Book reviews

A History of Japanese Railways

by Eiichi Aoki, Mitsuhide Imashiro, Shinichi Kato and Yasuo Wakuda

Japan's railway history started almost half a century after Europe and America, but in the latter part of the 20th century, Japan led world railway development on two notable occasions: opening the first dedicated high-speed line in 1964, and splitting the nationalised rail network into seven quasi-private companies in 1987. Published by the East Japan Railway Culture Foundation, this 256 page hardback is the first complete history of Japan's railways to be written in English. It traces developments from the first steam line in 1872 to today's thriving industry, with over 200 private and municipal operators alongside the JR Group companies. ISBN 4-87513-089-9

¥5000 from Government Publications Service Centre, 2-1 Kasumigaseki 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0013, Japan.

Fax: +81 3 3504 3889
zenkan@gov-book.or.jp

Structural Integrity & Passenger Safety

edited by Carlos Brebbia

With railway safety attracting considerable news coverage around the world, practical research results and statistical information have an important role in countering alarmist misunderstandings about the relative risks of different transport modes.

This collection of eight unrelated papers covers such diverse topics as predicting axle failures on shinkansen trainsets, the development of stainless steel bodyshells, reliability problems on the experimental Transrapid maglev, network capacity planning in Denmark, quality assurance tools, intruder detection systems, real-time position monitoring using GPS, and stress analysis of wheel cracking.

ISBN 1-85312-784-1

£65·00 from WIT Press, Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton SO40 7AA, Great Britain.
Fax: +44 238 029 2853

www.witpress.com

APTA 2000 Public Transportation Fact Book

A comprehensive range of statistical data about public transport operations is contained in the latest edition of this fact book, which is issued annually by the American Public Transportation Association. Key sections include capital funding and expenses, operating funding and expenses, passenger statistics, services provided, vehicle fleets, employees, energy & environment, safety & crime, and modal summaries, together with comparisons between public transport and private car use. ISSN 0149-3132

American Public Transportation Association, 1201 New York Avenue NW, Washington DC 20005, USA.
www.apta.com

Railway Track Diagrams: 3 Great Western

The third edition of this handy atlas covering Railtrack's Great Western zone and some other related areas has been fully updated. It includes details of the trackwork barred from use following the collision at Labroke Grove last October.

ISBN 1-898319-39-1

£7·50 + 60p postage from Quail Map Company, 2 Lincoln Road, Exeter EX4 2DZ, Great Britain.
Fax: +44 1392 430277

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