 billion dollars in its budget. Selection of firms for the pre-bidding process will begin as early as this month. By around February, the number of teams participating is expected to be whittled down to four, and formal bidding could begin as early as the summer.

...Seven teams are expected to participate in the pre-bidding process, hailing from such countries as Germany, France, Spain, South Korea and China. Florida will likely ask the prospective bidders to add US companies to their teams for such work as rail line construction, train operation and maintenance. JR Tokai is thus expected to accelerate its efforts to select US partners.

Currently joining JR Tokai team will be Hitachi Ltd.; Nippon Sharyo Ltd.; Toshiba Corp.; Mitsubishi Electric Corp.; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.;, Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd.; Nippon Signal Co.; Kyosan Electric Mfg. Co.; Mitsubishi Corp.; Sumitomo Corp.; and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.