Tazawako Line Cab Ride (701 EMU)

[scott]

Shock and surprise, here's a video from an electric train in Tohoku. Whatever next?

 

[Mudkip Orange]

I like the asymmetric track offset @ the station in the beginning.

[KenS]

According to wikipedia the Tazawako line is standard gauge (regauged in 1997) and used by E3 stock of the Akita Shinkansen mini-Shinkansen.  That would explain the three different classes on the speed-limit signs (freight, passenger and Shinkansen?).

 

So, Shinkansen on a twisty roadside single-track line without even a fenced right-of-way.  I guess there's a prototype for everything.

[Mudkip Orange]

three different classes on the speed-limit signs (freight, passenger and Shinkansen?).

 

I didn't notice these the first time. Check out how at 2:02, the top speed limit drops to 65km/h, @ 2:55 it goes up to 105km/h, then at 3:17 it's back to 70km/h. As if ANY rolling stock is capable of accelerating/decelerating that fast.

[Mudkip Orange]

Also playing around with Google schedules, it seems there are many more Shinkansen than locals on this route. For instance departing Morioka on Wednesday the 17th, there are only three locals which continue to Omagari:

 

5:22am

2:10pm

6:05pm

 

 

But there are sixteen shinkansen:

7:58

9:24

10:04

11:01

11:24

12:24

1:24

2:24

3:24

4:24

5:24

6:24

7:24

8:24

9:38

10:30

 

This has the practical effect of jacking up fares (2910 vs 1450 JPY). There are several more trains in either direction that terminate at Tazawako (the halfway point), but the schedules seem timed to preclude easy transfer. Click "no express" on Google and more than likely the fastest route is a long detour south via the Kitakami line.

 

And if you're trying to go from a minor station east of Tazawako to a minor station west of Tazawako... fugeddabouit. You'd be better off riding a bike.

[disturbman]

Welcome to the post HST world.

[Mudkip Orange]

It's a decent argument in favor of privatizing bypassed 1067mm lines; you build a shinkansen, then turn the adjacent railroad over to a private company that *directly competes* with you.

 

In the other thread, you posted a link to an old page on Kagoshima: Hisatsu Orange runs through-service on a nearly hourly schedule all the way from Sendai to Yatsushiro - 125km, no transfer required. OK, it takes a good two hours longer than the Kyushu Shinkansen - but if you live at one of the intermittent stations, it's convenient.

 

Kyoto-Nagoya is also about 125km, but JR Tokai will make you AT LEAST transfer at Maibara, and probably again at Ogaki, as they have a vested interest in "nudging" you toward using the Shinkansen.

[disturbman]

Aren't the JR allready private company? At least the big ones like JR East, Central and West?  And they won't surrender potentially harmfull lines to competitors. They are not crazy. ;)

 

Anyway, I agree with you. HSL can have a very bad effect on local traffics. The thing is, railway companies that are puting HST forward have to recoup their expenses and they do that by forcing you to use the very profitable (for them) HST even if you don't need to. SNCF, for exemple, does that on a very big scale. But this is something that might change in Europe with the recent opening of the passenger railway market to new comers. For exemple, Veolia has been awarded the right to operate passenger services on the french network. And they allready run (succesfully?) some IC trains in Germany IIRC.

[scott]

So, Shinkansen on a twisty roadside single-track line without even a fenced right-of-way.  I guess there's a prototype for everything.

 

I keep wondering what the point of the mini-Shinkansens is, since they don't run all that fast on the non-Shinkansen lines. I know it's convenient and a bit quicker not to have to change trains, but it seems like most regular limited-express equipment could manage the same speeds (max 130 km/h iirc) on the smaller lines, without re-gauging, etc.

[disturbman]

That's exactly the point, convenience. People don't really like to have to change trains. If the demand is high enough, that makes sense. Even more when you can sell Shinkansen tickets a lot more than regular limited express ticket.

 

It's also a very simple way for JR East to offer more Shinkansen destinations without actually build a new Shinkansen line. This emulates the way the French HSN is run.

[westfalen]

three different classes on the speed-limit signs (freight, passenger and Shinkansen?).

 

I didn't notice these the first time. Check out how at 2:02, the top speed limit drops to 65km/h, @ 2:55 it goes up to 105km/h, then at 3:17 it's back to 70km/h. As if ANY rolling stock is capable of accelerating/decelerating that fast.

There are also a few spots like that here in Brisbane where speed boards are not much more, or even less that a train length apart and you have no chance of even accelerating, much less reaching the higher speed. I'm convinced their placement is worked out by some engineer sitting in an office who has never been in the cab of a train in his life.

 

The same thing happened with fares here when the XPT was introduced in New South Wales in the 80's, the train required an extra fare, which was fine except for the lines where XPT's were the only trains. The railways eventually gave in to public pressure and took off the extra fare, maybe those three locals are only there so that JR can say, "If you don't like the Shinkansen fare you don't have to pay it".

 

I believe that although JR is privately owned a lot of its funding still comes from government grants, standard gauging the 3'6" line to Akita would have been a cheap way of giving them a Shinkansen and winning a few votes, who cares about the little villages enroute.

[Mudkip Orange]

I kinda always thought the difference is the JR companies are "too big to fail." If JR Tokai goes into default, the Japanese national government would figure out some way to extend loans/etc. Whereas if Keihan goes into default, maybe they'll get some assistance from Kyoto or Osaka cities but the national government doesn't care. And if Choshi goes into default, well, buh-bye...

[Mudkip Orange]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3roU3flKwD0&feature=channel

 

...annnd in the background, it's everyone's favorite DMU!

[scott]

People don't really like to have to change trains.

 

But then when do they take pictures and video of all the passing trains?!?!  ;-)

[disturbman]

They don't, except if they are rail fans. But those can even wait several hours to see a train. They are crazy people! 

[westfalen]

Most Japanese passengers don't like changing trains because it interrupts their sleep.