twoNeurons
Mar 24, 2012, 7:10 AM
A thread dedicated to Japanese Shinkansen news and discussion.
I thought I'd create a thread devoted to Shinkansen. One of the things that is unique about Japanese high speed rail is design. Care and attention to small details are taken seriously and aerodynamic flow, noise, and safety are set to a very high standard.
The designs garner varying reactions from rail enthusiasts. As opinions can be polarizing with reactions from weird and ugly to sleek and futuristic, the designs evoke strong feelings and can't be called boring.
As an early adopter of High Speed technologies and a constant refiner of them, they truly can still be considered one of the world leaders in this technology, even if in recent years, they have focused more on refinement than top speed.
They have evolved over the years and have retained an international following among railfans.
A few highlights:
1964: Series 0
http://static.wix.com/media/4990fd7c0601521bf826cd0526a270e7.wix_mp_256
A JR East Shinkansen Lineup with one of the newest trains that runs on the Tohoku Hayabusa service on the left:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/JR_East_Shinkansen_lineup_at_Niigata_Depot_200910.jpg/800px-JR_East_Shinkansen_lineup_at_Niigata_Depot_200910.jpg
A JR West Shinkansen Lineup with the grey JR500 Series on the right, previously the fastest train in the network:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Shinkansen0-n700.jpg/800px-Shinkansen0-n700.jpg
The Shinkansen, as of 2011, travels to almost all of Japan and in the next few years will connect the northern territory of Hokkaido.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Shinkansen_map_20110312_en.png/744px-Shinkansen_map_20110312_en.png
image sources: wikimedia
And now for some news:
Train enthusiasts gather as 300-series bullet train completes last run
Train buffs packed a ceremony at Tokyo Station on March 16 commemorating the last run of the 300-series bullet train, which ran on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines.
At the ceremony, Naotoshi Yoshikawa, head of Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai)'s bullet train project headquarters, said, "Today we end 20 years of operations, but we want to further improve the technology we nurtured with the 300-series and further develop bullet trains." After bouquets were presented to the train crew, it departed as scheduled at 10:47 a.m., bound for Shin-Osaka Station.
Toshiyuki Shinozawa, 46, who came from Yokohama to photograph the train, said, "The retirement of the train is a shame. The 300-series had a low profile and unique nose, and I thought it didn't seem like a bullet train. But after riding it many times, I came to feel that those points were attractions."
The 300-series debuted in March 1992. Its maximum speed of 270 kilometers per hour allowed it to connect Tokyo and Shin-Osaka in two and a half hours. It also attracted attention as the first green bullet train for cutting back on energy consumption.
source (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120316p2a00m0na004000c.html)
I thought I'd create a thread devoted to Shinkansen. One of the things that is unique about Japanese high speed rail is design. Care and attention to small details are taken seriously and aerodynamic flow, noise, and safety are set to a very high standard.
The designs garner varying reactions from rail enthusiasts. As opinions can be polarizing with reactions from weird and ugly to sleek and futuristic, the designs evoke strong feelings and can't be called boring.
As an early adopter of High Speed technologies and a constant refiner of them, they truly can still be considered one of the world leaders in this technology, even if in recent years, they have focused more on refinement than top speed.
They have evolved over the years and have retained an international following among railfans.
A few highlights:
1964: Series 0
http://static.wix.com/media/4990fd7c0601521bf826cd0526a270e7.wix_mp_256
A JR East Shinkansen Lineup with one of the newest trains that runs on the Tohoku Hayabusa service on the left:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/JR_East_Shinkansen_lineup_at_Niigata_Depot_200910.jpg/800px-JR_East_Shinkansen_lineup_at_Niigata_Depot_200910.jpg
A JR West Shinkansen Lineup with the grey JR500 Series on the right, previously the fastest train in the network:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Shinkansen0-n700.jpg/800px-Shinkansen0-n700.jpg
The Shinkansen, as of 2011, travels to almost all of Japan and in the next few years will connect the northern territory of Hokkaido.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Shinkansen_map_20110312_en.png/744px-Shinkansen_map_20110312_en.png
image sources: wikimedia
And now for some news:
Train enthusiasts gather as 300-series bullet train completes last run
Train buffs packed a ceremony at Tokyo Station on March 16 commemorating the last run of the 300-series bullet train, which ran on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines.
At the ceremony, Naotoshi Yoshikawa, head of Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai)'s bullet train project headquarters, said, "Today we end 20 years of operations, but we want to further improve the technology we nurtured with the 300-series and further develop bullet trains." After bouquets were presented to the train crew, it departed as scheduled at 10:47 a.m., bound for Shin-Osaka Station.
Toshiyuki Shinozawa, 46, who came from Yokohama to photograph the train, said, "The retirement of the train is a shame. The 300-series had a low profile and unique nose, and I thought it didn't seem like a bullet train. But after riding it many times, I came to feel that those points were attractions."
The 300-series debuted in March 1992. Its maximum speed of 270 kilometers per hour allowed it to connect Tokyo and Shin-Osaka in two and a half hours. It also attracted attention as the first green bullet train for cutting back on energy consumption.
source (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120316p2a00m0na004000c.html)