So begins any trip onboard Japan's high speed trains when a soft female voice announces that you are now part of a Shinkansen (train) experience. The narration is quickly followed by a long Japanese translation about the destination, stops to be made and so on. I actually debated titling this episode - Pop goes the Weasel - but then decided it was too cheesy to - even for the blog. Reason being that or another really funky nursery rhyme is the sound you hear on a Xylophone rendition, over the PA system when a Shinkansen is about to appear.
In the post WWII era Japan expanded its industrial production in all spheres and the rails were no exception. Called 'Shinkansen' which literally translates to 'New Rail Line' was a project that Japan undertook in its modernization spree starting in the sixties. They built dedicated and custom engineered rail lines for allowing high speed trains to service the most busy corridors on the main island of Honshu, home to large cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto and Nagoya.
For the decades that followed into the nineties Japan has been constantly upgrading its rail infrastructure with better and faster trains. Just this month a new high speed train to the northernmost island of Hokkaido from Tokyo was unvelied when we visited Japan for spring break.
Many things about the Japanese rail system stand out as a class act. Notice I use the word SYSTEM as in the entire 'end to end' customer experience is in focus - not just the fact that the train travels really fast. So let me put it in perspective.
First the purchase. For foreigners visiting Japan there is a wonderful product called the JR pass or the Japanese Rail Pass available for 1 or 2 weeks duration of unlimited travel that uses any local train service operated by JR as well as some of the JR high speed trains. It is easy to purchase online and can be obtained months in advance. This Pass pays for itself if an adult plans to use it for a single superfast round trip train travel between Tokyo and Kyoto, a distance of just over 450 km or 290 miles. You may or may not reserve a seat (typically for rush hour it is advisable and easy enough to do by walking to a JR office on any station ahead of your depature).
Colloquially called the Bullet Train because the early generation of today's dolphin shaped beauties (today they look like this mammal) were in early generations, shaped like a bullet piercing through the Japanese landscape. Reaching maximum speeds of 300 kmph or over 180 mph (not the fastest in the world but plenty quick) on stretches the Tokyo to Kyoto run for example can be done under 3 hours.
We were equipped with this wonderful pass and so all we had to do was flash it to the attendant on the station before you enter the pay gates and board a train to your destination. What is impressive is that the whole experience from arriving at the station to boarding to travel to arrival is exceptionally smooth and very very predictable and 100% enjoyable.
It is also a testament to the Japanese obsession for Total Quality - a phrase many an engineer might have heard but may not experience or fully appreicate.
So why is it special? Once you decide on a travel plan using any JR train it is a matter of arriving at the station and simply ask any of the JR attendant on the gate as to best way to get to your destination on a Shinkansen or otherwise, They are so well versed with their schedules that they simply spit it out with the efficiency of a Google search. Further they tell you which Track (platform) your train is arriving. English is not a strong suit but you get enough like departure time and track number including the type of service that you are covered. Knowing your track number is critical because without it you can be lost. Many a station is like a large airport witih tens of tracks at different levels servicing different rail companies with their different type of rail systems. JR alone runs several versions of trains from subways to locals to express to Superfast Shinkansen of four different kinds.
All platforms have several local food options in a box before you jump on the train. Priced affordably it is a go to snack for most people looking to get to work without the hassle of going to the market. All platforms are spotless clean to the point you can pick your food off it if you dropped it - you should if you do (at least pick it if not eat it).
The types JR pass allows are 'Hikari' and 'Kodama' which simply mean they make more stops than the ultra fast trains (like the 'Mizhuo' or 'Nozomi') that only do a few stops on same route therefore getting to the destination faster. They all use the same type of equipment (many made by Hitachi) called train sets, on a particular route.
By designing the tracks with minimal curves and taking the track over or under congested areas the service allows for trains to reach max cruising speed quickly and travel fast. The biggest advantage or secret sauce to the high speed reliability is dedicated rail tracks for Shinkansen thereby avoiding the need to stop for slow moving traffic.
At peak times there are Shinkansen trains leaving with a gap of 3 minutes between trains on the popular routes, a feat not achieved by any country anywhere. The process to get a train into a station and clear it is done by a repeatable process involving a number of station attendants and supervisors coupled with low tech and hi tech. Each track has a schedule sheet for the day with a magnet stuck on the train arrival and departure board posted for that platform showing which train is next with a dedicated coordinator updating it each time a train pulls in and departs. Attendants placed at startegic distances along the length of the platform clear a train coming in and leaving, ensuring nothing is blocking or endangering anyone - cameras monitor every move. Many platforms use retractable gates that open precisely where the train doors will open providing a physical separation of passanger and train.
Inside, each coach comes with a couple of simple retractable hangers for a small purse or camera bag to hang near your seat. Also a basic coach layout is printed on the retractable food tray attached to the seatback in front of you (like a plane) showing where the bathrooms and other amenities are located closest to your seat.
Another cool feature on many (all Shinkansen) train formats is that all seats can rotate 180 degrees allowing for agents on the station to turn them to face the direction of train travel. Before a train departs a train terminal there is an army of these agents that goes and simply flips each seat by pushing a lever and turning it to face the direction of travel. If you are a family of four you can choose to keep a set of two to face one another if you desire.
Food and drink service is on a cart that rolls up every half hour. Yes you can slug down a cold Asahi beer on board. Train conductors like most Japanese people will generally not bother to talk to anyone (you are on the train because someone checked you at the gate) but if they do it is polite and to the point. They do their jobs with quiet dedication to their cause - that of ensuring quick, clean and reliable transportation for the masses - to the point where they bow before entering a coach and bow out to the entire coach whether you are paying attention or not. I mean who bows to their customers? So does the lady with the food truck before she leaves your coach.
Now for the speed itself.. With a design called self-powered train sets the entire train which can be 20 coaches long uses multiple power enabled units throughout the length that speed the train from a speed of zero to peak speeds within seconds almost noiselessly. The coaches have curtains between them to minimize air gaps and reduce drag and wind noise.
While I did find the AVE high speed rail in Spain to be quieter and faster the entire experience on the Japanese system is worth exploring.
Finally here is a killer fact - NOT A SINGLE FATALITY due to engineering or operator error has been reported on the system since they went into service in the sixties.
In the post WWII era Japan expanded its industrial production in all spheres and the rails were no exception. Called 'Shinkansen' which literally translates to 'New Rail Line' was a project that Japan undertook in its modernization spree starting in the sixties. They built dedicated and custom engineered rail lines for allowing high speed trains to service the most busy corridors on the main island of Honshu, home to large cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto and Nagoya.
For the decades that followed into the nineties Japan has been constantly upgrading its rail infrastructure with better and faster trains. Just this month a new high speed train to the northernmost island of Hokkaido from Tokyo was unvelied when we visited Japan for spring break.
Many things about the Japanese rail system stand out as a class act. Notice I use the word SYSTEM as in the entire 'end to end' customer experience is in focus - not just the fact that the train travels really fast. So let me put it in perspective.
First the purchase. For foreigners visiting Japan there is a wonderful product called the JR pass or the Japanese Rail Pass available for 1 or 2 weeks duration of unlimited travel that uses any local train service operated by JR as well as some of the JR high speed trains. It is easy to purchase online and can be obtained months in advance. This Pass pays for itself if an adult plans to use it for a single superfast round trip train travel between Tokyo and Kyoto, a distance of just over 450 km or 290 miles. You may or may not reserve a seat (typically for rush hour it is advisable and easy enough to do by walking to a JR office on any station ahead of your depature).
Colloquially called the Bullet Train because the early generation of today's dolphin shaped beauties (today they look like this mammal) were in early generations, shaped like a bullet piercing through the Japanese landscape. Reaching maximum speeds of 300 kmph or over 180 mph (not the fastest in the world but plenty quick) on stretches the Tokyo to Kyoto run for example can be done under 3 hours.
 |
| 700 series Hikari Shinkansen |
We were equipped with this wonderful pass and so all we had to do was flash it to the attendant on the station before you enter the pay gates and board a train to your destination. What is impressive is that the whole experience from arriving at the station to boarding to travel to arrival is exceptionally smooth and very very predictable and 100% enjoyable.
It is also a testament to the Japanese obsession for Total Quality - a phrase many an engineer might have heard but may not experience or fully appreicate.
So why is it special? Once you decide on a travel plan using any JR train it is a matter of arriving at the station and simply ask any of the JR attendant on the gate as to best way to get to your destination on a Shinkansen or otherwise, They are so well versed with their schedules that they simply spit it out with the efficiency of a Google search. Further they tell you which Track (platform) your train is arriving. English is not a strong suit but you get enough like departure time and track number including the type of service that you are covered. Knowing your track number is critical because without it you can be lost. Many a station is like a large airport witih tens of tracks at different levels servicing different rail companies with their different type of rail systems. JR alone runs several versions of trains from subways to locals to express to Superfast Shinkansen of four different kinds.
All platforms have several local food options in a box before you jump on the train. Priced affordably it is a go to snack for most people looking to get to work without the hassle of going to the market. All platforms are spotless clean to the point you can pick your food off it if you dropped it - you should if you do (at least pick it if not eat it).
The types JR pass allows are 'Hikari' and 'Kodama' which simply mean they make more stops than the ultra fast trains (like the 'Mizhuo' or 'Nozomi') that only do a few stops on same route therefore getting to the destination faster. They all use the same type of equipment (many made by Hitachi) called train sets, on a particular route.
By designing the tracks with minimal curves and taking the track over or under congested areas the service allows for trains to reach max cruising speed quickly and travel fast. The biggest advantage or secret sauce to the high speed reliability is dedicated rail tracks for Shinkansen thereby avoiding the need to stop for slow moving traffic.
At peak times there are Shinkansen trains leaving with a gap of 3 minutes between trains on the popular routes, a feat not achieved by any country anywhere. The process to get a train into a station and clear it is done by a repeatable process involving a number of station attendants and supervisors coupled with low tech and hi tech. Each track has a schedule sheet for the day with a magnet stuck on the train arrival and departure board posted for that platform showing which train is next with a dedicated coordinator updating it each time a train pulls in and departs. Attendants placed at startegic distances along the length of the platform clear a train coming in and leaving, ensuring nothing is blocking or endangering anyone - cameras monitor every move. Many platforms use retractable gates that open precisely where the train doors will open providing a physical separation of passanger and train.
Inside, each coach comes with a couple of simple retractable hangers for a small purse or camera bag to hang near your seat. Also a basic coach layout is printed on the retractable food tray attached to the seatback in front of you (like a plane) showing where the bathrooms and other amenities are located closest to your seat.
Another cool feature on many (all Shinkansen) train formats is that all seats can rotate 180 degrees allowing for agents on the station to turn them to face the direction of train travel. Before a train departs a train terminal there is an army of these agents that goes and simply flips each seat by pushing a lever and turning it to face the direction of travel. If you are a family of four you can choose to keep a set of two to face one another if you desire.
Food and drink service is on a cart that rolls up every half hour. Yes you can slug down a cold Asahi beer on board. Train conductors like most Japanese people will generally not bother to talk to anyone (you are on the train because someone checked you at the gate) but if they do it is polite and to the point. They do their jobs with quiet dedication to their cause - that of ensuring quick, clean and reliable transportation for the masses - to the point where they bow before entering a coach and bow out to the entire coach whether you are paying attention or not. I mean who bows to their customers? So does the lady with the food truck before she leaves your coach.
 |
| Purple Dolphins? Kodama Superfast Train at Shin Kobe |
While I did find the AVE high speed rail in Spain to be quieter and faster the entire experience on the Japanese system is worth exploring.
Finally here is a killer fact - NOT A SINGLE FATALITY due to engineering or operator error has been reported on the system since they went into service in the sixties.
Comments
Post a Comment