JAPAN | High Speed Rail

[riles28]

Series 0 is the mother of all bullet train in japan. Is a legacy and a memory foreever.
Bye series0.

[riles28]

We miss you so much.

[Bitxofo]

Originally Posted by serdar samanlı

Sad news. I hope they will preserve some of them in museums

They could donate them to poor countries...

[Railfan]

[Tri-ring]

I wonder if anyone on this forum is going to ride the memorial run of the O-kei Shinkansen scheduled on Dec 15(?) this year.
I heard the seats were all sold out after 5 minutes in start of sales.

[DJZG]

sad news... but 1964 train is really old...
farewell 0 series...

[Timon91]

44 years is quite long to serve, so it did a good job. Bye bye 0 series

[Tri-ring]

if you compare it with airliners you'll understand how marvelous this piece of engineering is.
It is older than the original A300,Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, 737, DC-9 or the 747.

[33Hz]

Originally Posted by wonwiin

Hopefully some sets will be donated to technic museums around the world.

Yes, there is already one in the UK.

http://www.nrm.org.uk/exhibitions/shinkansen/start.asp

[phattonez]

Originally Posted by Bitxofo

They could donate them to poor countries...

Or donate them to the US.

[Svartmetall]

These trains are absolute icons, nothing short of engineering marvels of the time. Japan paved the way for high speed passenger rail and the whole of the world has them to thank.

I'm sure they'll be missed, but progress is still a good thing as they are getting a little old now.

[Andrew]

It's amazing that they're only now retiring them, it's testament to how good the engineering was. Incredible machines!

[kobuta]

remember that the '0-series' Shinkansen were still being built until 1986. Even so by Shinkansen terms where the trains have a normal lifespan of 15 years these final machines are quite old at 22 years old. There are many '100-series' Shinkansen which have already been retired and the remaining now only form short 4-6 car workings as Kodama trains on the Sanyo Shinkansen only.

[ARailSystemsEngineer]

Originally Posted by phattonez

Or donate them to the US.

I think the US would prefer a few old HST 125s; electrification would be expensive, and the old Shinkansens are not particularly fast by today's standards (220 kph compared to 200 kph for the 125 - about the same as the world record for a steam train).
I don't know how shinkansens would cope on mixed-traffic lines

Rse

[Tri-ring]

Originally Posted by ARailSystemsEngineer

I think the US would prefer a few old HST 125s; electrification would be expensive, and the old Shinkansens are not particularly fast by today's standards (220 kph compared to 200 kph for the 125 - about the same as the world record for a steam train).
I don't know how shinkansens would cope on mixed-traffic lines

Rse

Yeah, I guess the Americans would like something newer than the old 0-series which start building in 1964 while the Intercity 125 only began production in 1975.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InterCity_125

[burningbaka]

Japanese Google...

[hkskyline]

First model of Japan's bullet train runs for final time
14 December 2008
Agence France Presse

The first ever model of Japan's world-famous bullet train Sunday enjoyed its farewell run, its operator said, 44 years after it transformed overland travel.

The first bullet trains -- known as the Shinkansen in Japan -- were rolled out to the world's awe for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics as one of the symbolic events to mark the nation's recovery from the ashes of World War II.

The first model, the zero-kei (zero-series), was called the "dream superexpress", and attracted legions of train fanatics around the globe.

As technology progressed, so did the bullet trains, becoming lighter and faster, with the latest N700-series running as fast as 300 kilometres (186 miles) per hour.

The zero-series, which runs at 220 kph, was pulled from commercial service in late November before the symbolic last run on Sunday, operator West Japan Railway Co. said.

Another bullet train operator, Central Japan Railway Co., hopes to put magnetically levitated trains into operation by 2025 as a successor to the bullet trains.

The planned maglev line would whisk passengers from Tokyo to central Nagoya at more than 500 kph.

[hkskyline]

Computer glitch disrupts Japan's bullet trains
29 December 2008
Agence France Presse

Services on dozens of Japan's bullet trains were disrupted Monday due to a computer glitch, delaying more than 65,000 passengers during the busy New Year's season, the operator said.

East Japan Railway Co. halted five lines of the bullet train in northeastern Japan for three hours before restarting them, a company spokesman said.

"We had a problem with our operating system and an investigation is under way," the spokesman said.

A total of 79 services were cancelled and 37 others were delayed, affecting 65,400 passengers in the morning.

The trouble came a day after heavy snow and strong winds separately forced the company to suspend 35 bullet train services, also in eastern and northern Japan, affecting more than 30,000 passengers.

New Year's Day is the most important holiday for many Japanese, who pack trains and planes as they travel across the country to spend time with loved ones.

The bullet train -- or Shinkansen -- was introduced as the world's fastest rail service in the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, showcasing Japan's technological prowess as it rebuilt from World War II.

[bobbybishop]

Shinkansen is by far the best trains I have seen.

They all look and function great.

[honwai1983]

Hope JR East improve the stability of computer system & Signal system.
I know JR East is planning to upgrade the existing signal system to (Distance-to-go) mode.

It may increase the line capacity and shorten journey time.


Japanese shinkansen, is the best HSR system I have ever seen.