Tag - rail

 
 

RAIL

Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2014
JR East to bid for high-speed railway project in California
East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) plans to take part in international bidding this fall to supply railcars for a high-speed railway line planned in California, JR East sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2014
Transport minister Ota lobbies for Malaysia-Singapore high-speed rail project
Visiting transport minister Akihiro Ota on Wednesday lobbied for Japan's participation in a high-speed rail project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2014
Seven-Eleven to open dozens of stores at JR Shikoku stations
Seven-Eleven Japan Co. will in August begin opening around 40 outlets at Shikoku Railway Co. train stations, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. The expansion will take about three years to complete.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 25, 2014
'Presents from Eiji Mitooka: Designs to Make People and Cities Happier'
Through his train designs and station-building plans for Japan Rail's Kyushu Line, industrial designer Eiji Mitooka has won multiple awards for work that harmoniously reflects locals and their lives.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 24, 2014
Russian Rail pays billions in secret
One of Russia's biggest state companies has handed billions of dollars to mysterious private contractors that disguise their ownership or have little or no presence at their registered headquarters, a Reuters investigation has found.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 23, 2014
Nepalese man honored for saving woman
Tokyo police on Friday presented a letter of appreciation to a 21-year-old Nepalese man for rescuing a woman who had fallen onto the tracks at JR Yotsuya Station on May 11.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2014
Flightless bird species coming back in Okinawa
The population of the Okinawa rail, a flightless bird native to northern Okinawa Prefecture, is recovering thanks to a campaign to capture an introduced predator — the Asian mongoose.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 18, 2014
Kawasaki Heavy to bid to supply trains for U.S. high-speed rail link
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. is planning to bid to supply a new generation of trains for Acela Express, Amtrak's main high-speed rail service linking Washington, D.C., New York and Boston, according to a company source.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2014
Model train mag reaches milestone
A monthly magazine for model railroad fans launched shortly after the end of World War II issued its 800th edition in January.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2014
JR Hokkaido punishes 75 employees over track data falsification
Hokkaido Railway Co. on Tuesday announced punitive measures for 75 employees over the failure to fix track defects and falsification of track maintenance data.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2013
Sumitomo Mitsui to buy U.S. rail car lease firm
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. has agreed to buy railroad car-leasing company Flagship Rail Services LLC from a unit of Perella Weinberg Partners.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 7, 2013
Tales from on the trail of Okinawa's rail
Thirty-one years ago I set off on a quest to look for a species so rare that it seemed as mythical as a Phoenix. Not only was it almost unknown, but also the Okinawa Rail had only recently been discovered. It was, as reporters like to say, a species new to science. Nothing was known about its numbers, its distribution, its habitat or its behavior — yet, with the audacity of youth, I set off in search of one. The first specimen cited in the few extant records was from the northern third of Okinawa, the forested hills known as Yambaru. Hence the bird I went in search of was the Yambaru Kuina.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2013
Opponents derail Obama’s dream of high-speed trains, and jobs
The gleaming red-and-white trains sit motionless in a cavernous warehouse in Century City, an industrial neighborhood that cranked out 100 million car and truck frames in its heyday. The seats are draped in plastic; an electronic screen on one reads, "Quiet Car. 11:10 a.m. 000 MPH."
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 30, 2013
Maglev challenge both technical and financial
Central Japan Railway Co.'s project to build a magnetically levitated (maglev) train system re-entered the spotlight Sept. 18 when it unveiled the details of a route scheduled to open between Tokyo and Nagoya by 2027.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2013
Return rush peaks after Bon holiday season
Railway stations, airports and expressways nationwide were jammed Saturday with travelers returning home from the Bon holidays.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 31, 2013
As rural rail lines close bus travel gets a makeover
If you live in the Tokyo metropolitan area, you have access to the greatest network in the universe, but if you don't you may find your local transportation options dwindling.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Oct 2, 2012
Today’s J-blip: Virtual Japanese trainspotting
Want to see where all the trains in Japan are at once? There's a map for that.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Sep 11, 2012
Today's J-blip: Name the Tokyu train mascot
Quick! Name that mascot!
Reader Mail
Feb 27, 2011
Pawns of leading-edge 'research'
The front-page Feb. 22 article "Work starts at Shinjuku Unit 731" prompted me to make a few comments as a student of the Chinese language who visited the Biological Warfare Unit 731 site in the Pingfang district of Harbin, China. (The Shinjuku site in Tokyo is said to have been research headquarters for Unit 731.)
Reader Mail
Aug 12, 2007
Fortuitous courtesy on a train
Roger Pulvers' July 29 Counterpoint article, "Erring voyager roots for Japanese courtesy that can't be beat," could not have been more timely. I read it within 48 hours of experiencing the same brand of uniquely Japanese courtesy of which Pulvers writes so admiringly. On the way to Tokyo Station on July 27, I inadvertently left my cell phone in the taxi. I discovered the loss an hour later on the Shinkansen train to Kyoto.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree