16-17th century
1550 - Hand propelled tubs known as "hunds" undoubtedly existed in the provinces surrounding/forming modern day Germany by the mid 16th century having been in proven use since the mid-1400s and possibly earlier. This technology was brought to the UK by German miners working in the Mines Royal at various sites in the English Lake District near Keswick (Now in Cumbria).[11]
1603/4 - Between October 1603 and the end of September 1604 Huntingdon Beaumont, partner of the landowner Sir Percival Willoughby, built the first recorded above ground early railway/wagonway. It was approximately two miles in length running from mines at Strelley to Wollaton in Nottinghamshire, England. It is known as the Wollaton Wagonway. Beaumont built three further waggonways shortly after near Blyth in Northumberland related to the coal and salt trade. Shortly after the Wollaton Wagonway was built other wagonways are recorded at Broseley near Coalbrookdale in Shropshire. Further waggonways emerged in the English North East.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
timeline of rail 600 B.C.
600 BC
A basic form of the railway, the rutway, existed in ancient Greek and Roman times, the most important being the ship trackway Diolkos across the Isthmus of Corinth. Measuring between 6 and 8.5 km.remaining in regular and frequent service for at least 650 years,[and being open to all on payment, it constituted even a public railway, a concept which according to Lewis did not recur until around 1800The Diolkos was reportedly used until at least the middle of the 1st century AD, after which no more written references appear
A basic form of the railway, the rutway, existed in ancient Greek and Roman times, the most important being the ship trackway Diolkos across the Isthmus of Corinth. Measuring between 6 and 8.5 km.remaining in regular and frequent service for at least 650 years,[and being open to all on payment, it constituted even a public railway, a concept which according to Lewis did not recur until around 1800The Diolkos was reportedly used until at least the middle of the 1st century AD, after which no more written references appear
railroad energy efficient
Rail transport is an energy-efficient [3] and capital-intensive means of mechanised land transport and is a component of logistics. Along with various engineered components, rails constitute a large part of the permanent way. They provide smooth and hard surfaces on which the wheels of the train can roll with a minimum of friction. As an example, a typical modern wagon can hold up to 113 metric tons of freight on two four-wheel bogies/trucks. The contact area between each wheel and the rail is tiny, a strip no more than a few millimetres wide, which minimizes friction. In addition, the track distributes the weight of the train evenly, allowing significantly greater loads per axle / wheel than in road transport, leading to less wear and tear on the permanent way. This can save energy compared with other forms of transportation, such as road transport, which depends on the friction between rubber tires and the road. Trains also have a small frontal area in relation to the load they are carrying, which cuts down on forward air resistance and thus energy usage, although this does not reduce the effects of side winds.
Railway tracks running through Stanhope railway station in North East England, UK
A railway ticket issued in the United Kingdom
Due to these various benefits, rail transport is a major form of public transport in many countries. In Asia, for example, many millions use trains as regular transport in India, China, South Korea and Japan. It is also widespread in European countries. By comparison, intercity rail transport in the United States is relatively scarce outside the Northeast Corridor, although a number of major U.S. cities have heavily-used, local rail-based passenger transport systems or light rail or commuter rail operations.[4]
The vehicles travelling on the rails, collectively known as rolling stock, are arranged in a linked series of vehicles called a train, which can include a locomotive if the vehicles are not individually powered. A locomotive (or "engine") is a powered vehicle used to haul a train of unpowered vehicles. In the USA, individual unpowered vehicles are known generically as cars. These may be passenger carrying or used for freight purposes. For passenger-carrying vehicles, the term carriage or coach is used, while a freight-carrying vehicle is known as a freight car in the United States and a wagon or truck in Great Britain. An individually-powered passenger vehicle is known as a railcar or a power car; when one or more as these are coupled to one or more unpowered trailer cars as an inseparable unit, this is called a railcar set or multiple unit.
Railway tracks running through Stanhope railway station in North East England, UK
A railway ticket issued in the United Kingdom
Due to these various benefits, rail transport is a major form of public transport in many countries. In Asia, for example, many millions use trains as regular transport in India, China, South Korea and Japan. It is also widespread in European countries. By comparison, intercity rail transport in the United States is relatively scarce outside the Northeast Corridor, although a number of major U.S. cities have heavily-used, local rail-based passenger transport systems or light rail or commuter rail operations.[4]
The vehicles travelling on the rails, collectively known as rolling stock, are arranged in a linked series of vehicles called a train, which can include a locomotive if the vehicles are not individually powered. A locomotive (or "engine") is a powered vehicle used to haul a train of unpowered vehicles. In the USA, individual unpowered vehicles are known generically as cars. These may be passenger carrying or used for freight purposes. For passenger-carrying vehicles, the term carriage or coach is used, while a freight-carrying vehicle is known as a freight car in the United States and a wagon or truck in Great Britain. An individually-powered passenger vehicle is known as a railcar or a power car; when one or more as these are coupled to one or more unpowered trailer cars as an inseparable unit, this is called a railcar set or multiple unit.
Monday, December 15, 2008
railroad terms
Railway vehicles listed alphabetically
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
[edit] A
Aircraft parts car
Autorack
Autorail
[edit] B
Ballast cleaner
Baggage car
Bilevel car
Boxcar
Boxmotor
Brake van
[edit] C
Cab car
Caboose
CargoSprinter
Centerbeam cars
Clearance car
Coach (rail)
Conflat
Container car
Coil car (rail)
Comboliner
Comet (passenger car)
Control car (rail)
Couchette car
Covered hopper
Crane (railroad)
Crew car
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
[edit] D
CNR derrick car (Sylvester Manufacturing Company, Kalamazoo Railway Supply Company. Mounted on a push car, pulled with a speeder or draisine.[2]
Derrick car
Diesel Multiple Unit
Dining car
Dome car
Double-stack car
Draisine
Driving Van Trailer
Driving Brake Standard Open
Dynamometer car
[edit] E
Electric Multiple Unit
[edit] F
Flatcar
Flanger
Freight car
[edit] G
Gondola (rail)
[edit] H
Handcar
High speed train
HiRail truck
Hicube boxcar
Hopper car
[edit] L
Locomotive
Lowmac
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
[edit] M
Modalohr road trailer carriers
Multiple unit
[edit] O
Observation car
Outfit Car or a Camp Car[1]
[edit] P
Pacer (train)
Passenger car (rail)
Pendolino
[edit] R
Rail motor coach
Railcar
Railgrinder
Railway gun
Railroad plough
Refrigerator car
Roadrailer
Road-rail vehicle
Roll-block wagon
Rotary snowplow
[edit] S
Scale test car
Schnabel car
Shunter
Slate wagon
Sleeping car
Slip coach
Speeder
Spiker
Stock car (rail)
Superliner (railcar)
Switcher
[edit] T
Tamper
Tank car
Tank locomotive
Track geometry car
Transporter wagon
Travelling Post Office
Troop
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
[edit] A
Aircraft parts car
Autorack
Autorail
[edit] B
Ballast cleaner
Baggage car
Bilevel car
Boxcar
Boxmotor
Brake van
[edit] C
Cab car
Caboose
CargoSprinter
Centerbeam cars
Clearance car
Coach (rail)
Conflat
Container car
Coil car (rail)
Comboliner
Comet (passenger car)
Control car (rail)
Couchette car
Covered hopper
Crane (railroad)
Crew car
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
[edit] D
CNR derrick car (Sylvester Manufacturing Company, Kalamazoo Railway Supply Company. Mounted on a push car, pulled with a speeder or draisine.[2]
Derrick car
Diesel Multiple Unit
Dining car
Dome car
Double-stack car
Draisine
Driving Van Trailer
Driving Brake Standard Open
Dynamometer car
[edit] E
Electric Multiple Unit
[edit] F
Flatcar
Flanger
Freight car
[edit] G
Gondola (rail)
[edit] H
Handcar
High speed train
HiRail truck
Hicube boxcar
Hopper car
[edit] L
Locomotive
Lowmac
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
[edit] M
Modalohr road trailer carriers
Multiple unit
[edit] O
Observation car
Outfit Car or a Camp Car[1]
[edit] P
Pacer (train)
Passenger car (rail)
Pendolino
[edit] R
Rail motor coach
Railcar
Railgrinder
Railway gun
Railroad plough
Refrigerator car
Roadrailer
Road-rail vehicle
Roll-block wagon
Rotary snowplow
[edit] S
Scale test car
Schnabel car
Shunter
Slate wagon
Sleeping car
Slip coach
Speeder
Spiker
Stock car (rail)
Superliner (railcar)
Switcher
[edit] T
Tamper
Tank car
Tank locomotive
Track geometry car
Transporter wagon
Travelling Post Office
Troop
texas idea
[edit] Texas
In 1991 the Texas High Speed Rail Authority awarded a 50-year high speed rail franchise to the Texas TGV Corporation - a consortium of Morrison Knudsen (USA), Bombardier (Canada), Alstom (France/UK), Crédit Lyonnais (France), Banque IndoSuez (France), Merrill Lynch (USA), and others. Texas TGV won the franchise after more than two years of litigation instigated by a rival consortium backing German ICE technology.
The plan was to connect the "Texas Triangle" (Houston - Dallas/Fort Worth - San Antonio) with a privately financed high speed train system which would quickly take passengers from one city to the next at prices designed to compete with or beat other transport options. This was the same model Southwest Airlines used 20 years earlier to break in to the Texas market where it served exactly the same three cities.
Funding for the project was to come entirely from private sources, since Texas did not allow the use of public money. The original estimated cost was $5.6 billion, but the task of securing the necessary private funds proved extremely difficult.
Southwest Airlines, with the help of lobbyists, created legal barriers to prohibit the consortium from moving forward and the entire project was eventually scuttled in 1994, when the State of Texas withdrew the franchise.
A more recent proposal for high-speed rail in Texas is part of a larger proposed, state-wide super-infrastructure, the Trans-Texas Corridor.
In 2002, the Texas High Speed Rail & Transportation Corporation [3] (THSRTC), a grass roots organization dedicated to bringing high speed rail to Texas was established. In 2006, American Airlines and Continental Airlines formally joined THSRTC, in an effort to bring high speed rail to Texas as a passenger collector system for the airlines.
In 1991 the Texas High Speed Rail Authority awarded a 50-year high speed rail franchise to the Texas TGV Corporation - a consortium of Morrison Knudsen (USA), Bombardier (Canada), Alstom (France/UK), Crédit Lyonnais (France), Banque IndoSuez (France), Merrill Lynch (USA), and others. Texas TGV won the franchise after more than two years of litigation instigated by a rival consortium backing German ICE technology.
The plan was to connect the "Texas Triangle" (Houston - Dallas/Fort Worth - San Antonio) with a privately financed high speed train system which would quickly take passengers from one city to the next at prices designed to compete with or beat other transport options. This was the same model Southwest Airlines used 20 years earlier to break in to the Texas market where it served exactly the same three cities.
Funding for the project was to come entirely from private sources, since Texas did not allow the use of public money. The original estimated cost was $5.6 billion, but the task of securing the necessary private funds proved extremely difficult.
Southwest Airlines, with the help of lobbyists, created legal barriers to prohibit the consortium from moving forward and the entire project was eventually scuttled in 1994, when the State of Texas withdrew the franchise.
A more recent proposal for high-speed rail in Texas is part of a larger proposed, state-wide super-infrastructure, the Trans-Texas Corridor.
In 2002, the Texas High Speed Rail & Transportation Corporation [3] (THSRTC), a grass roots organization dedicated to bringing high speed rail to Texas was established. In 2006, American Airlines and Continental Airlines formally joined THSRTC, in an effort to bring high speed rail to Texas as a passenger collector system for the airlines.
drain
The Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor (SEHSR) is a passenger rail transportation project in the United States to extend high speed passenger rail services from Washington, DC south through Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia through Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina and connect with the existing high speed rail corridor from DC to Boston, Massachusetts known as the Northeast Corridor. Since first established in 1992, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has since extended the corridor to Atlanta and Macon, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; and Birmingham, Alabama.
Most funding for the SEHSR to date has been by the USDOT and the states of North Carolina and Virginia. Both states already fund some non-high speed rail service operated for them by Amtrak, and own locomotives and passenger cars. The first large section of the SEHSR, from Washington, DC through Virginia and North Carolina south to Charlotte, is due to be in service by 2015 based on funding availability. [1]
CSX's main "A" (red) and "S" (blue) lines. Note the removed track from Centralia, Virginia to Norlina, North Carolina, indicated by the dashed line.
The portion of the proposed Corridor from Richmond to Raleigh travels along the old Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line, now CSX's S line, which generally parallels US 1. This line sees much less intensive service than when the famous Orange Blossom Special traveled at speeds in excess of 79 mph between Richmond and Jacksonville, Florida, and the quality of the tracks has declined. In fact, the tracks were entirely removed along the S line between Centralia, Virginia and Norlina, North Carolina in the late seventies in favor of CSX's A line, which largely runs parallel to I-95 and passes east of Raleigh through Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Fayetteville. The A line is currently used for Amtrak service; it provides a more direct route to Florida than the S line, but adds an hour to the travel time from Richmond to Raleigh, as trains proceed south along the A line to Selma then back northwest along the North Carolina Railroad to Raleigh. The relative absence of freight trains along the S line will mean that significant curve straightening and other work can be accomplished without disrupting current service.
The rest of the planned route, from Raleigh to Charlotte, travels along currently operational lines of the North Carolina Railroad, roughly parallel to I-85. The portion of the route from Raleigh to is over the H-line, while the Greensboro to Charlotte section travels along Norfolk Southern's main line. (While the lines are owned by the North Carolina Railroad, Norfolk Southern has an operational contract for trackage rights.) Both see current freight and passenger traffic (Amtrak's Carolinian and Piedmont), with freight traffic along the main line particularly heavy. However, double-tracking has been removed from several sections of the Greensboro to Charlotte main line since its heyday, and significant signal upgrades, curve straightening, super-elevation, and restoration will be required to support high speed passenger service along the corridor without interfering with freight operations. NCDOT has been working with NS to restore the double-tracking and make other incremental upgrades, a process that has reduced the travel time from Raleigh to Charlotte by 35 minutes since 2001.
In 1996, USDOT added a connection from Richmond east to Hampton Roads to SEHSR. This spur is currently being studied by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), and is currently in the EIS Tier I process. [2] Further extensions of SEHSR from Charlotte through Spartanburg and Greenville, South Carolina to Atlanta, Macon, and Savannah, Georgia are also under investigation by the various states, along with an extension from Raleigh through Columbia, South Carolina to Savannah and on to Jacksonville, Florida.
Another proposed rail project, known as the Transdominion Express, would connect to SEHSR and extend from Richmond west to Lynchburg and from Washington, DC (Alexandria) south via an existing Virginia Railway Express route to Manassas, extending on south to Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke and Bristol on the Tennessee border
Most funding for the SEHSR to date has been by the USDOT and the states of North Carolina and Virginia. Both states already fund some non-high speed rail service operated for them by Amtrak, and own locomotives and passenger cars. The first large section of the SEHSR, from Washington, DC through Virginia and North Carolina south to Charlotte, is due to be in service by 2015 based on funding availability. [1]
CSX's main "A" (red) and "S" (blue) lines. Note the removed track from Centralia, Virginia to Norlina, North Carolina, indicated by the dashed line.
The portion of the proposed Corridor from Richmond to Raleigh travels along the old Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line, now CSX's S line, which generally parallels US 1. This line sees much less intensive service than when the famous Orange Blossom Special traveled at speeds in excess of 79 mph between Richmond and Jacksonville, Florida, and the quality of the tracks has declined. In fact, the tracks were entirely removed along the S line between Centralia, Virginia and Norlina, North Carolina in the late seventies in favor of CSX's A line, which largely runs parallel to I-95 and passes east of Raleigh through Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Fayetteville. The A line is currently used for Amtrak service; it provides a more direct route to Florida than the S line, but adds an hour to the travel time from Richmond to Raleigh, as trains proceed south along the A line to Selma then back northwest along the North Carolina Railroad to Raleigh. The relative absence of freight trains along the S line will mean that significant curve straightening and other work can be accomplished without disrupting current service.
The rest of the planned route, from Raleigh to Charlotte, travels along currently operational lines of the North Carolina Railroad, roughly parallel to I-85. The portion of the route from Raleigh to is over the H-line, while the Greensboro to Charlotte section travels along Norfolk Southern's main line. (While the lines are owned by the North Carolina Railroad, Norfolk Southern has an operational contract for trackage rights.) Both see current freight and passenger traffic (Amtrak's Carolinian and Piedmont), with freight traffic along the main line particularly heavy. However, double-tracking has been removed from several sections of the Greensboro to Charlotte main line since its heyday, and significant signal upgrades, curve straightening, super-elevation, and restoration will be required to support high speed passenger service along the corridor without interfering with freight operations. NCDOT has been working with NS to restore the double-tracking and make other incremental upgrades, a process that has reduced the travel time from Raleigh to Charlotte by 35 minutes since 2001.
In 1996, USDOT added a connection from Richmond east to Hampton Roads to SEHSR. This spur is currently being studied by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), and is currently in the EIS Tier I process. [2] Further extensions of SEHSR from Charlotte through Spartanburg and Greenville, South Carolina to Atlanta, Macon, and Savannah, Georgia are also under investigation by the various states, along with an extension from Raleigh through Columbia, South Carolina to Savannah and on to Jacksonville, Florida.
Another proposed rail project, known as the Transdominion Express, would connect to SEHSR and extend from Richmond west to Lynchburg and from Washington, DC (Alexandria) south via an existing Virginia Railway Express route to Manassas, extending on south to Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke and Bristol on the Tennessee border
southern power loco motive
The Shinkansen (新幹線, Shinkansen?) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the 210 km/h (130 mph) Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network (2,459 km or 1,528 miles) has expanded to link most major cities on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū at speeds up to 300 km/h. Test runs have reached 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world-record 581 km/h (361 mph) for maglev trainsets in 2003.
Shinkansen literally means "New Trunk Line", referring to the tracks, but the name is widely used inside and outside Japan to refer to the trains as well as the system as a whole. The name "Superexpress" (超特急, chō-tokkyū?), initially used for Hikari trains, was retired in 1972 but is still used in English-language announcements and signage.
In contrast to older lines, Shinkansen are standard gauge, and use tunnels and viaducts to go through and over obstacles rather than around them. With a minimum curve radius of 4,000 meters (2,500 meters in the oldest Tōkaidō Shinkansen), the system was built entirely from the ground up on elevated tracks without road crossings and separate from conventional rail. It employs an ATC (Automatic Train Control) system, eliminating the need for signals.
The Tōkaidō Shinkansen is the world's busiest high-speed rail line. Carrying 375,000 passengers a day, it has transported more passengers (4.5 billion) than all other high speed lines in the world combined. Though largely a long-distance transport system, the Shinkansen also serves commuters who travel to work in metropolitan areas from outlying cities.
Contents[hide]
1 History
1.1 Early proposals
1.2 Construction
1.3 Network expansion
1.4 Safety record
2 Future
3 List of Shinkansen lines
3.1 Future lines
3.2 Shinkansen technology outside Japan
4 List of Shinkansen train models
5 List of types of Shinkansen services
6 Speed records
7 Gallery
8 Further reading
9 See also
10 External links
//
[edit] History
Shinkansen track is standard gauge, extremely level, with welded rails to reduce vibration.
Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high speed travel. Because of the mountainous terrain, the existing network consisted of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge lines, which generally took indirect routes and could not be adapted to higher speeds. Consequently, Japan had a greater need for new high speed lines than countries where the existing standard gauge or broad gauge rail system had more upgrade potential.
[edit] Early proposals
The popular English name bullet train is a literal translation of the Japanese term dangan ressha (弾丸列車), a nickname given to the project while it was initially being discussed in the 1930s. The name stuck due to the Shinkansen locomotive's resemblance to a bullet and its high speed.
The "Shinkansen" name was first formally used in 1940 for a proposed standard gauge passenger and freight line between Tokyo and Shimonoseki that would have used steam and electric locomotives with a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). Over the next three years, the Ministry of Railways drew up more ambitious plans to extend the line to Beijing (through a tunnel to Korea) and even Singapore, and build connections to the Trans-Siberian Railway and other trunk lines in Asia. These plans were abandoned in 1943 as Japan's position in World War II worsened. However, some construction did commence on the line; several tunnels on the present-day Shinkansen date to the war-era project.
In 1957, Odakyu Electric Railway introduced its Romancecar 3000 SE service, setting a world speed record of 145 km/h (90 mph) for a narrow gauge train. This train gave designers the confidence that they could safely build an even faster standard gauge train. Thus the first Shinkansen, the 0 Series, was built on the success of the Romancecar.
[edit] Construction
Mount Fuji with Shinkansen and Sakura trees in the foreground
Following the end of World War II, high speed rail was forgotten for several years while passengers steadily increased on the conventional Tōkaidō Main Line. By the mid-1950s the Tōkaidō Line was operating at full capacity, and the Ministry of Railways decided to revisit the Shinkansen project. Government approval came in December 1958, and construction of the first segment of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka started in April 1959. Some of the construction was financed by an US$80 million loan from the World Bank. A test facility for rolling stock, now part of the line, opened in Odawara in 1962.
The Tōkaidō Shinkansen opened on October 1, 1964, in time for the Tokyo Olympics. Conventional Limited Express service took six hours and 40 minutes from Tokyo to Osaka, but the Shinkansen made the trip in just four hours, shortened to three hours and ten minutes by 1965. The service was an immediate success, reaching the 100 million passenger mark in less than three years on July 13, 1967, and one billion passengers in 1976. Sixteen-car trains were introduced for Expo '70 in Osaka.
The first Shinkansen trains, the 0 series, ran at speeds of up to 210 km/h (130 mph)[1], later increased to 220 km/h (135 mph). The last of these trains, with their classic bullet-nosed appearance, were retired on 30 November 2008. A driving car from one of the 0 series trains is now in the British National Railway Museum in York, England.
[edit] Network expansion
The Tōkaidō Line's rapid success prompted an extension westward to Hiroshima and Fukuoka, the Sanyō Shinkansen), which was completed in 1975.
Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka was an ardent supporter of the Shinkansen, and his government proposed an extensive network paralleling most existing trunk lines. Two new lines, the Tōhoku Shinkansen and Jōetsu Shinkansen, were built following this plan. Many other planned lines were delayed or scrapped entirely as Japan National Railways slid into debt throughout the late '70s, largely due to the high cost of building the Shinkansen network. By the early 1980s, the company was practically insolvent, leading to its privatization in 1987.
Development of the Shinkansen continued despite this setback, however. Several new train models followed the first, each generally with its own distinctive appearance. Shinkansen trains now run regularly at speeds up to 300 km/h (186 mph), placing them alongside the French TGV, Italian TAV, Spanish AVE, and German ICE among the fastest trains in the world.
Since 1970, development has also been underway for the Chūō Shinkansen, a planned maglev line from Tokyo to Osaka. On December 2, 2003, the 3-car maglev trainset JR-Maglev MLX01 reached a world speed record of 581 km/h (361 mph).
In 2003, JR Central reported that the Shinkansen's average arrival time was within six seconds of the scheduled time. This includes all natural and human accidents and errors and is calculated over roughly 160,000 Shinkansen trips completed. The previous record, from 1997, was 18 seconds. Japan celebrated 40 years of high speed rail in 2004, with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen line alone having carried 4.16 billion passengers. According to Japanrail.com, the website for companies that operate Shinkansen, the network has carried over 6 billion passengers.
[edit] Safety record
During the Shinkansen's 44-year, nearly 7 billion-passenger history, there have been no passenger fatalities due to derailments or collisions, despite frequent earthquakes and typhoons. Injuries and a single fatality have been caused by doors closing on passengers or their belongings; attendants are employed at platforms to prevent such mishaps. There have, however, been suicides by passengers jumping both from and in front of moving trains. In comparison, there have been TGV accidents and InterCityExpress accidents resulting in fatalities, despite these systems' comparatively placid operating environments.
The only derailment of a Shinkansen train in passenger service occurred during the Chūetsu Earthquake on October 23, 2004. Eight of ten cars of the Toki No. 325 train on the Jōetsu Shinkansen derailed near Nagaoka Station in Nagaoka, Niigata. There were no casualties among the 154 passengers. [2]PDF (43.8 KiB) In the event of an earthquake, an earthquake detection system can bring the train to a stop very quickly. Experimental Fastech 360 trains have ear-like air resistance braking flaps to assist emergency stops at high speeds. A new anti-derailment device was installed after detailed analysis of the derailment.
[edit] Future
Construction of Hokuriku Shinkansen in Fukui
Noise pollution concerns mean that increasing speed is becoming more difficult. Current research is primarily aimed at reducing operational noise, particularly the "tunnel boom" phenomenon caused when trains exit tunnels at high speed.
JR East has announced that new trains capable of up to 320 km/h (199 mph) are to be introduced coinciding with the opening of the Tōhoku Shinkansen extension from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori in early 2011. Extensive trials using the Fastech 360 test trains has shown that operation at 360 km/h is not currently feasible due to problems of noise pollution, overhead wire wear, and braking distances. This may indicate the limits to railed Shinkansen technology, and eventually maglev or another technology will need to replace it. Operation at speeds of up to 320 km/h between Utsunomiya and Shin-Aomori is expected to allow journey times of around 3 hours for trains from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori (a distance of approximately 675 km or 419 miles).
The Kyūshū Shinkansen from Kagoshima to Yatsushiro opened in March 2004. Three more extensions are planned for opening by 2010: Hakata-Yatsushiro, Hachinohe-Aomori, and by 2014: Nagano-Kanazawa, and 2015: Aomori-Hakodate (through the Seikan Tunnel). There are also long-term plans to extend the network, Hokkaidō Shinkansen from Hakodate to Sapporo, Kyūshū Shinkansen to Nagasaki, as well as to complete a link from Kanazawa back to Osaka, although none of these are likely to be completed by 2020. Also, the CEO of JR Central announced plans to have the maglev Chūō Shinkansen operating Tokyo-Nagoya in 1 hr (366 km/227 miles) by 2025.
The Narita Shinkansen project to connect Tokyo to Narita International Airport, initiated in the 1970s but halted in 1983 after landowner protests, has been officially cancelled and removed from the Basic Plan governing Shinkansen construction. Parts of its planned right-of-way will be utilized by the Narita Rapid Railway link when it opens in 2010. Although the NRR will use standard-gauge track, it will not be built to Shinkansen specifications and it would not be feasible to convert it into a full Shinkansen line.
[edit] List of Shinkansen lines
Map of Shinkansen network.Lines in green: Operated by JR EastLines in yellow: Operated by JR CentralLines in blue: Operated by JR WestLines in red: Operated by JR KyūshūLines in gray: Planned
The main Shinkansen lines are:
Line
Start
End
Length
Operator
Tōkaidō Shinkansen
Tokyo
Shin-Osaka
515.4 km
JR Central
Sanyō Shinkansen
Shin-Osaka
Hakata
553.7 km
JR West
Tōhoku Shinkansen
Tokyo
Hachinohe
593.1 km
JR East
Jōetsu Shinkansen
Ōmiya
Niigata
269.5 km
Hokuriku Shinkansen or Nagano Shinkansen
Takasaki
Nagano
117.4 km
Kyūshū Shinkansen
Shin-Yatsushiro
Kagoshima-Chūō
126.8 km
JR Kyūshū
Two further lines, known as "Mini-Shinkansen", have also been constructed by upgrading existing sections of line:
Yamagata Shinkansen (Fukushima – Shinjō)
Akita Shinkansen (Morioka – Akita)
There are two standard gauge not technically classified as Shinkansen lines but with Shinkansen services:
Hakata Minami Line (Hakata – Hakata-Minami)
Gala-Yuzawa Line – technically a branch of the Jōetsu Line – (Echigo-Yuzawa – Gala-Yuzawa)
[edit] Future lines
Many Shinkansen lines were proposed during the boom of the early 1970s but have yet to be constructed. These are called Seibi Shinkansen (整備新幹線) or "planned Shinkansen." One of these lines, the Narita Shinkansen to Narita Airport, has been officially cancelled, but a few remain under development.
Tōhoku Shinkansen extension from Hachinohe Station to Shin-Aomori is under construction and will open by 2010.
Hokuriku Shinkansen extension to Kanazawa is under construction and will open by 2014. The complete extension of the line to Osaka is under development, and only Fukui Station is under construction.
Kyūshū Shinkansen extension to Hakata is under construction and will open by 2010.
The second Kyūshū Shinkansen route from Shin-Tosu to Nagasaki section is under development.
The Hokkaidō Shinkansen from Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate is under construction and will open by 2015. A further extension of the line from Shin-Hakodate to Sapporo is under development.
The other lines in the 1973 plan are:
Hokkaidō South Loop Shinkansen (北海道南回り新幹線, Hokkaidō Minami-mawari Shinkansen?): Oshamanbe - Muroran - Sapporo
Uetsu Shinkansen (羽越新幹線, Uetsu Shinkansen?): Toyama - Niigata - Akita
Ōu Shinkansen (奥羽新幹線, Ōu Shinkansen?): Fukushima - Yamagata - Akita
Hokuriku-Chūkyō Shinkansen (北陸・中京新幹線, Hokuriku-Chūkyō Shinkansen?): Nagoya - Tsuruga
San'in Shinkansen (山陰新幹線, San'in Shinkansen?): Osaka - Tottori - Matsue - Shimonoseki
Cross-Chūgoku Shinkansen (中国横断新幹線, Chūgoku Ōdan Shinkansen?): Okayama - Matsue
Shikoku Shinkansen (四国新幹線, Shikoku Shinkansen?): Osaka - Tokushima - Takamatsu - Matsuyama - Ōita
Cross-Shikoku Shinkansen (四国横断新幹線, Shikoku Ōdan Shinkansen?): Okayama - Kōchi - Matsuyama
East Kyūshū Shinkansen (東九州新幹線, Higashi-Kyūshū Shinkansen?): Fukuoka - Ōita - Miyazaki - Kagoshima
Cross-Kyūshū Shinkansen (九州横断新幹線, Kyūshū Ōdan Shinkansen?): Ōita - Kumamoto
In addition, the Basic Plan specifies that the Jōetsu Shinkansen should start from Shinjuku, not Tokyo Station, which would require building an additional 30 km of track between Shinjuku and Ōmiya. While no construction work was ever started, land along the proposed track, including an underground section leading to Shinjuku Station, remains reserved. If capacity on the current Tokyo-Ōmiya section proves insufficient once the Hokkaido and Hokuriku Shinkansen are operational, the construction of the Shinjuku-Ōmiya link may be proceed.
[edit] Shinkansen technology outside Japan
Railways using Shinkansen technology are not limited to those in Japan.
Taiwan High Speed Rail operates 700T Series sets built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
The China Railways CRH2 EMU, built by a consortium formed of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and Hitachi, is based on the E2-1000 Series design.
Class 395 EMUs were built by Hitachi based on Shinkansen technology for use on high-speed commuter services in Britain on the High Speed 1 line.
Japan is currently promoting its shinkansen technology to the Brazilian Government for use on the planned high speed rail link system set to crisscross Brazil.[citation needed]
[edit] List of Shinkansen train models
Trains can be up to sixteen cars long. With each car measuring 25 m (82 ft) in length, the longest trains are 400 m (1/4 mile) from front to back. Stations are similarly long to accommodate these trains. Japan's maglev trains are considered Shinkansen.
Series of Shinkansen
Mt. Ibuki with 300 Series
Shinkansen 700T train on a test run on the Taiwan High Speed Rail in June 2006.
N700: The Newest Model
Passenger Trains
0 Series
100 Series
200 Series
300 Series
400 Series (Mini-Shinkansen)
500 Series
700 Series
700T Series (Taiwan High Speed Rail, a.k.a. Taiwan Shinkansen)
N700 Series
800 Series
E1 Series (Max)
E2 Series
E3 Series (Mini-Shinkansen)
E4 Series (Max)
E5 Series (Currently on order)
Experimental Railed Trains
1000 Type
951 Type
961 Type
962 Type
500-900 Series (WIN 350)
952/953 Type (STAR 21)
955 Type (300X)
E954 Type (FASTECH 360 S)
E955 Type (FASTECH 360 Z)(Mini-Shinkansen)
Maglev Trains:
LSM200 - 1972
ML100 - 1972
ML100A - 1975
ML-500 - 1977
ML-500R - 1979
MLU001 - 1981
MLU002 - 1987
MLU002N - 1993
MLX01 - 1996
MLX01-901 - 2002
Maintenance Trains
911 Type Diesel Locomotive
912 Type Diesel Locomotive
DD18 Type Diesel Locomotive
DD19 Type Diesel Locomotive
944 Type (Rescue Train)
921 Type 0 Numbers (Track Checking Car)
922 Type (Doctor Yellow Set T1, T2, T3)
923 Type (Doctor Yellow Set T4, T5)
925 Type (Doctor Yellow Set S1, S2)
E926 Type (East i)(Mini-Shinkansen)
[edit] List of types of Shinkansen services
The Shinkansen fare system is integrated with Japan's low-speed intercity railway lines, but a surcharge is required to ride the Shinkansen. Here, an ordinary ticket from Tokyo to Takamatsu is coupled with a Shinkansen surcharge ticket from Tokyo to Okayama, allowing use of the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Okayama and use of local lines from Okayama to Takamatsu. For trips exclusively on one Shinkansen, the ordinary fare and Shinkansen surcharge may be combined on one ticket.
Originally intended to carry passenger and freight trains by day and night, the Shinkansen lines carry only passenger trains. The system shuts down between midnight and 06:00 every day for maintenance. The few overnight trains that still run in Japan run on the old narrow gauge network that the Shinkansen parallels.
Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Sanyō Shinkansen
Nozomi (のぞみ)
Hikari (ひかり)
Hikari Rail Star (in Sanyo area only) (ひかりレールスター)
Kodama (こだま)
Tohoku Shinkansen, Yamagata Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen
Hayate (はやて)
Yamabiko, Max Yamabiko (やまびこ)
Nasuno, Max Nasuno (なすの)
Aoba (discontinued) (あおば)
Komachi (Akita Shinkansen) (こまち)
Tsubasa (Yamagata Shinkansen) (つばさ)
Jōetsu Shinkansen
Toki, Max Toki (とき)
Tanigawa, Max Tanigawa (たにがわ)
Asahi (discontinued), Max Asahi (あさひ)(discontinued)
Hokuriku Shinkansen (Nagano Shinkansen)
Asama, Max Asama (あさま)
Kyūshū Shinkansen
Tsubame (つばめ)
[edit] Speed records
km/h (mph)
Train
Location
Date
Comments
200 (124.3)
1000 Type Shinkansen
Odawara test track, now part of Tōkaidō Shinkansen
31 October 1962
256 (159.1)
1000 Type Shinkansen
Odawara test track
30 March 1963
Former world speed record for EMU trains.
286 (177.7)
951 Type Shinkansen
Sanyō Shinkansen
24 February 1972
Former world speed record for EMU trains.
319.0 (198.2)
961 Type Shinkansen
Oyama test track, now part of Tōhoku Shinkansen
7 December 1979
Former world speed record for EMU trains.
325.7 (202.4)
300 series test train
Tōkaidō Shinkansen
28 February 1991
352.0 (218.7)
Class 952/953 test train
Jōetsu Shinkansen
30 October 1992
425.0 (264.1)
Class 952/953 test train
Jōetsu Shinkansen
21 December 1993
426.6 (265.1)
Class 955 (300X) test train
Tōkaidō Shinkansen
11 July 1996
443.0 (275.3)
Class 955 (300X) test train
Tōkaidō Shinkansen
26 July 1996
[edit] Gallery
0 Series
100 Series
200 Series
300 Series
400 Series
500 Series
700 Series
N700 Series
800 Series
E1 Series
E2 Series
E3 Series
E4 Series
Doctor-Yellow
Fastech 360S
500 Series ordinary class
N700 Series Green class
800 Series ordinary class
[edit] Further reading
Hood, Christopher P. (2006). Shinkansen – From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-32052-6 (hb) or ISBN 0415444098. (pb)
[edit] See also
Taiwan High Speed Rail
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shinkansen
Biting the Bullet: What we can learn from the Shinkansen, discussion paper by Christopher Hood in the electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies, 23 May 2001
Byun Byun Shinkansen, a comprehensive guide by D.A.J. Fossett
Encyclopaedia Britannica Shinkansen
East meets West, a story of how the Shinkansen brought Tokyo and Osaka closer together.
Bullet on wheels, a travel report by Vinod Jacob 19 Aug 2005
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v • d • eShinkansen
Lines: Tōkaidō • Sanyō • Tōhoku • Jōetsu • Hokuriku • Kyūshū
Mini-Shinkansen: Yamagata • Akita • Future lines: Chūō • Hokkaidō • Cancelled lines: Narita
Trainsets: 0 Series • 100 Series • 200 Series • 300 Series • 400 Series • 500 Series • 700 Series • N700 Series • 800 Series • E1 Series • E2 Series • E3 Series • E4 Series • E5 Series
Export trainsets: 700T Series • CRH2 • Experimental trainsets: Fastech 360 Maglev trainsets: MLX-01
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Shinkansen literally means "New Trunk Line", referring to the tracks, but the name is widely used inside and outside Japan to refer to the trains as well as the system as a whole. The name "Superexpress" (超特急, chō-tokkyū?), initially used for Hikari trains, was retired in 1972 but is still used in English-language announcements and signage.
In contrast to older lines, Shinkansen are standard gauge, and use tunnels and viaducts to go through and over obstacles rather than around them. With a minimum curve radius of 4,000 meters (2,500 meters in the oldest Tōkaidō Shinkansen), the system was built entirely from the ground up on elevated tracks without road crossings and separate from conventional rail. It employs an ATC (Automatic Train Control) system, eliminating the need for signals.
The Tōkaidō Shinkansen is the world's busiest high-speed rail line. Carrying 375,000 passengers a day, it has transported more passengers (4.5 billion) than all other high speed lines in the world combined. Though largely a long-distance transport system, the Shinkansen also serves commuters who travel to work in metropolitan areas from outlying cities.
Contents[hide]
1 History
1.1 Early proposals
1.2 Construction
1.3 Network expansion
1.4 Safety record
2 Future
3 List of Shinkansen lines
3.1 Future lines
3.2 Shinkansen technology outside Japan
4 List of Shinkansen train models
5 List of types of Shinkansen services
6 Speed records
7 Gallery
8 Further reading
9 See also
10 External links
//
[edit] History
Shinkansen track is standard gauge, extremely level, with welded rails to reduce vibration.
Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high speed travel. Because of the mountainous terrain, the existing network consisted of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge lines, which generally took indirect routes and could not be adapted to higher speeds. Consequently, Japan had a greater need for new high speed lines than countries where the existing standard gauge or broad gauge rail system had more upgrade potential.
[edit] Early proposals
The popular English name bullet train is a literal translation of the Japanese term dangan ressha (弾丸列車), a nickname given to the project while it was initially being discussed in the 1930s. The name stuck due to the Shinkansen locomotive's resemblance to a bullet and its high speed.
The "Shinkansen" name was first formally used in 1940 for a proposed standard gauge passenger and freight line between Tokyo and Shimonoseki that would have used steam and electric locomotives with a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). Over the next three years, the Ministry of Railways drew up more ambitious plans to extend the line to Beijing (through a tunnel to Korea) and even Singapore, and build connections to the Trans-Siberian Railway and other trunk lines in Asia. These plans were abandoned in 1943 as Japan's position in World War II worsened. However, some construction did commence on the line; several tunnels on the present-day Shinkansen date to the war-era project.
In 1957, Odakyu Electric Railway introduced its Romancecar 3000 SE service, setting a world speed record of 145 km/h (90 mph) for a narrow gauge train. This train gave designers the confidence that they could safely build an even faster standard gauge train. Thus the first Shinkansen, the 0 Series, was built on the success of the Romancecar.
[edit] Construction
Mount Fuji with Shinkansen and Sakura trees in the foreground
Following the end of World War II, high speed rail was forgotten for several years while passengers steadily increased on the conventional Tōkaidō Main Line. By the mid-1950s the Tōkaidō Line was operating at full capacity, and the Ministry of Railways decided to revisit the Shinkansen project. Government approval came in December 1958, and construction of the first segment of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka started in April 1959. Some of the construction was financed by an US$80 million loan from the World Bank. A test facility for rolling stock, now part of the line, opened in Odawara in 1962.
The Tōkaidō Shinkansen opened on October 1, 1964, in time for the Tokyo Olympics. Conventional Limited Express service took six hours and 40 minutes from Tokyo to Osaka, but the Shinkansen made the trip in just four hours, shortened to three hours and ten minutes by 1965. The service was an immediate success, reaching the 100 million passenger mark in less than three years on July 13, 1967, and one billion passengers in 1976. Sixteen-car trains were introduced for Expo '70 in Osaka.
The first Shinkansen trains, the 0 series, ran at speeds of up to 210 km/h (130 mph)[1], later increased to 220 km/h (135 mph). The last of these trains, with their classic bullet-nosed appearance, were retired on 30 November 2008. A driving car from one of the 0 series trains is now in the British National Railway Museum in York, England.
[edit] Network expansion
The Tōkaidō Line's rapid success prompted an extension westward to Hiroshima and Fukuoka, the Sanyō Shinkansen), which was completed in 1975.
Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka was an ardent supporter of the Shinkansen, and his government proposed an extensive network paralleling most existing trunk lines. Two new lines, the Tōhoku Shinkansen and Jōetsu Shinkansen, were built following this plan. Many other planned lines were delayed or scrapped entirely as Japan National Railways slid into debt throughout the late '70s, largely due to the high cost of building the Shinkansen network. By the early 1980s, the company was practically insolvent, leading to its privatization in 1987.
Development of the Shinkansen continued despite this setback, however. Several new train models followed the first, each generally with its own distinctive appearance. Shinkansen trains now run regularly at speeds up to 300 km/h (186 mph), placing them alongside the French TGV, Italian TAV, Spanish AVE, and German ICE among the fastest trains in the world.
Since 1970, development has also been underway for the Chūō Shinkansen, a planned maglev line from Tokyo to Osaka. On December 2, 2003, the 3-car maglev trainset JR-Maglev MLX01 reached a world speed record of 581 km/h (361 mph).
In 2003, JR Central reported that the Shinkansen's average arrival time was within six seconds of the scheduled time. This includes all natural and human accidents and errors and is calculated over roughly 160,000 Shinkansen trips completed. The previous record, from 1997, was 18 seconds. Japan celebrated 40 years of high speed rail in 2004, with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen line alone having carried 4.16 billion passengers. According to Japanrail.com, the website for companies that operate Shinkansen, the network has carried over 6 billion passengers.
[edit] Safety record
During the Shinkansen's 44-year, nearly 7 billion-passenger history, there have been no passenger fatalities due to derailments or collisions, despite frequent earthquakes and typhoons. Injuries and a single fatality have been caused by doors closing on passengers or their belongings; attendants are employed at platforms to prevent such mishaps. There have, however, been suicides by passengers jumping both from and in front of moving trains. In comparison, there have been TGV accidents and InterCityExpress accidents resulting in fatalities, despite these systems' comparatively placid operating environments.
The only derailment of a Shinkansen train in passenger service occurred during the Chūetsu Earthquake on October 23, 2004. Eight of ten cars of the Toki No. 325 train on the Jōetsu Shinkansen derailed near Nagaoka Station in Nagaoka, Niigata. There were no casualties among the 154 passengers. [2]PDF (43.8 KiB) In the event of an earthquake, an earthquake detection system can bring the train to a stop very quickly. Experimental Fastech 360 trains have ear-like air resistance braking flaps to assist emergency stops at high speeds. A new anti-derailment device was installed after detailed analysis of the derailment.
[edit] Future
Construction of Hokuriku Shinkansen in Fukui
Noise pollution concerns mean that increasing speed is becoming more difficult. Current research is primarily aimed at reducing operational noise, particularly the "tunnel boom" phenomenon caused when trains exit tunnels at high speed.
JR East has announced that new trains capable of up to 320 km/h (199 mph) are to be introduced coinciding with the opening of the Tōhoku Shinkansen extension from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori in early 2011. Extensive trials using the Fastech 360 test trains has shown that operation at 360 km/h is not currently feasible due to problems of noise pollution, overhead wire wear, and braking distances. This may indicate the limits to railed Shinkansen technology, and eventually maglev or another technology will need to replace it. Operation at speeds of up to 320 km/h between Utsunomiya and Shin-Aomori is expected to allow journey times of around 3 hours for trains from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori (a distance of approximately 675 km or 419 miles).
The Kyūshū Shinkansen from Kagoshima to Yatsushiro opened in March 2004. Three more extensions are planned for opening by 2010: Hakata-Yatsushiro, Hachinohe-Aomori, and by 2014: Nagano-Kanazawa, and 2015: Aomori-Hakodate (through the Seikan Tunnel). There are also long-term plans to extend the network, Hokkaidō Shinkansen from Hakodate to Sapporo, Kyūshū Shinkansen to Nagasaki, as well as to complete a link from Kanazawa back to Osaka, although none of these are likely to be completed by 2020. Also, the CEO of JR Central announced plans to have the maglev Chūō Shinkansen operating Tokyo-Nagoya in 1 hr (366 km/227 miles) by 2025.
The Narita Shinkansen project to connect Tokyo to Narita International Airport, initiated in the 1970s but halted in 1983 after landowner protests, has been officially cancelled and removed from the Basic Plan governing Shinkansen construction. Parts of its planned right-of-way will be utilized by the Narita Rapid Railway link when it opens in 2010. Although the NRR will use standard-gauge track, it will not be built to Shinkansen specifications and it would not be feasible to convert it into a full Shinkansen line.
[edit] List of Shinkansen lines
Map of Shinkansen network.Lines in green: Operated by JR EastLines in yellow: Operated by JR CentralLines in blue: Operated by JR WestLines in red: Operated by JR KyūshūLines in gray: Planned
The main Shinkansen lines are:
Line
Start
End
Length
Operator
Tōkaidō Shinkansen
Tokyo
Shin-Osaka
515.4 km
JR Central
Sanyō Shinkansen
Shin-Osaka
Hakata
553.7 km
JR West
Tōhoku Shinkansen
Tokyo
Hachinohe
593.1 km
JR East
Jōetsu Shinkansen
Ōmiya
Niigata
269.5 km
Hokuriku Shinkansen or Nagano Shinkansen
Takasaki
Nagano
117.4 km
Kyūshū Shinkansen
Shin-Yatsushiro
Kagoshima-Chūō
126.8 km
JR Kyūshū
Two further lines, known as "Mini-Shinkansen", have also been constructed by upgrading existing sections of line:
Yamagata Shinkansen (Fukushima – Shinjō)
Akita Shinkansen (Morioka – Akita)
There are two standard gauge not technically classified as Shinkansen lines but with Shinkansen services:
Hakata Minami Line (Hakata – Hakata-Minami)
Gala-Yuzawa Line – technically a branch of the Jōetsu Line – (Echigo-Yuzawa – Gala-Yuzawa)
[edit] Future lines
Many Shinkansen lines were proposed during the boom of the early 1970s but have yet to be constructed. These are called Seibi Shinkansen (整備新幹線) or "planned Shinkansen." One of these lines, the Narita Shinkansen to Narita Airport, has been officially cancelled, but a few remain under development.
Tōhoku Shinkansen extension from Hachinohe Station to Shin-Aomori is under construction and will open by 2010.
Hokuriku Shinkansen extension to Kanazawa is under construction and will open by 2014. The complete extension of the line to Osaka is under development, and only Fukui Station is under construction.
Kyūshū Shinkansen extension to Hakata is under construction and will open by 2010.
The second Kyūshū Shinkansen route from Shin-Tosu to Nagasaki section is under development.
The Hokkaidō Shinkansen from Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate is under construction and will open by 2015. A further extension of the line from Shin-Hakodate to Sapporo is under development.
The other lines in the 1973 plan are:
Hokkaidō South Loop Shinkansen (北海道南回り新幹線, Hokkaidō Minami-mawari Shinkansen?): Oshamanbe - Muroran - Sapporo
Uetsu Shinkansen (羽越新幹線, Uetsu Shinkansen?): Toyama - Niigata - Akita
Ōu Shinkansen (奥羽新幹線, Ōu Shinkansen?): Fukushima - Yamagata - Akita
Hokuriku-Chūkyō Shinkansen (北陸・中京新幹線, Hokuriku-Chūkyō Shinkansen?): Nagoya - Tsuruga
San'in Shinkansen (山陰新幹線, San'in Shinkansen?): Osaka - Tottori - Matsue - Shimonoseki
Cross-Chūgoku Shinkansen (中国横断新幹線, Chūgoku Ōdan Shinkansen?): Okayama - Matsue
Shikoku Shinkansen (四国新幹線, Shikoku Shinkansen?): Osaka - Tokushima - Takamatsu - Matsuyama - Ōita
Cross-Shikoku Shinkansen (四国横断新幹線, Shikoku Ōdan Shinkansen?): Okayama - Kōchi - Matsuyama
East Kyūshū Shinkansen (東九州新幹線, Higashi-Kyūshū Shinkansen?): Fukuoka - Ōita - Miyazaki - Kagoshima
Cross-Kyūshū Shinkansen (九州横断新幹線, Kyūshū Ōdan Shinkansen?): Ōita - Kumamoto
In addition, the Basic Plan specifies that the Jōetsu Shinkansen should start from Shinjuku, not Tokyo Station, which would require building an additional 30 km of track between Shinjuku and Ōmiya. While no construction work was ever started, land along the proposed track, including an underground section leading to Shinjuku Station, remains reserved. If capacity on the current Tokyo-Ōmiya section proves insufficient once the Hokkaido and Hokuriku Shinkansen are operational, the construction of the Shinjuku-Ōmiya link may be proceed.
[edit] Shinkansen technology outside Japan
Railways using Shinkansen technology are not limited to those in Japan.
Taiwan High Speed Rail operates 700T Series sets built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
The China Railways CRH2 EMU, built by a consortium formed of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and Hitachi, is based on the E2-1000 Series design.
Class 395 EMUs were built by Hitachi based on Shinkansen technology for use on high-speed commuter services in Britain on the High Speed 1 line.
Japan is currently promoting its shinkansen technology to the Brazilian Government for use on the planned high speed rail link system set to crisscross Brazil.[citation needed]
[edit] List of Shinkansen train models
Trains can be up to sixteen cars long. With each car measuring 25 m (82 ft) in length, the longest trains are 400 m (1/4 mile) from front to back. Stations are similarly long to accommodate these trains. Japan's maglev trains are considered Shinkansen.
Series of Shinkansen
Mt. Ibuki with 300 Series
Shinkansen 700T train on a test run on the Taiwan High Speed Rail in June 2006.
N700: The Newest Model
Passenger Trains
0 Series
100 Series
200 Series
300 Series
400 Series (Mini-Shinkansen)
500 Series
700 Series
700T Series (Taiwan High Speed Rail, a.k.a. Taiwan Shinkansen)
N700 Series
800 Series
E1 Series (Max)
E2 Series
E3 Series (Mini-Shinkansen)
E4 Series (Max)
E5 Series (Currently on order)
Experimental Railed Trains
1000 Type
951 Type
961 Type
962 Type
500-900 Series (WIN 350)
952/953 Type (STAR 21)
955 Type (300X)
E954 Type (FASTECH 360 S)
E955 Type (FASTECH 360 Z)(Mini-Shinkansen)
Maglev Trains:
LSM200 - 1972
ML100 - 1972
ML100A - 1975
ML-500 - 1977
ML-500R - 1979
MLU001 - 1981
MLU002 - 1987
MLU002N - 1993
MLX01 - 1996
MLX01-901 - 2002
Maintenance Trains
911 Type Diesel Locomotive
912 Type Diesel Locomotive
DD18 Type Diesel Locomotive
DD19 Type Diesel Locomotive
944 Type (Rescue Train)
921 Type 0 Numbers (Track Checking Car)
922 Type (Doctor Yellow Set T1, T2, T3)
923 Type (Doctor Yellow Set T4, T5)
925 Type (Doctor Yellow Set S1, S2)
E926 Type (East i)(Mini-Shinkansen)
[edit] List of types of Shinkansen services
The Shinkansen fare system is integrated with Japan's low-speed intercity railway lines, but a surcharge is required to ride the Shinkansen. Here, an ordinary ticket from Tokyo to Takamatsu is coupled with a Shinkansen surcharge ticket from Tokyo to Okayama, allowing use of the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Okayama and use of local lines from Okayama to Takamatsu. For trips exclusively on one Shinkansen, the ordinary fare and Shinkansen surcharge may be combined on one ticket.
Originally intended to carry passenger and freight trains by day and night, the Shinkansen lines carry only passenger trains. The system shuts down between midnight and 06:00 every day for maintenance. The few overnight trains that still run in Japan run on the old narrow gauge network that the Shinkansen parallels.
Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Sanyō Shinkansen
Nozomi (のぞみ)
Hikari (ひかり)
Hikari Rail Star (in Sanyo area only) (ひかりレールスター)
Kodama (こだま)
Tohoku Shinkansen, Yamagata Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen
Hayate (はやて)
Yamabiko, Max Yamabiko (やまびこ)
Nasuno, Max Nasuno (なすの)
Aoba (discontinued) (あおば)
Komachi (Akita Shinkansen) (こまち)
Tsubasa (Yamagata Shinkansen) (つばさ)
Jōetsu Shinkansen
Toki, Max Toki (とき)
Tanigawa, Max Tanigawa (たにがわ)
Asahi (discontinued), Max Asahi (あさひ)(discontinued)
Hokuriku Shinkansen (Nagano Shinkansen)
Asama, Max Asama (あさま)
Kyūshū Shinkansen
Tsubame (つばめ)
[edit] Speed records
km/h (mph)
Train
Location
Date
Comments
200 (124.3)
1000 Type Shinkansen
Odawara test track, now part of Tōkaidō Shinkansen
31 October 1962
256 (159.1)
1000 Type Shinkansen
Odawara test track
30 March 1963
Former world speed record for EMU trains.
286 (177.7)
951 Type Shinkansen
Sanyō Shinkansen
24 February 1972
Former world speed record for EMU trains.
319.0 (198.2)
961 Type Shinkansen
Oyama test track, now part of Tōhoku Shinkansen
7 December 1979
Former world speed record for EMU trains.
325.7 (202.4)
300 series test train
Tōkaidō Shinkansen
28 February 1991
352.0 (218.7)
Class 952/953 test train
Jōetsu Shinkansen
30 October 1992
425.0 (264.1)
Class 952/953 test train
Jōetsu Shinkansen
21 December 1993
426.6 (265.1)
Class 955 (300X) test train
Tōkaidō Shinkansen
11 July 1996
443.0 (275.3)
Class 955 (300X) test train
Tōkaidō Shinkansen
26 July 1996
[edit] Gallery
0 Series
100 Series
200 Series
300 Series
400 Series
500 Series
700 Series
N700 Series
800 Series
E1 Series
E2 Series
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E3 Series
E4 Series
Doctor-Yellow
Fastech 360S
500 Series ordinary class
N700 Series Green class
800 Series ordinary class
[edit] Further reading
Hood, Christopher P. (2006). Shinkansen – From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-32052-6 (hb) or ISBN 0415444098. (pb)
[edit] See also
Taiwan High Speed Rail
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shinkansen
Biting the Bullet: What we can learn from the Shinkansen, discussion paper by Christopher Hood in the electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies, 23 May 2001
Byun Byun Shinkansen, a comprehensive guide by D.A.J. Fossett
Encyclopaedia Britannica Shinkansen
East meets West, a story of how the Shinkansen brought Tokyo and Osaka closer together.
Bullet on wheels, a travel report by Vinod Jacob 19 Aug 2005
[show]
v • d • eShinkansen
Lines: Tōkaidō • Sanyō • Tōhoku • Jōetsu • Hokuriku • Kyūshū
Mini-Shinkansen: Yamagata • Akita • Future lines: Chūō • Hokkaidō • Cancelled lines: Narita
Trainsets: 0 Series • 100 Series • 200 Series • 300 Series • 400 Series • 500 Series • 700 Series • N700 Series • 800 Series • E1 Series • E2 Series • E3 Series • E4 Series • E5 Series
Export trainsets: 700T Series • CRH2 • Experimental trainsets: Fastech 360 Maglev trainsets: MLX-01
[show]
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen"
Categories: High-speed rail in Japan High-speed trains Japanese words and phrases Shinkansen 1964 introductions Rail transport brands
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