Japan railway news – Page 9
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NewsGauge-changing train decision next year
JAPAN: JR Kyushu, which was successfully listed on the stock market on October 26, expects to decide whether or not to continue with plans for a gauge-changing Shinkansen train next year. The latest test train is undergoing endurance trials following modifications made after cracks were found in the axles two ...
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NewsHokkaido Shinkansen inaugurated
JAPAN: High speed services reached Japan’s third main island on March 26, with the inauguration of the first phase of the Hokkaido Shinkansen. Connecting Shin-Aomori in Honshu with Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in the south of Hokkaido, the 149 km line uses mixed-gauge tracks in the 54 km Seikan Tunnel under the Tsugaru ...
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NewsNishi-Nippon orders EMUs
JAPAN: Kawasaki Heavy Industries is to supply 18 Series 9000 electric multiple-units to Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co for use on the 78 km Tenjin Omuta Line between Fukuoka and Omuta. To be manufactured at KHI’s Hyogo factory near Kobe, the EMUs are due to be delivered by March 2017 and ...
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NewsHakodate Liner is ready to roll
JAPAN: JR Hokkaido has unveiled the first of its Series 733-1000 EMUs for the Hakodate Liner shuttle service, which will be introduced on March 26 to coincide with the opening of the first phase of the Hokkaido Shinkansen. Four three-car sets are being built to operate the shuttle which will ...
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NewsAnime-themed Series 500 launched on Sanyo Shinkansen
JAPAN: West Japan Railway officially launched an anime-themed 500 Type EVA Shinkansen trainset into revenue service on November 7, marking the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Sanyo Shinkansen. One of the railway’s nine Series 500 trainsets has been wrapped in a stylised livery to commemorate the 20th anniversary ...
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NewsTilting E353 to serve Chuo Main Line
JAPAN: A pre-series Series E353 tilting EMU to operate Azusa limited express services on the eastern portion of the 1 067 mm gauge Chuo Main Line between Tokyo and Nagano has been unveiled by East Japan Railway. The Series E353 sets are being built by the railway’s rolling stock subsidiary ...
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NewsCameras to detect drunken behaviour
JAPAN: West Japan Railway has installed cameras that can automatically identify drunken behaviour and alert platform staff, in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents at stations. So far 46 cameras have been implemented on the Osaka Loop Line platforms of Koybashi station in Osaka. JR West is ...
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NewsWorld Speed Survey 2015: China remains the pacesetter
INTERNATIONAL: China remains the pacesetter in the world rail speed race, according to the latest World Speed Survey published in Railway Gazette International on July 1. Authored by Jeremy Hartill of the UK’s Railway Performance Society, the biennial survey compiles in tabular form the fastest timetabled start-to-stop journeys between different ...
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NewsJR West picks MerMec inspection technology
JAPAN: West Japan Railway Company has selected MerMec to supply machine-vision technology for its track inspection fleet, the railway’s General Manager Eiji Tsubone announced at a meeting of the EU-Japan Industrial Dialogue on Railways & Urban Transport Suppliers in Brussels on May 21. Following ‘a long tendering and evaluation period’, ...
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NewsFirst Shinkansen train through the Seikan Tunnel
JAPAN: The mayor of Aomori and other city officials participated in a ceremony at Shin-Aomori in the early hours of May 24 to mark the arrival of the first Series H5 trainset from Hokkaido through the Seikan Tunnel. Following the delivery of the first unit to JR Hokkaido in October ...
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NewsJR East calls international tenders for DEMU fleet
JAPAN: East Japan Railway announced on May 19 that it is calling international tenders for a fleet of diesel-electric multiple-units to operate services on non-electrified lines, with between 150 and 200 trainsets to be ordered in the coming years. Bids are due by July 24 for an initial build of ...
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NewsPlatform edge Anywhere Door for multiple train types on test
JAPAN: Platform edge doors designed to accommodate multiple types of rolling stock with varying numbers of doors and locations on the car side are being tested by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Transportation Equipment Engineering & Service Co. The design is branded Dokodemo Door (‘Anywhere Door’), after a magical door which ...
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NewsJapanese maglev testing tops 600 km/h
JAPAN: A new speed record for a magnetically levitated vehicle was set on April 21, when Central Japan Railway powered one of its Series L0 superconducting maglev units up to a maximum of 603 km/h on the test guideway in Yamanashi prefecture. According to JR Central, a speed of ...
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NewsJR East unveils Yamanote Loop Series E235 EMU
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has unveiled a prototype for its next generation of electric multiple-units to operate the 1 067 mm gauge Yamanote Loop around the centre of the capital. This heavily-used 34·5 km circular line serves the main Tokyo Station as well as the key interchange at Shinjuku, which ...
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NewsSpeed increase on the Tokaido Shinkansen
JAPAN: Central Japan Railway increased the maximum speed of its premium services between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka from 270 to 285 km/h with effect from March 14, cutting journey times by 3 min for 29 of its 37 Nozomi trains each day. The fastest timing over the 515·4 km route ...
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NewsHokuriku Shinkansen opens between Nagano and Kanazawa
JAPAN: The 228 km Hokuriku Shinkansen high speed line between Nagano, Toyama and Kanazawa opened on March 14. The opening has reduced the fastest journey between Tokyo and Kanazawa to 2 h 28 min, compared to the previous time of 4 h 20 min via the 1 067 mm gauge ...
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NewsBattery-diesel hybrid multiple-unit on test
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has begun test running with the first of eight Series HB-E210 two-car battery-diesel multiple-units which are being supplied by J-TREC. The units are expected to offer a 60% reduction in NOX and particulate emissions compared to conventional DMUs. JR East ordered the hybrid DMUs in ...
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News‘Connectivity and vision’ key to future of high speed
RAILWAY GAZETTE TV: More than 370 viewers in 20 countries registered to watch Railway Gazette’s interactive live debate on high speed rail on February 25. Sponsored by Bombardier Transportation, the latest in RG TV’s debate series assessed the future of high speed rail over the next five decades saw Chris ...
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NewsHitachi agrees to buy Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda
ITALY: On February 24 the Hitachi and Finmeccanica boards announced the signing of binding agreements for the Japanese group to buy Napoli-based rolling stock manufacturer AnsaldoBreda and Finmeccanica’s 40% stake in Genova-based signalling, train control and turnkey transport system supplier Ansaldo STS. Hitachi Rail said the acquisitions would represent a ...
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NewsOsaka Loop trains
JAPAN: JR West announced on December 8 that it is to procure 21 eight-car electric multiple-units for the Osaka Loop Line. The Class 323 trains are to replace the older Class 103 and Class 201 EMUs. The Class 103 EMUs, delivered in 1964-84, are to be withdrawn completely from the ...