JR Hokkaido DMUs to Myanmar?

[miyakoji]

Here's a thread on Ompuchaneru speculating that some JR Hokkaido KIHA 48s, 141s, and 142s are bound for Myanmar.  The first post references a list on etrain.jp that shows special movements of rolling stock.  Entries 123 through 125 show 3 different movements of 5 cars each from Naebo Station (location of Naebo Works, a large JRH maintenance facility) to Jinyamachi Station, a JR Freight station on the Muroran Main Line that's right on Muroran Port.  The final destination is not listed although the company in charge has apparently overseen previous shipments of railcars to Myanmar.  With the electrification of the Sassho Line, are these 15 cars surplus?  Bikkuri, have you heard anything about this?

 

Ompuchaneru thread: http://rail-uploader.khz-net.com/index.php?id=1038679

etrain.jp listing of 'koshu' movements: http://www.etrain.jp/transportation/transportation.cgi

Google map of Naebo Station and neighboring maintenance facility: http://goo.gl/maps/1epq

Google map of Jinyamachi Station: http://goo.gl/maps/DqjC

[bikkuri bahn]

I haven't heard anything from the mainstream press, they usually don't report this stuff until the rolling stock is actually being loaded onto the ship (provides a good photo op, I guess).  But anyway, there were only one or two 141's on the Naebo scrap line when I looked on Friday evening, dunno if they are actually going to be scrapped or are parked there temporarily.  Certainly with only 30% of services remaining diesel on the Sassho Line, those 70% remaining dmus are surplus.  The kiha 40's can be used elsewhere as they are versatile, but the 141's and 48's are not very useful other than for commuter services, so rather than scrapping them, they can be put to good use abroad, as it seems in this case.

[miyakoji]

The kiha 40's can be used elsewhere as they are versatile, but the 141's and 48's are not very useful other than for commuter services

Because they have cabs at only one end?  JRH could always do a JR West maneuver and build cabs at the vestibule ends like they did with the so-called KIHA41 series.  JRW seems to really like doing that.

 

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB:JRW_DC_kiha41-2002_wadayama_-_takeda.jpg

[bikkuri bahn]

The kiha 40's can be used elsewhere as they are versatile, but the 141's and 48's are not very useful other than for commuter services

Because they have cabs at only one end?  JRH could always do a JR West maneuver and build cabs at the vestibule ends like they did with the so-called KIHA41 series.  JRW seems to really like doing that.

 

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB:JRW_DC_kiha41-2002_wadayama_-_takeda.jpg

 

I don't know the immediate and future DMU rolling stock requirements of JR Hokkaido, but I reckon the current stock of 40's is adequate, and the expense of rebuilding the 48's to double cab configuration is not worth it.  I don't think JR Hokkaido has the volume of peak commuter traffic on semi-rural/rural diesel lines (i.e. high schoolers) that JR West has, and many of those lines are feeders off the electrified main lines and shinkansen, a much different dynamic than in sparsely populated Hokkaido.

[Guest ___]

I thoguht Japanese law forbids exporting to Burma!? Unless the international restrictions have changed in the past couple months, I was under the impression that Japan still was partaking in the export embargo on Burma? Has this changed? I know the UN (of which Japan is a member nation of) is taking about easing some of the restrictions, but as far as I know they are still in place.

[keitaro]

they removed this last month because they are improving it was a sing of good faith they would continue in the right direction or so i read

[bikkuri bahn]

I don't know the nuts and bolts of export controls and ODA, but there have been donations of used JNR stock in the past, perhaps this falls under humanitarian aid, which I believe has continued even after suspension of primary ODA.  Likely used DMUs are not considered prime tools of government suppression of human rights or vehicles to expand military control.

[miyakoji]

Nothing special but this Tetsudou Fan news article has images of the first group of 5 cars.

 

http://railf.jp/news/2012/06/22/172900.html

[miyakoji]

The latest installment, here are 5 more KIHAs (48s and 141s) behind 6 TAKI tanks, all pulled by DF200-122.  Seems like a fairly rare consist.

 

http://railf.jp/news/2012/07/14/225800.html

 

I'm not going to start a new thread for more DMUs going to Myanmar, so here's another article about 2 Isumi Railway 200 series on their way:

 

http://railf.jp/news/2012/07/14/225900.html

[Guest ___]

OR, I could just split this thread in half?