Japan's FAST Bullet train. Female crew on some....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Loikwra9g14

I rode one of the Shinkansen trains several years ago from Tokyo up to the north of the main island. They are amazingly fast and very noisy when you pass a train headed in the other direction. Seating is not build for tall people.

Wonder why they were sprinkling the tracks?



RMD

quote:

Wonder why they were sprinkling the tracks?

Gotta keep it clean for those high speed photo ops!

Heavy snow[edit]
The Tōkaidō Shinkansen often experiences heavy snow in the area around Maibara Station in winter. Trains have to reduce speed, which can disrupt the timetable. Sprinkler systems were later installed, but delays of 10 to 20 minutes still occur during snowy weather. Additionally, treefalls related to excess snow have caused service interruptions. Along the route of the Jōetsu Shinkansen, winter snow can be very heavy, with snow depths of two to three metres, so the line is equipped with stronger sprinklers and slab track, to mitigate the effects of deep snow.

I was told by a former neighbor (Japanese) that if a rider pays for an express train ticket and express train is delayed for one reason or another, the rider is reimbursed the difference in price.

Wonder if Amtrak would do that.

I've ridden the Tokaido N700 Shinkansen operated by the JR Central line in Japan several times, the Hikari, Kodama, and Nozomi. Not 603KMH, about half of that. It is still wicked fast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23b6eZkGnxc

Have one of these ever crashed? That would be an epic train wreck, and I suspect with few survivors.

Very impressive technology.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
Have one of these ever crashed? That would be an epic train wreck, and I suspect with few survivors.

Very impressive technology.

The Shinkansen trains have had accidents. They have a very sophisticated earthquake detection system to minimize that danger.

RMD

quote:

Wonder if Amtrak would do that.

my experience with Amtrac suggests they'd charge you EXTRA if they actually DID arrive on time.

I was on one going from Honshu (main island) to Kyushu, with a friend/colleague from Osaka.

I asked him, while we were going lickety-split (technical term) through the ~2 mile long Kanmon Tunnel which is about 100 feet under the water, what would happen if there was an earthquake while we were down there.

His answer? "We don't like to think about that."

quote:

Originally posted by GWbiker:
I was told by a former neighbor (Japanese) that if a rider pays for an express train ticket and express train is delayed for one reason or another, the rider is reimbursed the difference in price.

Wonder if Amtrak would do that.

I had a round trip DC-NYC about a year ago. Decided not to go because the weather was supposed to be really bad. Figured I was out the cost of the ticket. Called Amtrack and they gave me a credit for the ticket price, just had to use it within a year.

I've ridden the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka at least a dozen times, it never gets boring. Huge comfortable seats with plenty of leg room, cost is $150 but worth every penny.