Must-see Railway News: The Latter Half of 2023 - Japan Railway Journal

[Music] welcome to Japan Railway journal in this episode we're featuring a Roundup of exciting Railway related topics from the latter half of 2023 yes in 2023 as the pandemic emergency has been declared over and many people's lives are coming back to normal we have seen the comeback of many Railway related events which attracted many people either on board or along the railway line and those events have been happening all across Japan so let's have a look on July 15th Eisen Railway in Fuki prefecture began operating a dinosaur train called the dino liner the dino liner began operation following the reopening of the dinosaur museum near katama [Music] station the two-car train was designed to reflect the period in which the dinosaurs at the Museum lived inside the train features dinosaur figures and replica fossils the passengers on board are immersed in the world of [Music] dinosaurs the passengers can't wait to arrive at the [Music] Museum in August nagawa Railway in gefu prefecture began operating a train decorated with model food which is made along the line in gujo city in Japan model food is often displayed in restaurant Windows gujo city is one of the largest producers of model food in [Music] Japan in cooperation with a local manufacturer nagawa Railway decorated the train with 35 realistic looking food models by the window the Miso soup has and soft serve ice cream really look like they have been [Music] spilled as to the Noto fermented soybeans and okra attached to the hand straps even the Ramon noodles look like they've been [Music] [Music] overturned [Music] this train is scheduled to run until August [Music] 2024 on September 7th Jr West tried a special tour for foreigners which took them on a tourist train to experience ER the charms of Hiroshima [Music] prefecture the tour used the tourist train ETO which usually runs from Hiroshima to onomichi station on this day the 2-hour long train journey ran from Hiroshima Station to takah [Music] Station the tour for participants All Foreign residents living in Japan arrive at Hiroshima station wearing traditional Japanese yucata the experience of dressing in Yukata was included in the tour package etto approaches the platform the design of the car body was inspired by the calm stto Inland [Music] SCA after the train departs the participants experience calligraphy with Kumo brushes a traditional craft in Hiroshima [Music] prefecture and taste locally produ [Music] sake as the train travels along the coast the participants take pictures with their smartphones and enjoy the ride some of them even take a moment to share their experience of the tour on social [Music] media arriving at takehara station it's time for lunch at the hotel restaurant the participants enjoy a lunch course made using produce from along the line [Music] after lunch they take a stroll through the preserved historical townscape of takehara city which is home to many old streets um it was a lot of fun and I got to see um places that I hadn't seen before even though I lived in Hiroshima a long time I liked wearing Yukata and the restaurant was superb maybe the sake nion the sake drinking was the best but everything was good yeah I like the train a lot I may come here with my husband or friends bring bring come back following the trial tours for foreigners on etet were held three times a month until the end of December in September an event was held to ride a train known as the pumpkin train which was discontinued 25 years [Music] ago the Beloved train was called the pumpkin train because of its green and orange color the pumpkin train used to run on the 36 km nigat kotu line which connected nigata and suame cities got the [Music] prefecture after the line closed in 1999 a local preservation group acquired three train cars which they continued to maintain and [Music] Repair on this day the pumpkin trains slowly makes its way along a 50 m section of rail towed by a vehicle mover carrying passengers who book The Experience in [Music] advance beginning November 8th Mass train and Innovation Japan was held for 3 days at the international exhibition Hall in Chiba prefecture this time 569 companies and organizations from Japan and abroad the largest number ever participated in the event displaying the latest construction vehicles Rolling Stock equipment and other products as part of a new initiative a special area was set up to support Regional Railways that are suffering from declining passenger numbers 30 Regional Railway companies from across Japan participated selling original goods and promoting tourism on December 9th and 10th one of the largest railway festivals in Japan was held in Osaka for the first time in 5 years here Railway companies and other organizations from across Japan gathered to hold Railway related [Music] exhibitions around 110 companies and organizations including Railway companies and local governments participated in the event here here participants can interact with a real working Pantagraph raised by air pressure the children try as hard as they can to pump it [Music] out in this area child-sized uniforms from various companies were available to try on and this area had a variety of Railway goods for sale a attracting many families and Railway fans next is a new initiative from the railway industry hello how can I go to Ka in July a new realtime translation system was trial at the counter of seu Railways seu Shinjuku station in Tokyo [Music] it was developed to provide smooth interactions at the service counter as the number of visitors to Japan rapidly recovers the system is available in 12 languages including English and [Music] Chinese hello how can I go to the 40 cm High transparent screen between the customer and the station staff translates and displays foreign languages spoken in Japanese and vice [Music] versa okay thank you [Music] following the trial seu Railway began fullscale operation of the system from November on August 31st a test run of a class d51 steam locomotive was held on the Jr Yamaguchi [Music] line the class d51 that pulls the tourist train SL Yamaguchi has been undergoing repairs after the tender that loads coal and water malfunctioned in 2022 the test run on this day is to inspect the vehicle at an intermediate station maintenance staff inspect the train for any defects [Music] the class d51 hadn't been seen running on the Yamaguchi line in a year and 4 months so it attracted many rail [Music] fans Jr West will continue to inspect the vehicle in order to resume the SL Yamaguchi service on September 28th Jr East which is aiming to build a new Logistics system using the shinkansen conducted a full-scale trial run using the Hoku Riku shinkansen to transport agricultural products and other Goods in bulk from Nagano [Music] prefecture at the Rolling Stock Depot in Nagano City agricultural products such as shine muscat grapes as well as Precision Machinery totaling approximately 700 boxes were loaded onto the [Music] shinon for this trial they check the operation to see how much cargo can be handled [Music] efficiently Jr East plans to begin running a commercial Logistics system using the hokushin company onon in or after April [Music] 2024 on November 10th nagua Railroad in II prefecture began operating a system that detects abnormalities at rail crossings with this system AI artificial intelligence analyzes images from surveillance cameras installed near Railway Crossings in real time the system automatically detects when a person or vehicle is inside the crossing when a train is approaching when there is an abnormality a signal beside the track in front of the crossing lights up to tell the driver to apply the emergency brake Nagoya railroad plans to install the system at 10 locations in II prefecture by March 2024 that Dinosaur Train looked absolutely fantastic and I love how it brought together the Hobbies of big and little kits which are trains and dinosaurs ahuh and I loved the ET Citra train with all those non-japanese passengers wearing the Yukata uh they looked really really nice yeah it looked really fine I would have loved to actually take part in that tour mentioning foreign Travelers and tourists I think that simultaneous translation system that they had at the station looked very interesting yes indeed and that I think is inspired by the uh latest developments of the artificial intelligence technology and you know um it's definitely the possibility that the railway companies should uh you know pursue and um there's an ample possibility that they will succeed yeah we had to say goodbye to some vehicles and we could say hello to some new vehicles let's have a look on October 17th the new yakumo limited Express train that runs mainly on the Jr line connecting okama and shiman prefectures was unveiled to the [Music] press the bronze color of the car body was inspired by the Setting Sun on the surface of Lake Shinji and the Flaming torches at festivals in shiman preure inside the train all of the seats are equipped with power outlets and there is now space for suitcases and other large luggage items another major change is Comfort the new train is equipped with a device that tilts the car body as it rounds curves to improve the comfort of the [Music] ride this new yakumo limited Express is scheduled to begin service from April [Music] 2024 on October 27th the transportation Bureau city of Sendai in Miyagi prefecture invited Elementary School students on a tour to familiarize them with the new Rolling Stock that will be introduced in the the fall of 2024 running along the top of the aluminum car's brush metal body workor is a yellow green and green line reminiscent of the lush green city of Sendai inside the cars there are now more handrails along the bench seats and to ensure barrier free accessibility there is a wheelchair space in each [Music] car on December 23rd Jr E's new tourist train kabi made its Deb this train will operate on roots in both Al Mori and iwat prefectures on this day the departure ceremony was held at moroka station in IAT prefecture the exterior of the two-car train is white with red accents and Designs depicting elements from nature such as flower blossoms mountains and rivers [Music] each car has an observation area with large windows so passengers can enjoy the scenery along the line the train can carry up to 59 passengers the green car has box seats for four people and two people as well as single [Music] seats seen off by rail fans and Jr staff kabi departs with 55 passengers on board who reserved their seats in [Music] advance while 2023 saw the debut of several new vehicles others sadly had to be retired on July 21st many rail fans gathered at ok station where the series 117 that ran on the Jr Sano Mainline was scheduled to depart for its final run the popular series 117 was introduced in 1979 back in the days of the Japanese national [Music] railways upon arrival at okama station many fans board the train for its last scheduled [Music] service on October 31st the to kaido Shing Consin ended its onboard trolley [Music] service the service which has been a part of the shin consen since it started in 1964 was popular among passengers for its strip coffee and ice [Music] cream however due to declining sales and labor shortages the company decided to discontinue the [Music] service many passengers expressed their regret that the onboard trolley service was coming to an [Music] end in November the tokaido shinkansen introduced a new service for green car passengers allowing them to order food and drinks from their seats using their mobile [Music] devices on November 23rd the oku isimo oroi tourist train that ran on the Jr kisi line between shiman and Hiroshima prefectures ended service [Music] the train which began service in 1998 attracted many tourists with its retro wooden seats and peaceful country [Music] views however due to the deterioration of the locomotive the service was discontinued [Music] the train made its last round trip watched over by a number of people who live along the line arriving at the terminal station a little after 400 p.m. where many fans waited to say goodbye okui closed the curtain on its 26- year [Music] history in oaki City Miyagi prefecture an old steam locomotive statically preserved near Jr Nishi fukawa station which is now scheduled to be dismantled was decorated with lights this steam locomotive is a former Japanese national Railways class c58 which ran in Miyagi prefecture until the [Music] 1970s after it retired the locomotive was stored outside in this park for nearly 50 years however the body became so damaged it was set to be dismantled [Music] to send it off in style a local residence organization decided to decorate the locomotive with lights which could be seen from October 22nd until the end of November the locomotive was decorated with approximately 880,000 LED lights a delightful spectacle for passengers passing by the park on the train this class c-58 is set to be fully dismantled by the end of February [Music] 2024 [Music] there were definitely some sad goodbyes but also some promising New Beginnings like the new yakumo with that bronze colored body it looked amazing yes and those Vehicles come with the latest version of the tilting system which are designed to improve the right quality of the passengers I do hope that in the near future I can try those trains and see how those systems work on that particular stretch of the Railway another thing I'm sad that we had to say goodbye to is the onboard trolley service on the tokaido shinan and I used to look forward to that lady coming down the aisle with her card selling drinks between Kyoto and Tokyo on my trips and I must say that I do miss the service [Music] too [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Views: 15,939

Keywords:

Id: KV9j3-viAs0

Length: 28min 5sec (1685 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 21 2024