Mini-shinkansen
Encyclopedia
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
railway lines to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
for use by Shinkansen
Shinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
train services in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Two mini-shinkansen routes have been constructed: the Yamagata Shinkansen
Yamagata Shinkansen
The is a Mini-shinkansen route in Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company . It provides service between Tokyo and Shinjō in Yamagata Prefecture over the tracks of the Tōhoku Shinkansen and the Ōu Main Line....
and Akita Shinkansen
Akita Shinkansen
The is a Mini-shinkansen high-speed rail line in Japan. Serving the Kantō and Tōhoku Regions of the country, it links Tokyo and Akita in Akita prefecture with direct service. From Tokyo to Morioka in Iwate prefecture, it operates on the Tōhoku Shinkansen tracks. From there to Ōmagari, it uses the...
.
Concept
The Mini-shinkansen concept was first developed in JNR days, but was not formally proposed until November 1987, following the formation of East Japan Railway CompanyEast Japan Railway Company
is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
(JR East). The concept involved regauging existing Cape gauge
Cape gauge
Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...
lines to standard gauge and linking them to the Shinkansen network to allow through-running. While the track gauge was widened, the loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
remained unchanged, requiring the construction of new shinkansen trains with a narrower cross-section. These would be capable of running at high-speed (over 200 km/h) on shinkansen tracks, either on their own or coupled to full-sized sets, and run at conventional narrow-gauge speeds (around 130 km/h) on the mini-shinkansen tracks. Speeds on converted lines would also be raised where possible.
Yamagata Shinkansen
The first mini-shinkansen route to be built was the Yamagata ShinkansenYamagata Shinkansen
The is a Mini-shinkansen route in Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company . It provides service between Tokyo and Shinjō in Yamagata Prefecture over the tracks of the Tōhoku Shinkansen and the Ōu Main Line....
, converted from the 90 km section of the Ōu Main Line
Ou Main Line
The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company . It runs from Fukushima Station in Fukushima, Fukushima through Akita Station in Akita, Akita to Aomori Station in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture...
between Fukushima
Fukushima Station (Fukushima)
is a railway station located in the city of Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan.-Lines:*JR East**Tōhoku Shinkansen**Yamagata Shinkansen**Tōhoku Main Line**Ōu Main Line*AbukumaExpress** Abukuma Express Line*Fukushima Transportation** Iizaka Line-Layout:...
on the Tōhoku Shinkansen
Tohoku Shinkansen
The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture for a total length of 674 km, Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main island Honshu. It has two spur lines, Yamagata...
and Yamagata
Yamagata Station
is a JR East railway station located in Yamagata, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.-Line:* Yamagata Shinkansen* Ōu Main Line* Senzan Line* Aterazawa Line -History: *1901-04-11: Station begins operation.*1992-07-01: Yamagata shinkansen service is started....
in Yamagata Prefecture
Yamagata Prefecture
-Fruit:Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches, melons, persimmons and watermelons are also produced.- Demographics :...
. Work started in 1988, with Yamagata Shinkansen services commencing on 1 July 1992. Services were operated by a new fleet of 400 Series Shinkansen
400 Series Shinkansen
The was a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type operated by East Japan Railway Company between 1992 and 2010 on Tsubasa services on Japan's first Mini-shinkansen line, the Yamagata Shinkansen branch from the main Tōhoku Shinkansen....
trains, at up to 240 km/h on the Tōhoku Shinkansen and 130 km/h on the Yamagata Shinkansen section.
Akita Shinkansen
Following the success of the Yamagata Shinkansen conversion, a scheme was proposed to construct a second mini-shinkansen route from MoriokaMorioka Station
Morioka Station is a railway station located in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan.-History:The station was opened on November 1, 1890, by Japan's first private railway company, Nippon Tetsudō.-Station layout:...
in Iwate Prefecture
Iwate Prefecture
is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...
, then the northern terminus of the Tōhoku Shinkansen, with Akita
Akita Station
is a railway station in Akita, Akita, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company .-Platforms:- Limited express trains :* Komachi * Tsugaru * Inaho * Akebono * Nihonkai -Surrounding area:...
in Akita Prefecture
Akita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.- History :The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu....
. This involved regauging the 75.6 km Tazawako Line
Tazawako Line
The is a railway line connecting Morioka Station operated by East Japan Railway Company in Morioka, Iwate and Ōmagari Station in Daisen, Akita, Japan....
from Morioka to Ōmagari and 51.7 km of the Ōu Main Line
Ou Main Line
The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company . It runs from Fukushima Station in Fukushima, Fukushima through Akita Station in Akita, Akita to Aomori Station in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture...
from Ōmagari to Akita. This opened on 22 March 1997 with services using new E3 Series Shinkansen
E3 Series Shinkansen
The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type built for Komachi services which commenced on 3 June 1997, coinciding with opening of the new Akita Shinkansen 'mini-shinkansen' line, a regular narrow-gauge line between Morioka and Akita upgraded to . Later versions of the E3 series were also...
trains.
Rolling stock
The following rolling stock was built for use on mini-shinkansen lines.- 400 Series Shinkansen400 Series ShinkansenThe was a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type operated by East Japan Railway Company between 1992 and 2010 on Tsubasa services on Japan's first Mini-shinkansen line, the Yamagata Shinkansen branch from the main Tōhoku Shinkansen....
, Yamagata Shinkansen (1992–2009) - E3 Series ShinkansenE3 Series ShinkansenThe is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type built for Komachi services which commenced on 3 June 1997, coinciding with opening of the new Akita Shinkansen 'mini-shinkansen' line, a regular narrow-gauge line between Morioka and Akita upgraded to . Later versions of the E3 series were also...
, Akita Shinkansen (1997–) and Yamagata Shinkansen (1999–) - E926 East iDoctor Yellowis the nickname for the high-speed test trains that are used on the Japanese Shinkansen dedicated express passenger train routes.The trains have special equipment on board to monitor the condition of the track and overhead wire, including special instrumented bogies and observation blisters.The...
track and overhead wire inspection train (2001–) - E955 Fastech 360Z experimental test train (2006–2008)
- E6 Series ShinkansenE6 Series ShinkansenThe is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type on order by East Japan Railway Company for use on Komachi 'mini-shinkansen' services on the Tōhoku Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen from Tokyo to Akita commencing in March 2013. The new 7-car trains will operate in conjunction with newly...
, planned for Akita Shinkansen from 2013
See also
- Gauge Change TrainGauge Change TrainThe Gauge Change Train or is the name given to a Japanese project started in 1994 to develop a high-speed train with variable gauge axles to allow inter-running between the standard gauge Shinkansen network, and the narrow gauge provincial network....
, an experimental train designed to operate on both narrow-gauge and standard-gauge routes - Super TokkyūSuper Tokkyuis the name given to the concept of building new high-speed narrow gauge railway lines in Japan to extend the shinkansen network of high-speed lines.-Concept:...
, a concept of building narrow-gauge lines to Shinkansen standards