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Holy Schnikes, those are some long trains Batman.


Mudkip Orange

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The "blue trains" are the generic japanese sleeper trains. They are called like that because the coaches are blue. You can spot some running in the background in the middle/end of the first video.

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I can understand because those blue trains give you a very rough ride, it jerked and squealed all through the night when I took them last November. 

 

But I do understand the sentimental value of them in many Japanese rail fans' eyes.

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They are not discontinued because the trains are old and the ride very rough (evven if it can play a role) but because HST make them kind of obsolete and are (usualy) a lot more profitable. With the speed up journeys offered by HST you don't really need to spend the night in a train anymore.

 

But I'm wondering are the Cassiopea and the Sunrise Express more confortable than the generic blue trains?

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They are not discontinued because the trains are old and the ride very rough (evven if it can play a role) but because HST make them kind of obsolete and are (usualy) a lot more profitable. With the speed up journeys offered by HST you don't really need to spend the night in a train anymore.

 

But I'm wondering are the Cassiopea and the Sunrise Express more confortable than the generic blue trains?

 

Cassiopea and Sunrise are very comfortable trains.  Sunrise is EMU like ICE-T or Shinkansen.  As a result, you hardly ever feel anything when you are sleeping.

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Blue Trains are currently being discontinued all over Japan because of declining ridership over the last 20 years. Several major Shinkansen extensions are due to open over the next few years which would further accelerate ridership declines. 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Train_%28Japan%29

 

Overnight buses have helped a lot too in killing the ridership as they cost much less than blue trains to operate, maintain, and stff. The ticket prices are very appealing to customers as well.

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That is a nice layout, shame I cannot win the Euromillion's otherwise I would have a layout like that although it would be similar and the Japanese equivilent to the Minature Wunterland in Germany.

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I can understand because those blue trains give you a very rough ride, it jerked and squealed all through the night when I took them last November. 

 

But I do understand the sentimental value of them in many Japanese rail fans' eyes.

 

I guess so with this crew.

 

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hahaha Ice T  :laugh: Nah, it is the German Version!

 

@bill937a, yes it does feel that way at every single stop along the way from Kyoto to Amori.

 

It got to the point that I was preparing for the jerk so that I won't hit the wall every time it started.  I gave up in the end and just put an extra pillow against the wall.

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