Bullet Train
Bullet train refer toThe Shinkansen high speed trains of Japan.
1. Bullet Train High speed train
A bullet train is a term used to describe a high speed passenger rail train. Originating in Japan, it is so named because of its sleek, aerodynamic appearance and its speed. The actual Japanese word for this rail service is Shinkansen, which, when literally translated into English, means ?new trunk lines.Public transportation is an important element of Japanese society, as the topography of the island nation limits the amount of available and usable space for roads. For many people, mass transportation is their main means of transportation. In light of this fact, the bullet train was conceived as a high speed railway that would reduce the travel time between Japan?s large cities.
The train achieves its high speed through the use of an aerodynamic shape and technology designed to fully maximize the power of the train. The railroad tracks for it were developed specifically for high speed rail service. Conventional trains do not run on the Shinkansen lines and high speed trains do not run on conventional tracks. This allows the trains to run at consistently high speeds, without having to reduce their operating speeds for slower trains on the tracks.The tracks are not designed to go around hills or mountains. Rather, a system of tunnels and viaducts allow the trains to go through any obstruction, which helps the Shinkansen maintain its high speeds. There are no railroad crossings, no changes of the right of way, and limited stops on the route.
The bullet train began service in Japan in late 1964, connecting the cities of Tokyo and Osaka. The original trains traveled at approximately 125 miles per hour (200 kilometers per hour.) This allowed the 320 mile (550 kilometer) distance between Tokyo and Osaka to be traveled in about three hours.
Today, the system consists of eight lines of service throughout most of Japan. It can reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour) and make the journey between Tokyo and Osaka in approximately two and one half hours. Since the Shinkansen began operation in 1964, over 6 billion passengers have traveled on the railway, and there have been no major accidents.
The success of the high speed rail line in Japan encouraged other nations to develop their own similar programs. High-speed rail is now a fixture of mass transportation in many European and Asian nations. Two of the more notable services are in France and Spain.The French Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) line is widely considered to be the most extensive high-speed rail system in Europe. The TGV began service in 1981 between the cities of Paris and Lyon. By 2007, the line had over 200 destinations throughout France and in neighboring countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. It is estimated that, as of 2009, the system has carried in excess of 1.3 billion passengers since service began.
Spain's bullet train service, known as the Alta Velocidad Espa?ola, or AVE, began service in 1992 between the cities of Seville and Madrid. It has now expanded north to the city of Barcelona and south of Seville to the city of Malaga. Spain is planning future expansion of the line, which would ultimately create a larger network than the French line.
Other nations with high speed rail include the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Portugal Taiwan and South Korea. China began development of its own program in the late 1990s and early 2000s. High speed service began in Shanghai in 2004, and in 2008, service between Beijing and Tianjin was inaugurated. China is now embarking on an ambitious expansion program to provide high speed service throughout the nation.
Bullet Train Guide includes history of the Japanese Bullet Train, Bullet Train Speeds, Bullet Train pictures, Bullet Train video and Bullet Train specifications.Known in the West as the "Bullet Train", the Shinkansen is a high speed inter city train in Japan.The ride on the bullet train (Shinkansen) is more like an airplane without some of the hassles. Cost wise the bullet train is fairly similar to flying within Japan, but with the advantage that your start and end right in the middle of the city.
The train achieves its high speed through the use of an aerodynamic shape and technology designed to fully maximize the power of the train. The railroad tracks for it were developed specifically for high speed rail service. Conventional trains do not run on the Shinkansen lines and high speed trains do not run on conventional tracks. This allows the trains to run at consistently high speeds, without having to reduce their operating speeds for slower trains on the tracks.The tracks are not designed to go around hills or mountains. Rather, a system of tunnels and viaducts allow the trains to go through any obstruction, which helps the Shinkansen maintain its high speeds. There are no railroad crossings, no changes of the right of way, and limited stops on the route.
The bullet train began service in Japan in late 1964, connecting the cities of Tokyo and Osaka. The original trains traveled at approximately 125 miles per hour (200 kilometers per hour.) This allowed the 320 mile (550 kilometer) distance between Tokyo and Osaka to be traveled in about three hours.
Today, the system consists of eight lines of service throughout most of Japan. It can reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour) and make the journey between Tokyo and Osaka in approximately two and one half hours. Since the Shinkansen began operation in 1964, over 6 billion passengers have traveled on the railway, and there have been no major accidents.
The success of the high speed rail line in Japan encouraged other nations to develop their own similar programs. High-speed rail is now a fixture of mass transportation in many European and Asian nations. Two of the more notable services are in France and Spain.The French Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) line is widely considered to be the most extensive high-speed rail system in Europe. The TGV began service in 1981 between the cities of Paris and Lyon. By 2007, the line had over 200 destinations throughout France and in neighboring countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. It is estimated that, as of 2009, the system has carried in excess of 1.3 billion passengers since service began.
Spain's bullet train service, known as the Alta Velocidad Espa?ola, or AVE, began service in 1992 between the cities of Seville and Madrid. It has now expanded north to the city of Barcelona and south of Seville to the city of Malaga. Spain is planning future expansion of the line, which would ultimately create a larger network than the French line.
Other nations with high speed rail include the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Portugal Taiwan and South Korea. China began development of its own program in the late 1990s and early 2000s. High speed service began in Shanghai in 2004, and in 2008, service between Beijing and Tianjin was inaugurated. China is now embarking on an ambitious expansion program to provide high speed service throughout the nation.
Bullet Train Guide includes history of the Japanese Bullet Train, Bullet Train Speeds, Bullet Train pictures, Bullet Train video and Bullet Train specifications.Known in the West as the "Bullet Train", the Shinkansen is a high speed inter city train in Japan.The ride on the bullet train (Shinkansen) is more like an airplane without some of the hassles. Cost wise the bullet train is fairly similar to flying within Japan, but with the advantage that your start and end right in the middle of the city.
2. Early research
High speed rail development began in Germany in 1899 when the Prussian state railway joined with ten electrical and engineering firms and electrified 72 kilometres (45 mi) of military owned railway between Marienfelde and Zossen. The line used three phase current at 10 kilovolts and 45 Hz.
The Van der Zypen & Charlier company of Deutz, Cologne built two railcars, one fitted with electrical equipment from Siemens Halske, the second with equipment from Allgemeine Elektricitats Gesellschaft (AEG), that were tested on the Marienfelde Zossen line during 1902 and 1903.On 23 October 1903, the S&H equipped railcar achieved a speed of 206.7 km/h (128.4 mph) and on 27 October the AEG equipped railcar achieved 210.2 km/h (130.6 mph).These trains demonstrated the feasibility of electric high speed rail however regularly scheduled electric high speed rail travel was still more than 30 years away.
Early German high speed network
On May 15, 1933, the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft company introduced the diesel powered Fliegender Hamburger in regular service between Hamburg and Berlin (286 km), thereby establishing the fastest regular service in the world, with a regular top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). This train was a streamlined multi powered unit, albeit diesel, and used Jakobs bogies some 47 years before the advent of the TGV.Following the success of the Hamburg line, the steam-powered Henschel Wegmann Train was developed and introduced in June 1936 for service from Berlin to Dresden, with a regular top speed of 160 km/h (100 mph).Further development allowed the usage of these Fliegenden Z
The Van der Zypen & Charlier company of Deutz, Cologne built two railcars, one fitted with electrical equipment from Siemens Halske, the second with equipment from Allgemeine Elektricitats Gesellschaft (AEG), that were tested on the Marienfelde Zossen line during 1902 and 1903.On 23 October 1903, the S&H equipped railcar achieved a speed of 206.7 km/h (128.4 mph) and on 27 October the AEG equipped railcar achieved 210.2 km/h (130.6 mph).These trains demonstrated the feasibility of electric high speed rail however regularly scheduled electric high speed rail travel was still more than 30 years away.
Early German high speed network
On May 15, 1933, the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft company introduced the diesel powered Fliegender Hamburger in regular service between Hamburg and Berlin (286 km), thereby establishing the fastest regular service in the world, with a regular top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). This train was a streamlined multi powered unit, albeit diesel, and used Jakobs bogies some 47 years before the advent of the TGV.Following the success of the Hamburg line, the steam-powered Henschel Wegmann Train was developed and introduced in June 1936 for service from Berlin to Dresden, with a regular top speed of 160 km/h (100 mph).Further development allowed the usage of these Fliegenden Z
3. Bullet Train Technologies
The Shinkansen has succeeded thanks to several kinds of technology,A streamlined body
To achieve speeds of 200 kilometers per hour (130 miles per hour) and more, the trains needed to be as aerodynamic (to cause as little wind resistance) as possible. That is why the front cars of the Shinkansen trains are tapered like the nose of an airplane.
Minimizing vibration
When trains reach high speeds, the wheels vibrate on the rails. If this vibration reaches the passenger compartments, it can make them fall apart. To prevent this, the passenger compartments ride on top of flatcars. These are fitted with an air spring that uses compressed air to absorb the wheel vibration so that it does not reach the passenger compartments.
Modern tracks
Until the Shinkansen was built, Japan did not have the wide-gauge (1,435 millimeters wide) railway tracks that were the standard in the rest of the world. Instead, Japanese trains ran on narrow gauge tracks (1,067 millimeters wide). Most people felt that wide gauge railway tracks were necessary to move large numbers of people and large volumes of goods, so wide gauge tracks were built for the Shinkansen. And to allow the trains to go as fast as possible, Shinkansen tracks have no sharp curves. Also, Shinkansen tracks never cross other railway lines on the same level, so the trains never have to stop and wait for other trains to pass.
Automatic Train Control
On regular trains, drivers adjust the trains speed according to the signals they see along the tracks. But Shinkansen trains travel at over 200 kilometers per hour, making it almost impossible for drivers to read signals as they whiz past. So Shinkansen trains have a different kind of speed control system, known as ATC. With this system, speed information is transmitted along the track and is received by a signal attached to the drivers seat. The ATC automatically keeps the train running within the designated speed limit. The Shinkansen also depends on Centralized Traffic Control, a system that makes sure there is enough time and distance between trains so that the high speed train system operates smoothly and safely.Thanks to these technologies, the Shinkansen has been running continuously since it first opened, with no major accidents. As of 1999, its thirty fifth year of operation, the Shinkansen had carried a total of about 5.6 billion passengers along its Tokaido Sanyo, Tohoku, Joetsu, and Nagano routes. Thats almost as many as all the people in the world.
To achieve speeds of 200 kilometers per hour (130 miles per hour) and more, the trains needed to be as aerodynamic (to cause as little wind resistance) as possible. That is why the front cars of the Shinkansen trains are tapered like the nose of an airplane.
Minimizing vibration
When trains reach high speeds, the wheels vibrate on the rails. If this vibration reaches the passenger compartments, it can make them fall apart. To prevent this, the passenger compartments ride on top of flatcars. These are fitted with an air spring that uses compressed air to absorb the wheel vibration so that it does not reach the passenger compartments.
Modern tracks
Until the Shinkansen was built, Japan did not have the wide-gauge (1,435 millimeters wide) railway tracks that were the standard in the rest of the world. Instead, Japanese trains ran on narrow gauge tracks (1,067 millimeters wide). Most people felt that wide gauge railway tracks were necessary to move large numbers of people and large volumes of goods, so wide gauge tracks were built for the Shinkansen. And to allow the trains to go as fast as possible, Shinkansen tracks have no sharp curves. Also, Shinkansen tracks never cross other railway lines on the same level, so the trains never have to stop and wait for other trains to pass.
Automatic Train Control
On regular trains, drivers adjust the trains speed according to the signals they see along the tracks. But Shinkansen trains travel at over 200 kilometers per hour, making it almost impossible for drivers to read signals as they whiz past. So Shinkansen trains have a different kind of speed control system, known as ATC. With this system, speed information is transmitted along the track and is received by a signal attached to the drivers seat. The ATC automatically keeps the train running within the designated speed limit. The Shinkansen also depends on Centralized Traffic Control, a system that makes sure there is enough time and distance between trains so that the high speed train system operates smoothly and safely.Thanks to these technologies, the Shinkansen has been running continuously since it first opened, with no major accidents. As of 1999, its thirty fifth year of operation, the Shinkansen had carried a total of about 5.6 billion passengers along its Tokaido Sanyo, Tohoku, Joetsu, and Nagano routes. Thats almost as many as all the people in the world.
4. Benefits of high speed Train
1.Less smog in the city: While there is still some controversy over which form of transportation is more fuel efficient, trains or cars, the amount of smog and pollution released into the city is much less with a high speed train than with the number of cars necessary to transport the same amount of people.
2.Reverse sprawl: High speed trains could reverse the current tendency for cities to sprawl as wide as they can, with lots of new growth on the fringes and a neglected city center. A high speed rail network could revitalize America?s ?Main Streets?.
3.Increased walkability: Fewer cars in the city centers means more space for people, and the push toward more walkable cities benefits more than just those who live there.
4.More efficient use of time: Riding a train instead of driving frees up your attention and time to focus on the things you want from getting more work done to getting more downtime to catch up on your reading. And for trips of less than 400 miles, high speed trains can get you from downtown to downtown in about the same amount of time that air travel can, at a much lower cost.
5.Reduced congestion: What price do we put on the time we?re stuck in traffic? How about $87.2 billion a year lost in automotive gridlock? If you live in a city with horribly congested freeways, you may be spending more time sitting than you do actually driving. But since a single train track can carry the same amount of people as a 10 lane highway, high speed trains could help relieve some of that traffic jam angst.
6.Reduced dependence on foreign oil: A high speed rail network carrying electric trains could be powered by renewable energy sources, reducing our need for foreign oil, with all of its accompanying side effects.
7.Safer than driving: Tens of thousands of people die each year in automobile accidents, but trains are one of the safest forms of transportation we currently have.
High speed trains in the Midwest would be three times as energy efficient as cars and six times as energy efficient as planes. Choosing rail travel over driving or flying will decrease our dependence on foreign oil and reduce air pollution that causes global warming and harms public health.
Currently, major portions of the Midwest suffer from ?severe? smog problems,according to federal regulators. The construction of high speed rail will decrease the region?s reliance on automotive transportation and therefore help reduce ozone emissions.Downtown train stations will pull jobs, people and business back into the country?s central cities thus reversing sprawl.High speed rail reduces the need for new outlying highways and airports which exacerbate sprawl.At distances of less than 400 miles, high speed trains can deliver you downtown to downtown almost as fast as airplanes at a fraction of the cost, and can do so in virtually all weather.With wide seats, fax machines, places to plug in your laptop computer, and food service, high speed trains provide a convenient, productive alternative to cars and airplanes.
The economic value of the improved mobility has been valued at $13.2 billion through 2030.High speed rail offers convenient service to most of the region?s major airports, allowing residents of smaller communities the benefits of affordable long distance travel.Constructing a Midwest high speed rail network supports commuter and light rail. In Chicago, for example, high speed trains will share Union Station with METRA commuter trains, increasing ridership on both.High speed rail will provide $1.3 billion in highway congestion relief and $700 million in airport congestion relief.A single railroad track can carry as many people as a ten lane highway at a fraction of the cost.
For the City of Chicago, a high speed rail hub will have the equivalent economic impact of a medium sized airport located in the heart of the central business district without having to displace a single office.The Midwest?s railcar manufacturing industry will prosper as a result of the addition of high speed rail to the region.
As the redevelopment of train stations in Washington D.C. and Kalamazoo have demonstrated, train terminals can become the focal points for commercial redevelopment and promote substantial new development in surrounding areas. A study for the City of Chicago estimated that high speed rail would bring $8-10 billion dollars of new economic activity to Chicago.A high speed rail network pulls together the regional economy and promotes intra regional business growth. The economic impact of Midwestern intra regional trade greatly exceeds the potential benefits of increased trade with Canada and Mexico spurred by NAFTA.The development of improved rail service can provide a significant boost to travel and tourism by facilitating weekend leisure trips by families from smaller towns to the major cities and vice versa.
High speed rail delivers fast, efficient transportation so riders can save time, energy, and money. HSR is extremely reliable and operates in all weather conditions. HSR is not subject to congestion, so it operates on schedule every day without delay especially during rush hour and peak travel times.HSR spurs the revitalization of cities by encouraging high density, mixed use real estate development around the stations. HSR also fosters economic development in second tier cities along train routes.HSR links cities together into integrated regions that can then function as a single stronger economy.HSR broadens labor markets and offers workers a wider network of employers to choose from. HSR encourages and enables the development of technology clusters with fast easy access between locations. HSR also expands visitor markets and tourism while increasing visitor spending.The many benefits HSR delivers spread throughout regions that have HSR, encouraging economic development across a large area.
This is one important issue that Republicans and Democrats see the value in The national high speed rail network will create millions of good jobs, stimulate the economy, create entirely new industries, be the catalyst for the next real estate boom, save businesses money, increase mobility, reduce dependence on oil, reduce our annual $700 billion trade deficit, and significantly increase national security.
2.Reverse sprawl: High speed trains could reverse the current tendency for cities to sprawl as wide as they can, with lots of new growth on the fringes and a neglected city center. A high speed rail network could revitalize America?s ?Main Streets?.
3.Increased walkability: Fewer cars in the city centers means more space for people, and the push toward more walkable cities benefits more than just those who live there.
4.More efficient use of time: Riding a train instead of driving frees up your attention and time to focus on the things you want from getting more work done to getting more downtime to catch up on your reading. And for trips of less than 400 miles, high speed trains can get you from downtown to downtown in about the same amount of time that air travel can, at a much lower cost.
5.Reduced congestion: What price do we put on the time we?re stuck in traffic? How about $87.2 billion a year lost in automotive gridlock? If you live in a city with horribly congested freeways, you may be spending more time sitting than you do actually driving. But since a single train track can carry the same amount of people as a 10 lane highway, high speed trains could help relieve some of that traffic jam angst.
6.Reduced dependence on foreign oil: A high speed rail network carrying electric trains could be powered by renewable energy sources, reducing our need for foreign oil, with all of its accompanying side effects.
7.Safer than driving: Tens of thousands of people die each year in automobile accidents, but trains are one of the safest forms of transportation we currently have.
High speed trains in the Midwest would be three times as energy efficient as cars and six times as energy efficient as planes. Choosing rail travel over driving or flying will decrease our dependence on foreign oil and reduce air pollution that causes global warming and harms public health.
Currently, major portions of the Midwest suffer from ?severe? smog problems,according to federal regulators. The construction of high speed rail will decrease the region?s reliance on automotive transportation and therefore help reduce ozone emissions.Downtown train stations will pull jobs, people and business back into the country?s central cities thus reversing sprawl.High speed rail reduces the need for new outlying highways and airports which exacerbate sprawl.At distances of less than 400 miles, high speed trains can deliver you downtown to downtown almost as fast as airplanes at a fraction of the cost, and can do so in virtually all weather.With wide seats, fax machines, places to plug in your laptop computer, and food service, high speed trains provide a convenient, productive alternative to cars and airplanes.
The economic value of the improved mobility has been valued at $13.2 billion through 2030.High speed rail offers convenient service to most of the region?s major airports, allowing residents of smaller communities the benefits of affordable long distance travel.Constructing a Midwest high speed rail network supports commuter and light rail. In Chicago, for example, high speed trains will share Union Station with METRA commuter trains, increasing ridership on both.High speed rail will provide $1.3 billion in highway congestion relief and $700 million in airport congestion relief.A single railroad track can carry as many people as a ten lane highway at a fraction of the cost.
For the City of Chicago, a high speed rail hub will have the equivalent economic impact of a medium sized airport located in the heart of the central business district without having to displace a single office.The Midwest?s railcar manufacturing industry will prosper as a result of the addition of high speed rail to the region.
As the redevelopment of train stations in Washington D.C. and Kalamazoo have demonstrated, train terminals can become the focal points for commercial redevelopment and promote substantial new development in surrounding areas. A study for the City of Chicago estimated that high speed rail would bring $8-10 billion dollars of new economic activity to Chicago.A high speed rail network pulls together the regional economy and promotes intra regional business growth. The economic impact of Midwestern intra regional trade greatly exceeds the potential benefits of increased trade with Canada and Mexico spurred by NAFTA.The development of improved rail service can provide a significant boost to travel and tourism by facilitating weekend leisure trips by families from smaller towns to the major cities and vice versa.
High speed rail delivers fast, efficient transportation so riders can save time, energy, and money. HSR is extremely reliable and operates in all weather conditions. HSR is not subject to congestion, so it operates on schedule every day without delay especially during rush hour and peak travel times.HSR spurs the revitalization of cities by encouraging high density, mixed use real estate development around the stations. HSR also fosters economic development in second tier cities along train routes.HSR links cities together into integrated regions that can then function as a single stronger economy.HSR broadens labor markets and offers workers a wider network of employers to choose from. HSR encourages and enables the development of technology clusters with fast easy access between locations. HSR also expands visitor markets and tourism while increasing visitor spending.The many benefits HSR delivers spread throughout regions that have HSR, encouraging economic development across a large area.
This is one important issue that Republicans and Democrats see the value in The national high speed rail network will create millions of good jobs, stimulate the economy, create entirely new industries, be the catalyst for the next real estate boom, save businesses money, increase mobility, reduce dependence on oil, reduce our annual $700 billion trade deficit, and significantly increase national security.
5. Benefits and Challenges
HSR provides a number of economic, social and environmental benefits for the corridors they service. The most salient are:
Capacity and reliability. HSR corridors have the capacity to move a large number of passengers in a safe and reliable manner. They can mitigate congested road and air infrastructure, particularly for short to medium distance trips. They are also much less impacted by adverse weather conditions than road and air transport.
Energy and environment. HSR systems consume less energy per passenger km than road and air transport. They are perceived to provide a more sustainable mobility with electric power and denser land use structures associated with rail oriented developments.
High speed rail systems can have substantial impacts on other transport modes, even freight transport systems. One of the most apparent is on air transportation services between cities along the high speed rail corridor, particularly the most distant ones. High speed rail is able to compete successfully with short to medium distance air transport services as it conveys the advantage of servicing downtown areas and has much lower terminal time, mainly because of less security constraints. For city pairs closer than 500 km, the introduction of high speed rail services will in the majority of cases remove commercial air services as they cease to be competitive. Flights on routes that are over 1,500 km are usually little impacted. This can have a very important impact on air transportation since the worlds most active air routes are all short hauls of less than 1,000 km.
Another emerging trend concerns a complementarity between HSR and air transportation, which involves cooperation between a national air and rail carrier. For instance, Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn as well as Air France and SNCF offer single fares and tickets for selected routes where a high speed rail segment is offered instead of a flight. There is thus a balance between competition and complementarity for HSR and air transportation services, particularly when there is congestion in the air transport system. In this situation the complementarity may help release airport gate slots that can be used to support more revenue generating flights or to reduce congestion.Rail stations with high speed rail services are also increasingly becoming transport hubs with the associated demands on urban transport systems, particularly public transit. Regarding high speed rail stations, two dynamics have emerged.The reconversion and usage of central railway stations. Such facilities benefit from high accessibility levels due to their central locations and can thus grant a significant customer base for HSR services. This is particularly the case for the European system that is using existing tracks to access the central train station which avoided expensive development projects such as new stations or the building of tunnels.
The setting of new facilities in suburbia. In this case, the HSR station represents an opportunity to create a new node of activity within a metropolitan area.
High speed rail systems can have substantial impacts on other transport modes, even freight transport systems. One of the most apparent is on air transportation services between cities along the high speed rail corridor, particularly the most distant ones. High speed rail is able to compete successfully with short to medium distance air transport services as it conveys the advantage of servicing downtown areas and has much lower terminal time, mainly because of less security constraints. For city pairs closer than 500 km, the introduction of high speed rail services will in the majority of cases remove commercial air services as they cease to be competitive. Flights on routes that are over 1,500 km are usually little impacted. This can have a very important impact on air transportation since the worlds most active air routes are all short hauls of less than 1,000 km.
Another emerging trend concerns a complementarity between HSR and air transportation, which involves cooperation between a national air and rail carrier. For instance, Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn as well as Air France and SNCF offer single fares and tickets for selected routes where a high speed rail segment is offered instead of a flight. There is thus a balance between competition and complementarity for HSR and air transportation services, particularly when there is congestion in the air transport system. In this situation the complementarity may help release airport gate slots that can be used to support more revenue generating flights or to reduce congestion.Rail stations with high speed rail services are also increasingly becoming transport hubs with the associated demands on urban transport systems, particularly public transit. Regarding high speed rail stations, two dynamics have emerged.The reconversion and usage of central railway stations. Such facilities benefit from high accessibility levels due to their central locations and can thus grant a significant customer base for HSR services. This is particularly the case for the European system that is using existing tracks to access the central train station which avoided expensive development projects such as new stations or the building of tunnels.
The setting of new facilities in suburbia. In this case, the HSR station represents an opportunity to create a new node of activity within a metropolitan area.
6. Facilities Onboard
High speed trains boomed in recent years. Not merely fast and time-saving, a high speed train is equipped with advanced facilities, making your journey comfortable and convenient.
Luggage Racks
Luggage racks are above the seats on both sides of a carriage. Only bags or suitcases of normal sizes can be put onto the racks at the junctions of two carriages, there are luggage closets for large sized trolley suitcases. There are also rooms for large suitcases and other luggage (like a foldable bike) at the back of the last row of seats in some carriages.
Dining
Food and drink are provided in the dining carriages. Only pre packed meals are available, and these need to be heated in a microwave. The price goes from CNY 15 and 45. There are variety of drinks for passengers to choose, including wine, beer, coke, juice, milk and coffee. The attendants will also push a trolley to sell packed food and snacks during a trip. Passengers in the business class, super class and first class carriages will be served with free meals and beverages. Halal food is available on some trains.
Drinkable Hot Water
Each carriage has a water heater at the end. Free boiled water is available during the whole trip. The green indicator shows that the water is fully heated. Put your bottle under the tap and push the button, and you will get hot water. Disposable paper cups are available sometimes.
Toilet
Toilets are located at the end of the carriage and they come in squat type and seat type. Toilet paper is available. Some also provide disposable seat covers in toilets.There are special toilets for the disabled passengers. A foldable diaper changing table is available in the toilet. Train attendants can guide mothers to designated breast-feeding areas.
Wash Basins
The wash basins are either inside or outside of the toilets and some trains have warm water. Hand sanitizer and paper towels are provided.
Sick Bag
Dustbins are at one end of each carriage. Moreover, there is a sick bag in the pocket of each seat.
Battery Charging
Long journey can often be boring and passengers like to take along laptops or mobiles which depend on batteries. For your convenience you will find that these batteries can be recharged from sockets in the aisle side seats.
Safety
During a trip, all the carriages are closed and equipped with smoke alarms, so smoking is banned, not even in the connections of cars or toilets. Each carriage also has an emergency hammer to break the window and fire extinguishers. In addition, there are two red buttons under the liquid crystal display in every carriage: the left one is used for fire alarming and the right one is for emergency braking.
Internet
Free WIFI is available on some trains. Therefore, as long as you have a smart phone or a laptop, you can surf the internet freely.
Entertainment
Each carriage has LCD TV sets playing movies or TV programs during a trip. The headset jacks and volume buttons are on the arm of each seat. Passengers can also listen to the radio when running in cities. Passengers in business class also have their private LCD screens, which are located in the arms of the seats.
Luggage Racks
Luggage racks are above the seats on both sides of a carriage. Only bags or suitcases of normal sizes can be put onto the racks at the junctions of two carriages, there are luggage closets for large sized trolley suitcases. There are also rooms for large suitcases and other luggage (like a foldable bike) at the back of the last row of seats in some carriages.
Dining
Food and drink are provided in the dining carriages. Only pre packed meals are available, and these need to be heated in a microwave. The price goes from CNY 15 and 45. There are variety of drinks for passengers to choose, including wine, beer, coke, juice, milk and coffee. The attendants will also push a trolley to sell packed food and snacks during a trip. Passengers in the business class, super class and first class carriages will be served with free meals and beverages. Halal food is available on some trains.
Drinkable Hot Water
Each carriage has a water heater at the end. Free boiled water is available during the whole trip. The green indicator shows that the water is fully heated. Put your bottle under the tap and push the button, and you will get hot water. Disposable paper cups are available sometimes.
Toilet
Toilets are located at the end of the carriage and they come in squat type and seat type. Toilet paper is available. Some also provide disposable seat covers in toilets.There are special toilets for the disabled passengers. A foldable diaper changing table is available in the toilet. Train attendants can guide mothers to designated breast-feeding areas.
Wash Basins
The wash basins are either inside or outside of the toilets and some trains have warm water. Hand sanitizer and paper towels are provided.
Sick Bag
Dustbins are at one end of each carriage. Moreover, there is a sick bag in the pocket of each seat.
Battery Charging
Long journey can often be boring and passengers like to take along laptops or mobiles which depend on batteries. For your convenience you will find that these batteries can be recharged from sockets in the aisle side seats.
Safety
During a trip, all the carriages are closed and equipped with smoke alarms, so smoking is banned, not even in the connections of cars or toilets. Each carriage also has an emergency hammer to break the window and fire extinguishers. In addition, there are two red buttons under the liquid crystal display in every carriage: the left one is used for fire alarming and the right one is for emergency braking.
Internet
Free WIFI is available on some trains. Therefore, as long as you have a smart phone or a laptop, you can surf the internet freely.
Entertainment
Each carriage has LCD TV sets playing movies or TV programs during a trip. The headset jacks and volume buttons are on the arm of each seat. Passengers can also listen to the radio when running in cities. Passengers in business class also have their private LCD screens, which are located in the arms of the seats.
7. Japans Fastest Train Floats On Magnetic Tracks
Japans JR Central Railway Company recently unveiled plans for a new high speed train propelled by magnetic fields. Reaching speeds of over 310 mph, the Series Lo prototype is a maglev train, meaning it runs on varying shifts in horizontal magnetic tracks. Basically, the train floats above the tracks and nearly cuts travel time in half.The commuter train will reportedly carry up to 1,000 riders in 16 cars per trip. The streamlined nose, similar to that of a bullet train, reduces wind drag. Moreover, the maglev technology will produce a quieter, smoother ride for passengers while significantly reducing maintenance costs for the train operators. The Series Lo is expected to make its debut in 2027, running between Tokyo and Nagoya. By 2045, the company plans to expand its routes to Osaka, with the cost of all the new lines at about US$102 billion. In addition, Japans Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is examining proposed routes that run through the Southern Alps to the northwest of Mount Fuji. Watch the video below for a brief unveiling of the Series Lo.
8. Why Japans high speed trains are so good
MANY countries seem obsessed with high speed rail. On June 4th in the Queens speech, the opening of the British parliament for 2014-15, the government confirmed its commitment to a controversial high speed link known as HS2. France is slowly expanding its high speed lines (known as the TGV) while other countries, such as Spain and China, are rapidly enlarging their networks of whizzy trains. Japans high speed bullet train is often held up as an exemplar by rail boosters and governments keen to acquire their own shiny new train sets. How did Japan come to be the world leader in high speed trains?
Trains are symbolic of modernity in Japan. During the Meiji restoration in the late 19th century, when Japan modernised at break neck speed, the high technology of the day was the locomotive. By the 1930s the first railway trunk route, linking Tokyo with cities such as Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, had become heavily congested, according to Christian Wolmar, a railway expert. The first high speed railway, known as the Shinkansen (new mainline), cut journeys between Tokyo and Osaka by two hours (from six to four) when it opened in 1964. This made it competitive with air travel, an industry which Japan had eschewed after the second world war, to avoid inadvertently stoking fears of rearmament. Geography influenced the rail networks development most of Japans 128m inhabitants live in a few densely populated parts of the country. By linking those dense populations together nearly 40m people in greater Tokyo with 20m residents of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto the railway helped to shift business patterns, making day trips between Tokyo and Osaka possible. Many of its customers were rich and willing to pay for more expensive high speed tickets. The service had carried 100m passengers within three years and 1 billion by 1976. Now around 143m use the railway annually.
In 1987 Japans national railways were divided and privatised into seven for-profit companies. JR East, the largest by passenger numbers, does not require any public subsidy from the Japanese government, unlike the heavily subsidised French network. One reason for its efficiency is that JR East owns all the infrastructure on the route the stations, the rolling stock and the tracks meaning there are fewer management teams duplicating each others work.But the railway also thrives because of a planning system that encourages the building of commercial developments and housing alongside the railway route. JR East owns the land around the railways and lets it out nearly a third of its revenue comes from shopping malls, blocks of offices, flats and the like. This money is reinvested in the network. In Britain, where planning and transport are rarely aligned, it is hard to create similarly successful commercial developments. Indeed, most of the plans for the areas around the stations of HS2 are vague, and some of the stops along an earlier line, HS1, are still underdeveloped, years after the line was built.The ability to build large developments alongside the high speed railways is a boon to the Japanese bullet line, as is the ability to charge high ticket prices. (When Koichi Tanaka, a scientist, won the Nobel Prize in 2002 he was reported as saying he would use the money to buy a ticket on the Shinkansen, to loud cheers.) But even so, 71% of the revenue from passenger tickets at JR East comes from the conventional, slower railway. Countries looking to lay down speedy new tracks might want to consider investing in their existing railway lines as well.
Trains are symbolic of modernity in Japan. During the Meiji restoration in the late 19th century, when Japan modernised at break neck speed, the high technology of the day was the locomotive. By the 1930s the first railway trunk route, linking Tokyo with cities such as Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, had become heavily congested, according to Christian Wolmar, a railway expert. The first high speed railway, known as the Shinkansen (new mainline), cut journeys between Tokyo and Osaka by two hours (from six to four) when it opened in 1964. This made it competitive with air travel, an industry which Japan had eschewed after the second world war, to avoid inadvertently stoking fears of rearmament. Geography influenced the rail networks development most of Japans 128m inhabitants live in a few densely populated parts of the country. By linking those dense populations together nearly 40m people in greater Tokyo with 20m residents of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto the railway helped to shift business patterns, making day trips between Tokyo and Osaka possible. Many of its customers were rich and willing to pay for more expensive high speed tickets. The service had carried 100m passengers within three years and 1 billion by 1976. Now around 143m use the railway annually.
In 1987 Japans national railways were divided and privatised into seven for-profit companies. JR East, the largest by passenger numbers, does not require any public subsidy from the Japanese government, unlike the heavily subsidised French network. One reason for its efficiency is that JR East owns all the infrastructure on the route the stations, the rolling stock and the tracks meaning there are fewer management teams duplicating each others work.But the railway also thrives because of a planning system that encourages the building of commercial developments and housing alongside the railway route. JR East owns the land around the railways and lets it out nearly a third of its revenue comes from shopping malls, blocks of offices, flats and the like. This money is reinvested in the network. In Britain, where planning and transport are rarely aligned, it is hard to create similarly successful commercial developments. Indeed, most of the plans for the areas around the stations of HS2 are vague, and some of the stops along an earlier line, HS1, are still underdeveloped, years after the line was built.The ability to build large developments alongside the high speed railways is a boon to the Japanese bullet line, as is the ability to charge high ticket prices. (When Koichi Tanaka, a scientist, won the Nobel Prize in 2002 he was reported as saying he would use the money to buy a ticket on the Shinkansen, to loud cheers.) But even so, 71% of the revenue from passenger tickets at JR East comes from the conventional, slower railway. Countries looking to lay down speedy new tracks might want to consider investing in their existing railway lines as well.
9. From bullet trains to subways Lessons from Japan
Two things are critical for successful urban transit. First, seamless integration of service between different transit operators. Second, encouraging private firms to operate urban transit along with state-owned transit operators. This has made transit a success in Tokyo. Toronto should take note.When it comes to running trains, one can learn from the Japanese experience. After all, it is the land of the rising sun and that of the bullet train. So when the Japanese experts in urban rail operations arrived in Toronto to share their experience, the transit enthusiasts and decision-makers showed up to listen. In attendance were MetroLinx?s CEO Bruce McCuaig and TTC commissioner Karen Stintz along with transit experts and planners.The Consulate General of Japan hosted the Toronto Urban Rail Seminar. Japanese transit experts shared their expertise in operating the integrated urban rail transit system in Tokyo and its surroundings. A lot could be learnt from Tokyo?s success in transit operations even when one acknowledges the obvious difference in size and scope between Toronto and Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolis, with 35 million people, has the same demographic footprint as Canada. Still, lessons about the integrated transit systems and facilitating private rail companies to operate transit are important considerations because they inform the limited choice set of transit options that Canadians are forced to choose from.
10. A Nationwide High Speed Train Network
When the Shinkansen first started running, it served only the Tokaido route between Tokyo and Osaka. But since then, other Shinkansen lines have been added, and the bullet train network now extends throughout Japan. The San'yo route connecting Osaka with Okayama (180 kilometers, 112 miles) opened in 1972 and was extended from Okayama to Fukuoka (442 kilometers) in 1975. The Tohoku route from Omiya to Morioka (505 kilometers) and the Joetsu route from Omiya to Niigata (304 kilometers) both opened in 1982 and have since been extended from Omiya to Tokyo. The Nagano route from Takasaki to Nagano opened in 1997 - just in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. And in December 2002 the Tohoku route was extended north to Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture, which is near the northern edge of Japan's main island. The trip from Tokyo to Hachinohe (632 kilometers) takes just 2 hours and 56 minutes on the Shinkansen train called Hayate (meaning strong breeze). The Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen routes were completed in 1992 and 1997, respectively. No new facilities had to be built for these lines to open; the tracks just had to be widened. In 2004 the Kagoshima route of the Kyushu Shinkansen opened, serving the 127 kilometers between Shin Yatsushiro and Kagoshima.
