NEWSWORTHY
Hong Kong on Saturday opened a new high-speed rail link to inland China that will vastly decrease travel times but also raises concerns about Beijing's creeping influence over the semi-autonomous Chinese region. Costing upward of $10 billion and taking more than eight years to build, ...
Malaysia, Singapore agree to postpone rail project for two years: report
Malaysia has agreed with Singapore to postpone the development of a high-speed rail service by two years, Malaysian media reported, as Southeast Asia's third-largest economy looks to review mega-projects to cut its massive debt. Malaysian business weekly The Edge on Saturday cited sources confirming both ...
Struggling railway in Chiba launches 'foul-tasting' snack to boost revenue
A small railway in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, has turned to a stick-shaped snack with a funny name in an attempt to boost its business, which has been battered by a decline in ridership. Choshi Electric Railway Co., which runs a 6.4-km line in the city, ...
Tokyo to offer JR Hokkaido ¥40 billion while ordering the railway operator to improve management
The government will order struggling Hokkaido Railway Co. (JR Hokkaido) to improve its management, while also offering ¥40 billion in financial aid to the firm over two years through March 2021, transport minister Keiichi Ishii said Friday. The railway operator has been mired in a ...
Calls for multilingual alert systems grow in Japan as visitors crowd mass transport
As the continuing tourism boom packs public transportation systems nationwide, developing multilingual emergency alerts is becoming a top priority. In public transport emergencies, there are often no emergency announcements in English or other languages, leaving both foreign passengers and the Japanese staff in charge of ...
Rail car mover, used to carry bricks in Gifu, to be restored 40 years after retirement
Efforts are underway to restore an abandoned freight car mover that was used until some 40 years ago to carry firebricks at a brick factory in the major ceramics production town of Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture. Kobei Kato, 72, the seventh-generation master of local pottery Kobei-gama ...
Britain's plan to again nationalize key rail line sparks new row over ownership
The British government is renationalizing the rail route between London and Edinburgh, taking back the line from a private company after it over-estimated profits, in a step likely to reignite a debate over public ownership of the U.K.'s railways. The government said on Wednesday it ...
A shinkansen featuring a design inspired by the popular Japanese animation series "Neon Genesis Evangelion" made its final run on Sunday, drawing throngs of fans to witness the last journey. Around 1,200 people, including anime fans and train enthusiasts, gathered on a platform at Shin-Osaka ...
First batch of Japan-made mass rapid transit trains arrive in Jakarta
A cargo of 12 Japanese-made train cars has arrived in Jakarta as the first batch of rolling stock for a government-run mass rapid railway project partly financed by the Japanese government. The carriages — constituting two Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta trains, manufactured by Nippon Sharyo ...
Millions of French commuters suffered a second day of travel chaos on Wednesday as striking rail workers locked horns with President Emmanuel Macron's government in a dispute over reforming the state-owned SNCF railways. Commuters in and around Paris pushed their way onto the few trains ...
Growing protests at French universities on Wednesday added to pressure on President Emmanuel Macron over his sweeping reform agenda, as rail workers pressed on with rolling strikes that are causing havoc for millions of travelers. Train drivers and other railway staff waged a second day ...
Japanese railway operators are making the most of local sightseeing spots along their routes to attract more foreign tourists, with social media proving an excellent promotional tool. At Gotokuji Temple, located along Tokyu Corp.'s Setagaya Line in Tokyo, foreign tourists snapped shots of a cluster ...
