Central Japan Railway unveils first battery-powered shinkansen
Central Japan Railway Co. conducted a test run for the press Wednesday of its new battery-powered shinkansen, a world for high-speed rail. JR Central said it hopes the technology will be useful in emergencies that might otherwise leave trains stranded in tunnels or on bridges ...
A year after stabbing, Japan's shinkansen wrestle with balance between safety and convenience
A year after a knife attack on a bullet train left one passenger dead and two wounded, authorities and railways are trying to take steps — especially visible ones — to prevent similar crimes. Experts are calling to start baggage inspections at train stations, though ...
Shinkansen operator JR Central eyes own cleaning 'miracle' as it competes with rival
In a move to better compete with a rival train operator's famous "7-minute miracle" for cleaning a shinkansen between its arrival and departure, Central Japan Railway Co. will shave off two minutes from its own bullet train cleaning work, beginning next spring. JR Central plans ...
Train to nowhere? California's high-speed rail plan looking more like a pipe dream
Keith Erwin was about to buy the land that his auto repair shop sits on when he was turned down because California's much awaited high-speed rail line was going to pass through the spot. Five years later, he sees no train coming anytime soon and ...
JR East shinkansen ALFA-X prototype hits 320 kph in test run in northeastern Japan
A prototype of Japan's new shinkansen conducted a trial early Thursday, reaching 320 kilometers per hour, the maximum speed for existing shinkansen models. The prototype, dubbed ALFA-X, is designed to travel at 360 kph when it is put into service by the spring of 2031, ...
Power outage between Niigata and Tokyo leaves vacationers stuck in packed bullet trains
Operations of the Joetsu Shinkansen were halted for 3½ hours on Sunday, the second day of an extended holiday period.
Hyogo police arrest man after he opened door of shinkansen train and stepped out onto tracks
A man in his 50s was arrested Sunday after he opened a door of a shinkansen train and stepped onto the tracks after the train made a sudden stop. Hyogo Prefectural Police officials said the man, who was on a Sanyo Shinkansen Line train running ...
Elderly man disrupts Japanese bullet train service with 10-km walk on tracks
More than 9,000 passengers were affected by the delay, East Japan Railway Co. said.
Municipal mergers, integrated casino resorts, bullet trains and the future of nuclear power plants — local issues with national political repercussions — are expected to be taken up by candidates from Hokkaido to Kyushu in the coming weeks as the country prepares for a ...
Knives must be packed when brought on Japan's trains from April under new regulations
Measures by the transport ministry to ban knives that are not properly packed from being brought aboard trains are set to begin from April. The ministry revised an ordinance to introduce the ban in response to a knifing rampage that occurred on a bullet train ...
Yamanote Line train driver fulfills life's dream, down to the exact second
Ask any group of children in Japan what they want to be when they grow up and one answer in particular is sure to feature. "The first time I thought about becoming a train driver was when I was a fourth-grade elementary school student," said ...
