JAPAN | High Speed Rail

[Silver Swordsman]

^I think that is attributed to the changes in tunnel pressure due to the extremely tight bore diameters on the Shinkansen systems. The initial design of the Shinkansen was something along the lines of 230 km/h, and has been vamped up to 300-320 before noise and wear forced it back down to 270.

[trainrover]

Ah! makes sense ... I notice your own RCT3 fleets themselves bear large windows

[loefet]

I'm not 100% sure that it's only due to the pressure difference's in tunnels, but also that every seat row have their own window, instead of sharing them as other HSR trains. If you look closely then you will notice that some cars have larger windows and that they are Green (first) class, and it's due to the larger seat pitch. I really like this idea since you won't have to worry to get a seat between two windows when you order a window seat (like I did this Friday when going between Stockholm and Gothenburg on X2000...).

Silver Swordsman: They have never run the Shinkansen trains in speeds up to 320 km/h, they are scheduled to do that later this year on the Tohoku line as they are introducing the E6 series. The Tohoku line saw it's first 300 km/h train last year with the E5 and the Sanyo line have been running at 300 since the introduction of the 500 series train. Noise is the main issue that they have run the lines at certain speeds, but newer trains are more silent at speed which will enable them to increase the speed in the future. Also some turns (on the Tokaido line) have forced them to run at reduced speeds, but active suspension have also enabled them to increase the speeds on them as well.
With the N700 there are plans on increasing the speeds on Tokaido line (at least) to raise the speed to 300 km/h on most of the line and up to 330 km/h on some sections. I bet that there are similar plans on the Sanyo line to increase the top speed from 300 to 320 km/h with these trains as well. It's somewhat a matter of prestige on having the fastest train between the train company's...

[Silver Swordsman]

Originally Posted by loefet

I'm not 100% sure that it's only due to the pressure difference's in tunnels, but also that every seat row have their own window, instead of sharing them as other HSR trains. If you look closely then you will notice that some cars have larger windows and that they are Green (first) class, and it's due to the larger seat pitch. I really like this idea since you won't have to worry to get a seat between two windows when you order a window seat (like I did this Friday when going between Stockholm and Gothenburg on X2000...).

Silver Swordsman: They have never run the Shinkansen trains in speeds up to 320 km/h, they are scheduled to do that later this year on the Tohoku line as they are introducing the E6 series. The Tohoku line saw it's first 300 km/h train last year with the E5 and the Sanyo line have been running at 300 since the introduction of the 500 series train. Noise is the main issue that they have run the lines at certain speeds, but newer trains are more silent at speed which will enable them to increase the speed in the future. Also some turns (on the Tokaido line) have forced them to run at reduced speeds, but active suspension have also enabled them to increase the speeds on them as well.
With the N700 there are plans on increasing the speeds on Tokaido line (at least) to raise the speed to 300 km/h on most of the line and up to 330 km/h on some sections. I bet that there are similar plans on the Sanyo line to increase the top speed from 300 to 320 km/h with these trains as well. It's somewhat a matter of prestige on having the fastest train between the train company's...

Oh, I guess I was wrong about the maximum operating speed. But how will the N700 achieve speeds of 330 km/h? According to what I read, the N700 trainset was designed for an operating speed of 270 km/h, with a maximum speed of less than 300km/h (It's why they used 500 series bogies for Taiwan High Speed Rail instead of that from the true 700 series.)

[loefet]

The design speed of the N700 is 330 km/h, it's currently limited to 300 km/h on the Sanyo line, 270 km/h on the Tokaido line and 260 on the Kyushu line.
I'm guessing that you are mixing up the 700 and N700 series, since the 700 series is designed to "only" do 285 km/h. The N700 is an evolution of the original 700 series, better traction, aerodynamics, etc.
700 series on Wikipedia
N700 series on Wikipedia

The reason why they used the bogies from the 500 series on the trains for Taiwan, is that they were required to operate at 300 km/h, and the original 700 series on which the trains for Taiwan are based on are only good for 285 km/h as I said above. This required them to use some other means of traction, and since the 500 series is designed to run at 320 km/h then why not just replace the bogies than completely redesign them...

[Silver Swordsman]

^According to the very link that you supplied me, the N700 series is still designed for an operating speed under 300 km/h. It reached only 332 km/h during a non-operational trial run, and is designed to operate at a maximum speed of 300 km/h.

[loefet]

I doesn't mention the design speed anywhere on that Wikipedia page, only that it's allowed to run at a maximum of 300 km/h. Same way that the E5 was designed to run at 360 km/h but is only allowed to run at 300 km/h (soon 320 km/h), or the 500 Series that were designed to run at 320 km/h but only ran at 300 km/h.

Since they are contemplating on raising the top speed on the Tokaido line to 330 km/h when there are enough N700 trains in service then I'm 100% sure that the train have been designed for it. No Japanese engineer will run anything faster than it was intended to do...

[quashlo]

I doubt there's any major issues with running the N700s at 330 km/h. They've already done it for that one trial run as part of a marketing thing, and JR Central has been considering doing it on a regular basis for commercial service for at least a couple years now:
http://web.archive.org/web/200912130...D07122009.html

Of course, as the article states, the 330 km/h will only be for the straight section between Kyōto and Maibara, and only for the first and last Nozomi trains each day, which won't have the slower services clogging up the line... The rest of the line will be 300 km/h like San'yō Shinkansen.

Also, keep in mind the production of the N700A, the new modified N700s which are supposed to replace the oldest 700 series units fairly soon now. Six units will be introduced in FY2012, followed by seven in FY2013.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=716

The Nikkei article from two years ago talks about raising the speed to 330 km/h as early as late 2011, and while we've already passed that point in time, the rumors are that the N700A is supposed to be part of the speed-up plans.

[Momo1435]

If they will speed up the Tokaido Shinkansen the 1st step will be to raise the speed to 285 km/h and maybe 300 km/h between Kyoto and Maibara. Only after the 700 series is gone somewhere in the early 2020s it becomes interesting to really speed it up. Especially when the Chuo Maglev opens between Tokyo and Nagoya an even faster connection between Nagoya and Osaka would be very welcome. Therefor I think that it's not the N700A that will be used to speed it up to 330 km/h but it's successor that will come into services together with the Chuo Maglev.

[quashlo]

Toyama Station Hokuriku Shinkansen construction update

Some pics of the Shinkansen construction work at Toyama Station (2012.02):
Source: http://saitoshika.blog119.fc2.com/

Construction of the Shinkansen viaduct proceeding behind the temporary tracks and platforms for the existing lines at the station. In addition to the Shinkansen viaduct, there is also related work to elevate approx. 1.8 km of the JR Hokuriku Line and Takayama Line and approx. 1.0 km of the Toyama Chihō Railroad, a local private railway.



Lots of progress being made on the Shinkansen, as the extension to Kanazawa is supposed to open in 2014.



Approximate center of the Shinkansen part of the station… This is supposed to be a four-track station, if I remember correctly.



West end, towards Kanazawa



In the distance we can see the four-span extradosed bridge that will carry the Shinkansen over the Jinzū River.



A bit east of Toyama Station, around Inari Motomachi…
The Hokuriku Main Line and Toyama Chihō Railroad run parallel here, forming a section of quadruple-track sandwiching the Shinkansen viaduct.



Toyama Chihō Railroad train, composed of ex-Keihan 3000 series (1st generation) commuter EMUs from the Kansai area.



The approach into Toyama Station

[trainrover]

Sorry to change the subject, but do the Japanese salt their roadways or car parks to melt the snow?

[coth]

6 years on the board, 3400 messages and still have no clue what does 'topic' means.

why to ask here, instead of road section?

[Woonsocket54]

Originally Posted by coth

why to ask here, instead of road section?

because here are displayed photo of snowy Japan

[quashlo]

Yes, salt is used.

[quashlo]

Shin-Ōsaka Station construction update

An update on the various construction projects at Shin-Ōsaka Station, focusing on the construction of an additional (8th) track and platform (Platform 27) at the station, along with two new sidings, to help increase capacity for the Tōkaidō / San’yō and San’yō / Kyūshū Shinkansen.

Some pics (2011.11):
Source: http://saitoshika.blog119.fc2.com/



The new sidings are being constructed on the west (San’yō Shinkansen) side of the station.



The view from the west end of Platform 26



The new platform that spans Shin-Midōsuji. We now have a good view of the glass exterior.



Looks like the new platform will be at a slightly higher elevation than the existing platforms at the station.



Looking east (towards Kyōto).
The building in the background is a new office building being constructed by Hankyū Electric Railway using space they had originally reserved for a potential Hankyū rail connection into the station.



In addition to the new platform and tracks, JR Central is also carrying out a renovation of the Shinkansen concourse.



Newly-opened convenience and souvenir (food) shops.



The shutter in the rear of the store seems to indicate that this is only a temporary opening.



They are also replacing the floor tiles.



Old and new tiles. The new tiles are textured to help prevent slipping during wet days.





A month later, some additional renovated sections were unveiled (2011.12):
Source: http://saitoshika.blog119.fc2.com/



Work also appears to be proceeding on the waiting room outside the paid area of the station. Judging from the covered sign and the automatic doors, the glass section here will be a staffed ticket counter.

[Silver Swordsman]

Beautiful! Looks inspiring!

[hmmwv]

This is a very pleasant looking station.

[Sopomon]

Any news on the future E7 unveil date? I am mighty curious to see what JR east comes up with for this one!

[k.k.jetcar]

Originally Posted by Sopomon

Any news on the future E7 unveil date? I am mighty curious to see what JR east comes up with for this one!

A prototype is supposed to be ready for testing this summer. It will be based on the proven E2 design, but with more powerful motors to be able to handle the grades of the Hokuriku Shinkansen route at 200km/h+ speeds. Also the pantograph and other "environmental" features will be different from current E2 types. The E7 is a joint development of JR East and JR West (Kanazawa Branch Office).

[hkskyline]

Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Shinkansen spurs Kyushu business
Kyodo

FUKUOKA — The Kyushu Shinkansen Line between Hakata and Kagoshima stations marked its first anniversary Monday.

While the new line initially had difficulty attracting passengers because of the timing of the March 11 disasters, it is now attracting tourists mainly from the Kansai and Chugoku regions to Kyushu.

Tourism grew especially because the Kyushu line is directly connected with the Sanyo Shinkansen Line running from Osaka through Hiroshima to Hakata.

It is estimated that tourists visiting the seven prefectures in Kyushu will spend a total of ¥2.49 trillion in fiscal 2011 through the end of this month, up 11 percent from the previous year, according to the Kyushu Economic Research Center.

"We did not have many tourists from the Kansai and Chugoku regions, but once they visit here, they will learn how attractive Kyushu is," said Koji Karaike, president of Kyushu Railway Co., which runs the Kyushu Shinkansen Line.

Reflecting the rosy outlook, the daily round-trip rides between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chuo stations will be increased from the current 15 to 23 on March 17.

JR Kyushu did not hold a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary, but plans to hold events at its main stations Saturday.