Japan railway news – Page 8
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News400 km/h ALFA-X experimental train to roll in 2019
JAPAN: East Japan Railway's ALFA-X experimental Shinkansen trainset is on course to start test running in May 2019, the railway announced on October 3. Designated Series 956, the ALFA-X is intended to pave the way for a new fleet of high speed trains as part of the railway’s Transform 2027 ...
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NewsJapan to Moscow intermodal service tested
INTERNATIONAL: A 40 ft container equipped with temperature, moisture and vibration sensors has been transported by sea and rail from Kobe to Moscow in 14 days as part of a trial of enhanced freight services which is being undertaken by Russian Railways and Japan’s Ministry of Transport, ‘The use of ...
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NewsEast Japan Railway studies driverless operation
JAPAN: East Japan Railway Co has set up a team to develop plans for driverless operation, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reports. Trains would initially run with an onboard supervisor able to intervene in the event of an emergency, but in the longer term unattended operation is planned. JR East envisages ...
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Rail Business UKUniversity alliance to promote high speed rail
INTERNATIONAL: The International Union of Railways has moved to strengthen its nascent network of academic institutions which are intended to work together to promote the development of high speed rail. UIC first announced plans for its alliance of universities at the World Congress on High Speed Rail in Tokyo in ...
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NewsCompetition is key as high speed rail keeps growing
Global ridership has surged by 40% in the three years since UIC last staged its World Congress on High Speed Rail. Yet operators and policymakers must work hard to keep the rail mode ahead as competition grows both in and for the market. Benjámin Zelki reports from the latest summit ...
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NewsAll aspects of Japanese rail technology in one place
JORSA: The Japan Overseas Railway System Association’s Japan Hall is now a regular feature of the InnoTrans trade fair, and this year it will bring together 13 member firms to occupy the whole of Hall 7.2a. ‘Our members include suppliers, operators and institutes, enabling us to present all aspects of ...
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NewsJR Central unveils ‘Supreme’ N700S
JAPAN: Central Japan Railway unveiled its completed N700S prototype Shinkansen trainset at Hamamatsu depot on March 10. Emblazoned with a huge gold S for Supreme, the latest derivative of the Series 700 family will begin an extensive programme of test running on March 20. The first commercial sets are expected ...
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NewsSagami Railway Series 20000 enters service
JAPAN: Sagami Railway put into service on February 11 the first of its Series 20000 EMUs, which have been designed for future through running to Tokyo. Sotetsu Corp has ordered a fleet of six 10-car and nine eight-car Series 20000 EMUs to replace its older Series 7000 units. Built at ...
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NewsCrack found in Shinkansen trainset bogie
JAPAN: The Japan Transport Safety Board has begun an investigation following the discovery of a crack in a West Japan Railway N700 trainset bogie, in what is the first incident affecting a high speed train to be designated as ‘serious’ under a classification system established by the government in 2001. ...
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NewsJR East to build ALFA-X 360 km/h Shinkansen testbed
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has announced its intention build a further high speed test train, as part of a programme to develop its next generation of Shinkansen trains. JR East announced on July 4 that it expects to put the 10-car unit into operation in the spring of 2019. Dubbed ...
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NewsTwilight Express Mizukaze to launch next month
JAPAN: West Japan Railway is to launch the Twilight Express Mizukaze (fresh breeze) luxury cruise train in June, adopting a similar concept to JR East’s Train Suite Shiki-Shima. With five one night or two-night itineraries, the luxury 10-car train will give up to 30 passengers the opportunity to travel to ...
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NewsShiki-Shima luxury cruise train launches
JAPAN: East Japan Railway welcomed the first passengers aboard the Train Suite Shiki-Shima (Island of Four Seasons) luxury cruise train for a tour of eastern and northern Japan starting on May 1. Passengers board the champagne-liveried 10-car train via the lounge car where the windows are designed to resemble trees ...
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NewsChampagne and nature inspire Tobu Railway’s Revaty EMUs
JAPAN: Tobu Express put eight Series 500 electric multiple-units into traffic on limited express services with its timetable change on April 21. The three-car EMUs are equipped with retractable end gangways and are designed for easy splitting and joining to enable multiple destinations to be served from Tokyo’s Asakusa station. ...
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NewsSeries 2020 trains ordered ahead of Tokyo Olympics
JAPAN: Tokyu Corp has ordered three 10-car electric multiple-units from J-TREC for use on Denentoshi Line suburban services in Tokyo from spring 2018. The 1 067 mm gauge units will be designated Series 2020, to mark the city’s hosting of the 2020 Olympic Games. The 1·5 kV DC units will ...
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NewsUNIFE seeks better access to Japanese market
INTERNATIONAL: European suppliers’ association UNIFE has called on the Japanese government to ensure ‘transparent and open’ procurement in the country’s railway sector, ‘particularly given the major contracts Japanese suppliers have been awarded in the European Union.’ The ongoing negotiations for an EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement were discussed during the sixth ...
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NewsStation work starts at Global Gateway Shinagawa
JAPAN: East Japan Railway and the Urban Renaissance Agency marked the start of construction of a new station on the Yamanote Line with a Shinto-style ceremony in Tokyo on February 10. The station will be located between the current Shinagawa and Tamachi stations and will serve the Yamanote Loop Line ...
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NewsSeibu Railway unveils Series 40000 EMUs with rotating seats
JAPAN: The first of eight Series 40000 EMUs being built for Seibu Railway’s 1 067 mm gauge Tokyo suburban routes was unveiled on February 13. The 10-car sets are scheduled to enter revenue service from March 25. An evolution of the railway’s earlier Series 30000 design, the aluminium-bodied trainsets are ...
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NewsShiki-Shima luxury cruise train on test
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is testing a luxury cruise train ahead of its planned launch on May 1. Known as the Train Suite Shiki-Shima (Island of Four Seasons), and bearing the designation Series E001, the 10-car set has an observation car at each end offering passengers unobstructed panoramic views. Three ...
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NewsHokuriku extension route agreed
JAPAN: Plans to extend the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka via Obama and Kyoto were agreed by the coalition government on December 20. A 125 km section extending the line from its present terminus at Kanazawa to Tsuruga is currently under construction, with completion expected in 2022-23. The government’s decision will ...
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NewsHigh speed rail forum addresses challenges of a changing society
INTERNATIONAL: The ability of high speed railways to generate economic benefits and transform society was one of the themes underpinning the International High Speed Rail Association Forum, which brought together 286 participants from more than 20 countries in Kyoto on November 17. Describing high speed rail as 'a game changer', ...