Mini-Shinkansen -- a Solution for Extending High-Speed Rail at Low Cost
Time/date:
Thursday, July 20, 2006
6:15 PM - 8:10 PM
East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) now has two "Mini-Shinkansen" services in operation which are legally and technically separate from the Shinkansen system. The Akita and Yamagata Mini-Shinkansen lines use existing narrow gauge rights-of-way that have been re-gauged or dual-gauged to standard. These services use smaller EMU high speed train sets -- built to a narrow gauge profile -- but which can couple on to 170 mph Tohoku Line Bullet Trains from Tokyo.
At designated points, the "minis" diverge onto their former narrow gauge corridors at a top speed of about 80 mph. Passengers can ride through services between Akita or Yamagata and Tokyo without changing trains. Ryan Hoover will show highlights of a video illustrating these services in operation.
Location:
back room of Cafe Yulong, 743 W. Dana St., Mountain View Cafe Yulong is located a few blocks from the Mountain View Caltrain sta
Mountain View
Files:
JR Mini-Shinkansen YH.doc (doc, 35 KB)