The Men Who Built the Shinkansen

[Jcarlton]

Interesting NHK show about the men who built the Shinkansen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=fYYVraEknqU&NR=1

Nu sbutitles though, which woul be a big help for this.

[bikkuri bahn]

Thanks for posting.  The original Project X episode is only 28 minutes or so in length, the other stuff (the text w/ black background) was inserted as filler by the poster, perhaps as a way to circumvent copyright action by NHK. Just watch from 2:40 till 30:45 to see the NHK production (though there are few interruptions in the course of the program). Anyway, one of the best documentaries on the development of rolling stock and a high speed rail system. Only 7 years from a proposal for an HSR line discussed at a Ginza auditorium to the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen.  In the U.S. now, seven years will pass, and they will still be discussing proposals at auditoriums, or screaming about "boondoggles". Sigh.

[200系]

Jcarlton,

 

thanks for the heads up, I had been looking for this Project X episode for a while now. thanks!

 

No subtitles though, which woul be a big help for this.

 

AFAIK, parts of the interviews where featured on the English NHK world feature on the Shinkansen a few years ago. At least the part with Matsudaira and the research into high speed bogies/trucks was (partially) present.

 

Only 7 years from a proposal for an HSR line discussed at a Ginza auditorium to the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen

 

Not to take away from the amazing achievement this certainly was' date=' but part of the reason for the quick construction time was the fact that some of the tunnels used on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen had already been build before construction started, as they where part of the original [i']dangan ressha[/i] (弾丸列車 in Japanese, literally 'Bullet Train') proposals of the 1930's, with some of the needed infrastructure already build in the 1940's (work was abandoned in 1943/44 as the war situation worsened). This allowed the J.N.R. Shinkansen group to speed up construction by using the existing tunnels, in most cases only having to lay the new 1435mm track. To be fair though only a portion of the dangan ressha and the eventual Tōkaidō Shinkansen shared the same route (especially the Nagoya-Kyōto section followed a different route, as well as the Yokohama section, and possibly a few more), but it did help in realizing such a short construction time.

 

Another thing often forgotten today, is that luck played a significant role in the eventual realization of the Shinkansen project. Without people like Sogō Shinji (JNR president 1955-1963) Shima Hideo (chief engineer), and the mentioned RTRI engineers: Matsudaira Tadashi, Kawanabe Hajime, Miki Tadanao and countless others, the Shinkansen project would have never have been completed. Sogō in particular ensured the continued building of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, by applying for a loan from the World Bank, purposely understating the lines total building cost, as well as publicly stating a relatively low maximum speed figure (200km/h operating speed, while the line was designed for higher speeds in the future), Sogō was able to make it impossible for any politician to cancel the Shinkansen before completion. Unfortunately the inevitable cost overruns, as well as other reasons forced him to resign in 1963 before completion of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen.

Perhaps unimaginable today, but back then the Shinkansen project was anything but popular, even within J.N.R. In fact some people within J.N.R. where openly hostile against it calling into question the sanity, feasibility and even safety (during these days J.N.R. had had quite a few serious accidents, and there where serious doubts about the safety of a 200km/h Shinkansen as a result). Fortunately, when the Shinkansen Tōkaidō finally opened in 1964, all these doubts where erased, and turned into almost limitless enthusiasm, but it was anything but smooth sailing before that.

 

Now, the Shinkansen did have it's dark hours after this unfortunately, with the cancellation of the Narita Shinkansen due to protests, the allegations of corruption with regards to the Jōetsu Shinkansen, as well as some of the alleged political stations existing today being the main examples. It's also worth looking the difference between the 'Shinkansen Development Act' as devised after the opening of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and the 'seibi' Shinkansen law set up after the 1973 oil shock, with quite a few planned Shinkansen lines canceled as a result (as well as the worsening finances of J.N.R.). Taking this in mind, I think it makes the contribution of the people working on the original Shinkansen even more worthwhile.

 

anyway, what I think the American HSR proposals need is a Sogō Shinji, someone capable of coming up with a realistic proposal, someone capable of bringing a project like this to fruition.

I personally don't follow, nor really care for the American HSR debate (not really a big HSR fan in general, ironic isn't it for someone who loves the Shinkansen), but in my view such a person simply isn't there right now, couple that to the other hurdles (Public, Politicians, unrealistic targets in cases) these projects have to go through, I simply don't see it happening.

 

Sander

[Jcarlton]

The story of how the Tokaido Shinkasen came to be is as remarkable as the railroad itself.  If you don't have a copy already, get "Old Man Thunder" which is the story of Shinji Sogo.  The Shinkansen came about because Mr. Sogo was head of JNR when the RR hit bottom and was willing to do anything to build the best railroad in the world.

[cteno4]

Great book and cheap to pickup, think I got mine for $2 thru abebooks.com

 

jeff

[Sacto1985]

If I remember correctly, part of the Keisei Narita Sky Access route used by the Skyliner train between Narita Airport and Keisei Ueno Station was actually supposed to be the right of way for the cancelled Narita Shinkansen route. That's why Keisei can run trains as fast as 160 km/h on the Narita Sky Access route, one of the fastest non-JR lines in Japan.

 

Two new Shinkansen routes will soon open: the Hokuriku line from Tokyo to Kanazawa (the current Nagano Shinkansen line will be renamed the Hokuriku Shinkansen line) and the Hokkaido line from Shin Aomori to Hakodate. I believe that the Hokkaido line will essentially be the current Tohok line route but instead of ending at Shin Aomori it will end at Hakodate. I believe they've already started construction work to extend the Hokuriku line from Kanazawa all the way to Fukui; to go beyond Fukui is too expensive for now since it would require building some of the longest railway tunnels in Japan to reach Tsuruga and eventually the north shore of Lake Biwa.