A Japanese expert who analyzed video footage of Saturday's fatal bullet train accident in China said Sunday it was an accident hard to imagine happening here, even though one of the trains involved appears to be one modeled on a domestic shinkansen.
A JR official said shinkansen systems have been equipped with automatic train control devices since they were inaugurated in 1964 because of the understanding that it would be difficult for the driver to rely on visual traffic confirmation of the need to apply the brakes on the high-speed service.
The ATC automatically stops a train if another is detected ahead.