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Yomiuri Shimbun
06-06-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's Maglev Shinkansen's Partially Completed Station Unveiled; Station Will Be Only Underground Stop Between Shinagawa, Nagoya
The Yomiuri Shimbun The construction site for the Linear Chuo Shinkansen maglev line station in Sagamihara SAGAMIHARA — Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) unveiled Thursday the construction site for its Linear Chuo Shinkansen maglev line station in Sagamihara. Tentatively named Kanagawa Prefecture Station, the station will be the only underground stop among the four intermediate stations between Shinagawa and Nagoya. The station will be about 680 meters long with a maximum width of about 50 meters. The excavation has reached a depth of about 30 meters, the level at which will be the station's foundation. The area, which will eventually be underground and where the main and secondary lines and platforms will be built, can currently be seen from above ground. Construction of the Metropolitan Area Tunnel No. 2, an underground tunnel, will also commence from the western end of the station, JR Tokai said. The Linear Chuo Shinkansen maglev line, which will connect Shinagawa and Nagoya, was initially set to open in 2027. However, due to delays in starting construction on the Shizuoka section and other reasons, the earliest anticipated opening is now 2034.
Yomiuri Shimbun
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Retired T4 Doctor Yellow to Be Displayed at SCMAGLEV and Railway Park in Nagoya
The Yomiuri Shimbun The T3, right, and T4 Shinkansen Doctor Yellow inspection trains in Nagoya The T4 Doctor Yellow, an Shinkansen inspection train of Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai), which retired in January, was unveiled to the press along with its predecessor, the T3, at SCMAGLEV and Railway Park in Nagoya. The T4 will be displayed at the museum beginning on June 14. Based on the 700 Series Shinkansen train car affectionately known as the 'platypus,' the T4 completed its final run between Hakata and Tokyo on Jan. 29. In preparation for display, the T4 was repainted and maintained at a factory in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, before being transported by land. Meanwhile, the T3, owned by West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) and based on the 0 Series Shinkansen, was moved to Train Park Hakusan in Ishikawa Prefecture, where it is slated for future exhibition. 'I feel the passage of time in this scene of old giving way to new. I hope the T4 train will become even more beloved by museum visitors,' said SCMAGLEV and Railway Park Director Hitoshi Okabe. The T5, also owned by JR West, is scheduled to be retired in 2027 or later.
The Guardian
01-05-2025
- The Guardian
Snake on a train line: Japan's busiest bullet train route brought to a halt
Japan's busiest bullet train line was brought to a halt on Wednesday after a metre-long snake wrapped itself around a power line, shorting the electricity supply and stranding hundreds of passengers. Shinkansen trains running between Tokyo and Osaka were brought to a standstill by the snake, with news reports showing footage of people inside trains waiting for services to resume. Power did not appear to have been cut inside trains, with lights and air conditioning still functioning, according to passengers. The outage happened at 5.25pm between Maibara and Gifu-Hashima stations, after the snake appeared to have climbed an electricity pole, meeting its demise as it attempted to slither along the overhead line. Power was not restored until after 7pm. The Golden Week series of national holidays began on Wednesday, with millions on the move across Japan, returning to home towns and taking family vacations. In addition, the Osaka Expo 2025, which opened mid-April and runs until October, is attracting even more people than usual to the city. 'I use the shinkansen several times a month, but this is the first time I have experienced suspensions due to a power outage,' Satoshi Tagawa, 46, who was returning to Tokyo, told Kyodo News. The line connects Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka with more than 370 trains daily carrying an average of 430,000 passengers. Reaching speeds of up 285km per hour, it takes less than two and a half hours to Osaka from the Japanese capital. More than 7 billion passengers have ridden the tokaido shinkansen since it opened as Japan's first high-speed rail line just before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. It has an exemplary safety record, with not a single injury or accident recorded, and trains running to within an average of 1.6 minutes of their scheduled times, according to operator Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai). However, it is not the first time reptiles have delayed shinkansen. A 40cm snake inside a carriage on a Nagoya to Tokyo service in April last year caused consternation among passengers. Staff were unable to find the creature, and the carriage was replaced, resulting in a 17-minute delay. In 2009, an electricity outage was also caused by a snake climbing on to power lines, stopping trains between Tokyo and Fukushima.
The Mainichi
29-04-2025
- The Mainichi
Chance to touch 'Doctor Yellow' bullet train, lucky icon in Japan
NAGOYA (Kyodo) -- Railfans will have a rare chance to get up close and personal with the recently retired "Doctor Yellow" shinkansen -- touted as a symbol of happiness -- during a special event to be hosted soon by Central Japan Railway Co. The company, known as JR Central, has announced it will hold an event on June 7 to transport the Doctor Yellow train, which was used to diagnose faults on Japan's high-speed shinkansen lines until January, to its railway museum in Nagoya for display. Applications will be accepted until May 14, with the event limited to 40 guests. As the number of applicants has already exceeded capacity, attendees will be chosen by lottery, according to JR Central. Participants will be able to place their hands on JR Central's Doctor Yellow during its transport, take commemorative photos and have a lunch box in the dining car of another shinkansen on display. Doctor Yellow is known for its vivid exterior, setting it apart from shinkansen trains in regular service. Because it operated on an irregular and unannounced schedule, it was long cherished, with some believing that "seeing it brings happiness." The recently retired T4 edition of the bullet train was in service for about 24 years on the Tokaido and Sanyo shinkansen lines between Tokyo and Hakata in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan. No successor is planned as some passenger trains will be equipped with testing and observation equipment. Another edition called T5, which belongs to JR West and debuted in 2005, is set to retire in 2027 or later. To apply for the upcoming event, participants must accumulate a required number of points by, for example, correctly answering quizzes available on a special website while riding Tokaido Shinkansen trains.
South China Morning Post
18-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Japan-led Texas train project derailed by US – is ‘liberal idea' the reason?
The United States has withdrawn nearly US$64 million in grants for a proposed high-speed rail link in Texas using Japan 's bullet train technology in a decision seen as President Donald Trump's aversion to public transport projects over high cost and their association with the previous administration. Advertisement The cancellation effectively ends plans for the Japan-backed project to connect Houston and Dallas – a distance of roughly 385km – in under 90 minutes using Central Japan Railway Co's famed shinkansen system, with US transport officials declaring the venture 'unrealistic' as the anticipated costs have exceeded US$40 billion. 'This project is a waste of taxpayer funds,' Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Monday, announcing the termination of support for the Amtrak Texas high-speed rail corridor. An analyst suggested the funding was cancelled because mass transport systems were perceived by the present American administration as being 'a liberal idea'. First proposed by a private US railway firm in 2009 and with a launch targeted in the early years of the 2020s, progress has been put back due to an inability to secure adequate funding, delayed acquisition of the land necessary for the tracks and associated infrastructure and changes in the management of the project. Advertisement Kazuto Suzuki, a professor of science and technology policy at Tokyo University who was in Dallas earlier this month, said speculation among businesspeople in the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth was that the project would fall victim to the drastic cost-cutting efforts of the Trump administration.
