#tokaido shinkansen

[merpmonde]

60 Years of the Tokaido Shinkansen!

On 1 October 1964, a railway line like no other opened. Connecting Tôkyô and Ôsaka, paralleling an existing main line, the Tôkaidô New Trunk Line had minimal curves, lots of bridges, zero level crossings. Striking white and blue electric multiple units, with noses shaped like bullets some would say, started zooming between the two cities as at the unheard-of speed of 210 km/h.

This was the start of the Shinkansen, inaugurating the age of high-speed rail.

The trains, with noses actually inspired by the aircraft of the time, originally didn't have a name, they were just "Shinkansen trains", as they couldn't mingle with other types anyway due to the difference in gauge between the Shinkansen (standard gauge, 1435 mm between rails) and the rest of the network (3'6" gauge, or 1067 mm between rails). The class would officially become the "0 Series" when new trains appeared in the 1980s, first the very similar 200 Series for the second new line, the Tôhoku Shinkansen, then the jet-age 100 Series. Yes, the 200 came first, as it was decided that trains heading North-East from Tôkyô would be given even first numbers, and trains heading West would have odd first numbers (0 is even, but never mind).

Hence the next new type to appear on the Tôkaidô Shinkansen was the 300 Series (second from left), designed by the privatised JR Tôkai to overcome some shortcomings of the line. Indeed, the curves on the Tôkaidô were still too pronounced to allow speeds to be increased, while all other new lines had been built ready for 300 km/h operations. But a revolution in train design allowed speeds to be raised from 220 km/h in the 80s to 285 km/h today, with lightweight construction (on the 300), active suspension (introduced on the 700 Series, left) and slight tilting (standard on the current N700 types).

Examples of five generations of train used on the Tôkaidô Shinkansen are preserved at JR Tôkai's museum, the SCMaglev & Railway Park, in Nagoya, with the N700 prototype lead car outdoors. It's striking to see how far high-speed train technology has come in Japan in 60 years. The network itself covers the country almost end-to-end, with a nearly continuous line from Kyûshû to Hokkaidô along the Pacific coast (no through trains at Tôkyô), and four branch lines inland and to the North coast, one of which recently got extended.

東海道新幹線、お誕生日おめでおう！

[my-b-side-life-aii]

東海道新幹線 N700S 藤の花 藤棚 みはらし広場 綾瀬市

富士フィルム X-H1 XF56mmF1.2R

去年とは、趣を変えて中望遠レンズで。

※近隣のそば処でランチ：そば処 名古屋の力（ちから）蕎麦※

[redsamuraiii]

JR Tokaido Shinkansen Commercial feat. Yoshitaka Yuriko

[den-ichinomiya]

Taking photos from a very fast-moving train. It is no easy task for me. Especially my seat was an aisle seat of Nozomi. What would I do without my iPhone?

[radioshiga]

Trem-bala Tokaido enfrenta possíveis atrasos nesta terça-feira (23)

Nagoya, Prefeitura de Aichi, Japão, 23 de julho de 2024 – Agência de Notícias Kyodo – Passageiros do trem-bala Tokaido Shinkansen foram alertados sobre possíveis atrasos ou cancelamentos na terça-feira (23), um dia após a colisão entre veículos de manutenção ferroviária que causou graves interrupções nos serviços. A operadora Central Japan Railway Company informou que um veículo de manutenção…

[eztouringjp]

[mechanisedsandcastle]

Buying silly little toy trains is dangerously close to becoming a new hobby.

[trendydigests]

Japan Tests Self-Driving Bullet Train on Tokaido Shinkansen Line

Japan is moving closer to having fully automated high-speed trains on its busiest railway line by 2028. Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, announced that it successfully tested a self-driving Shinkansen train on the Tokaido Shinkansen line, which connects Tokyo and Osaka. Embed from Getty Images The test was conducted on May 11, when the driver of the newest N700S Shinkansen train pressed…

[sukimas]

How accurate do you think the hifuuture is supposed to be towards our own (per ZUN's views and realistically ig)?

Per ZUN’s views I think it’s meant to be plausible in a sense that most sci-fi is not (barring of course the fucking magic.) I don’t think it’s meant to be an exact prediction of what he thinks will happen in our future. But on the note of realism, I think it’s pretty funny that a fair number of things predicted in it are coming true in ways— such as the Chūō Shinkansen, quite similar to the Boyu Tokaido, for example. There’s only so much we can know for now; after all the Boyu Tokaido was in operation long before the girls were born, after all…

But I think it’s not “wouldn’t it be crazy if this happened?” and more “this seems like where we’re headed in the next hundred years or so to me, maybe”.

[0x4468c7a6a728]

Okay, I wanna see if you can do this one...!

It's a bit of a natural backdrop, so it might be tricky, but maybe your train knowledge will come in handy?

this is on the Tokaido Shinkansen, looking at Mount Ibuki around 35°21'55.9"N 136°23'01.8"E! that's pretty obviously the window of a shinkansen train, specifically an N700A Series! I just kinda assumed it was the tokaido shinkansen and then figured out which mountain along that was the right shape then looked for an electrical substation!

as a neat bonus, there's a train in motion at that exact spot on google maps :3

[merpmonde]

Japan's rail speed record holder: 300X

Sticking with the Tôkaidô Shinkansen and the SCMaglev & Railway Park, this is the (highly abridged) story of the fastest conventional train in Japan.

Following privatisation and sectorisation in the 1980s, and seeing France and Germany take the lead in the high-speed train department, the three JR companies that had Shinkansen lines set about catching up to offer 300 km/h services where they could. The aerodynamics and sheer weight of the venerable 0 Series and its derivatives weren't going to cut it, so each company designed a prototype train to test new technologies.

JR Tôkai's solution was 300X, officially Shinkansen Class 955 - numbers starting with 9 are trains not open to the public, either prototypes or work trains like Class 923 "Doctor Yellow". Launched two years after JR West's WIN350 and JR East's STAR21, it featured two radically different end cars. The more elegant one, in my opinion, is on display at JR Tôkai's museum in Nagoya, while the other is preserved at JR Group's research centre in Maibara. The intermediate cars have all been scrapped.

The three prototypes took turns to hold the national rail speed record, and, 300X being the last, it took the record last, and holds it to this day. We mentioned the fact that the Tôkaidô Shinkansen still had too many relatively tight turns, but the Maibara to Kyôto stretch is the best part, and that's where this train hit 443 km/h in 1996. This video may, or may not, be that run, but it still looks very fast - note the unusually large, "flying saucer" pantograph cowlings.

Unless JR East decide to go completely bonkers with their ALFA-X prototype, it's unlikely that the record is going to be beaten any time soon. It's not in the spirit of these trains, they are pure test beds and run quite extensively with the aim of increasing service speeds. Records also require special preparation of the tracks, which is why the French TGVs made their 1990 and 2007 record runs before the opening of a brand new line.

But JR Tôkai have gone much faster with their Maglev programme, which holds the world speed record for passenger trains outright with 603 km/h. Behind 300X at the museum is a predecessor of that record holder, MLX01, the first Maglev train to clock over 500 km/h. Again, this is not (just) showboating, the lengthy test programme's main aim is to prove that consistent service at very high speed with this technology is feasible, so that the Maglev Chûô Shinkansen can achieve this when it opens (if Yamanashi-ken can agree on a route).

[my-b-side-life-aii]

東海道新幹線 新横浜 小田原 n700a みはらし広場 ノウゼンカズラ

富士フィルム X-T1 XF35mmF2R WR

※近隣のモールにてランチ：幸楽苑のプレミアム醤油らーめん※

[1863-project]

What *are* bullet trains, really? I know that the hype around them is how fast they are, but how do they work? Is there anything specific that makes them faster or is it just thanks to the more streamlined design?

I'm going to do my best to put this in layman's terms, so feel free to let me know if anything is confusing!

The term Shinkansen literally translates into "new main line" or "new trunk line." The project was originally discussed in the 1930s, but World War II more or less put it on hold for some time. In the earliest days of the project, the design of the trainsets did lead them to be referred to as "dangan ressha," which does actually translate to "bullet train." One of the major people spearheading the project was Hideo Shima, who was also responsible for the D51 and C62 steam locomotives, both beloved in Japan to this day. His greatest champion was Shinji Sogou, who knew the Shinkansen needed to be standard gauge to operate at higher speeds. Despite opposition, Sogou convinced politicians to back the plans for what would become the Tokaido Shinkansen. When it got too expensive, both Shima and Sogou resigned, but today they're regarded far more favorably, because the line was absurdly successful right out of the gate. Before the Shinkansen, it took over six hours to get between Tokyo and Osaka. The new train, launched in 1964 just in time for the Olympics, did the same trip in four hours, and was doing it in three hours and ten minutes one year later.

This post isn't really meant to talk about history, though, it's about how these things work, so let's get down to it.

The key to their success: the Shinkansen uses EMUs, electric multiple units.

If you live in an urban area, you've probably seen an EMU before if your city has mass transit. The NYC Subway, for one example, uses EMUs. There are no set locomotives on the Shinkansen, just cars with cabs; as you've probably seen, the ones where engineers drive from have those lovely streamlined snouts. This actually reduces the weight of the trainset, as they don't need to keep a power source on board - all their power is transmitted from the electrical wires above via pantographs. The pantograph is the little arm that reaches up from the train to touch the wires. Here's a Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 with a pantograph up for comparison:

(image source; this GG1 is Blackjack and she lives at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, PA)

The modern pantographs on the Shinkansen trainsets are a lot sleeker and quieter. Here's how it looks on the E6:

(image source)

The Shinkansen cars also have a larger loading gauge than most rolling stock. This means trains can have 5-across seating instead of the 4-across seating most passenger trains do, which in turn means you can move the same amount of passengers with a shorter, and therefore lighter, trainset.

They also benefit from traction - all wheel axles are powered, because the Shinkansen are EMUs. More motored axles means higher acceleration, which means the Shinkansen can stop more frequently and immediately pick up the pace right away once it's time to get moving again. Because of this, Shinkansen lines have more stops in proportion to their lengths than other high-speed rail systems do, since they can accelerate back up to top speed faster.

The current fastest Shinkansen model is my favorite, the E5 and its sister, the H5.

(image source)

The E5 and the H5 can hit around 200 mph at their maximum when they're allowed to stretch their legs, and they have the most gorgeous streamlining, with sleek snouts and really cool paint jobs. I have a few models of the E5 in my room in my apartment.

They'll be surpassed in speed when the SCMaglev officially opens - but that's an entirely different form of technology from the Shinkansen. That thing is going to be incredible.

Importantly, the Shinkansen lines are kept completely separate from slower lines.

This way, they don't cross with narrow gauge trains, other passenger trains, or freight trains, which enables them to run at higher speeds without having to slow down or stop to let other trains through. This also allows them to maintain those speeds safely. If you're American, you're probably aware of how this limits Amtrak speeds - they have to share the rails with the freight companies, and even on the Northeast Corridor, where the Acela runs, there are only a few pockets where the trains can really whip because of this. This is actually a crucial element to making high-speed rail successful and safe.

I hope this is what you had in mind, anon!

[putschki1969]

2023/09/06 Instagram post by Wakana

“Kaiyukan” Part 4!! ️🌊🦈🌊 This will be the last Kaiyukan post 👏 In addition to all the animals, there were also interactive exhibits that I really enjoyed🤗✨ This time, I was able to walk around the museum while listening to various explanations of staff members 😆 I feel grateful! ️✨ There are still many things I don't know about the ocean and sea creatures🧐 My endless journey to discover aquariums continues...!! ️!! (Source)

Wakana's Talk Garden#1 「Summer Troubles」

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❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ Do ❗NOT SHARE❗ on other sites ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

As announced a few days ago, Wakana is starting a podcast for Botanical Land members titled “Wakana’s Talk Garden”! A new episode will be posted once a month, the first one is already available on her fan club site! Episode #2 is scheduled to release on October 10. For future episodes, Wakana will let Botanical Land members contribute to the main talk topics and everyone can send in submissions (she's also thinking about small presents to those whose messages get picked up to be read during an episode). Be sure to join check it out!

The first episode was was quite reminiscent of YK's radio episodes, a lot calmer and toned down than what I would expect from Wakana XD. Wakana really enjoyed recording those "Sono Saki e" audio lyric essays she did for Uta Net so she is now trying to reproduce that atmosphere with her podcast. I'm glad she's getting some use out of the fancy microphone in her living room (although she is not using her special sound shield for these recordings even though it would probably be perfect for this purpose. She says she wanted the audio to be more casual and free-style). For next month, the topics are as follows =>

What comes to mind when you think of "autumn"?

Are you the type of person who takes comfort in things that don't change? Or are you the type who wants change?

2023/09/10 Blog post by Wakana おしゃべりガーデン始まりました！〜エアコンと新幹線とサバ美味しい〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ Do ❗NOT SHARE❗ on other sites ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Launch of My Talk Garden ! ~ Air cons, Shinkansen and Delicious Mackerels~

The first topic for my new podcast "Wakana's Talk Garden" was "Summer Troubles" so I had the chance to talk about lots of stuff with you😄Somehow I ended up talking for 30 minutes…🤔I hope you can listen to it when it's convenient for you, maybe while you are commuting or while doing something else. It seems like I make a lot of mistakes when I'm recording all by myself. When I listened to the audio after I had finished, I noticed so many little mistakes 😂😂 First of all, when I talked about my air conditioner being able to detect the outside temperature and start/stop the cooling function accordingly, I called this feature a "rest mode", but apparently, such a term does not exist.

And at one point I said "short-sleeved pajamas" although I meant to say "short-sleeved lounge-wear". I always wear long sleeves when I sleep, even in the summer *laughs*. I love these organic cotton pajamas and have been wearing them for about 10 years...😳Even though they're a little shabby, I still love them.

And I mentioned that the in-car wagon sales service on the Tokaido Shinkansen was no longer available but I was wrong! It is in fact still available but not for much longer, the service will end on October 31! So everyone, use that opportunity as long as the service is still available! Until then, let's all buy the infamous ultra hard ice cream\\\\٩( 'ω' )و ////

Speaking of October, episode #2 is scheduled for October 10th! The talk theme is:

What comes to mind when you think of "autumn"?

Are you the type of person who takes comfort in things that don't change? Or are you the type who wants change?

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts related to autumn! As for the second question, you can tell me your habits, for example, if you like to move around a lot and change your environment? Or if you wear the same pajamas all the time? (that might just be me) By the way, I have lived in the same place for 12 years! I guess I am the type that feels comfort in things remaining stable 😂

Visit the fan club site to check out the first episode, to share your opinions/impressions and to send in submissions for the next episode! ↓↓↓↓↓ https://wakana-fc.jp/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊