Japan railway news – Page 8
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NewsKeio Railway special marks start of Reiwa Era
JAPAN: Among the special events to mark the abdication of Emperor Akihito and the accession of Emperor Naruhito, the Keio Electric Railway running west from the capital operated a commemorative limited express service over the transition from April 30 to May 1. Departing from Tokyo’s Shinjuku station at 23.45, in ...
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NewsSotetsu – JR East link completed
JAPAN: Ceremonies were held in western Yokohama on March 28 to mark the completion of a new link between Sotetsu’s Sagami Railway and JR East tracks, which will allow the operation of through services from the Sagami Main Line and Izumino Line to Shinjuku station in Tokyo. Under the project, ...
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NewsThird rail route to Tokyo Haneda Airport finalised
JAPAN: East Japan Railway expects to start work in May on its Haneda Airport Access Line, which would provide a third rail link to Tokyo’s largest airport. This is currently served by the Tokyo Monorail from Hamamatsucho and the independent Keikyu Airport Line. Announcing the project on February 15, ...
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NewsLaview EMUs are ready to roll
JAPAN: The first of seven Laview luxury EMUs which will operate Seibu Railway’s premier Limited Express services between Tokyo’s Ikebukuro station and Seibu-Chichibu from March 16 was formally presented at the operator’s Kotesashi depot on February 14. Intended as the railway’s flagship, the 1 067 mm gauge Series 001 trainsets ...
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NewsALFA-X nose is 22 m long
JAPAN: East Japan Railway has unveiled the second driving car for its experimental ALFA-X Shinkansen trainset, which features a 22 m long aerodynamic nose designed to mitigate the sonic boom effect of entering and passing through tunnels at very high speed. Built at Hitachi's Kasado plant, Car 10 has a ...
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NewsSeries 2700s to refresh Shikoku express services
JAPAN: Regional operator JR Shikoku unveiled its two pre-series Series 2700 diesel multiple-units on January 23. Now undergoing test running, the two-car units are expected to enter service later this year, working Limited Express services on the island’s principal non-electrified main lines. Serving Japan’s fourth-largest island, the JR Shikoku network ...
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NewsJR Central to test N700S at 360 km/h
JAPAN: President of Central Japan Railway Shin Kaneko announced on January 6 that the N700S prototype trainset will be tested at up to 360 km/h later this year. Running trials with the 16-car N700S prototype began in March last year, and the train has since achieved a maximum speed of ...
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NewsEast Japan Railway tests driverless operation
JAPAN: East Japan Railway is testing automatic train operation on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo, with a view to assessing the feasibility of converting routes to driverless operation. The 34·5 km circular route was selected for testing because it does not share tracks with other lines. JR East envisages that ...
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NewsJR East unveils first ALFA-X driving car
JAPAN: The first driving car bodyshell for East Japan Railway’s Series 956 high speed test train was unveiled in Kobe on December 12. Being manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the 10-car trainset is expected to begin test running in May. Designated ALFA-X for Advanced Labs for Frontline Activity in rail ...
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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 ...