Japan - railways, services and incidents - merged posts

[whole diary]

[Bmblbzzz]

Railways in Japan developed a system called shisa kanko, which translates as "point and call," to keep staff alert both mentally and physically and focussing on relevant items or procedures. It is as it says: pointing at important items and saying what they are, in the process of work. So a driver points at the instruments in the cabin or at signals or platforms, a conductor points at doors and passengers when dispatching a train, and so on. There's a video on Youtube with English subtitles (the staff are speaking Japanese, obviously).
https://youtu.be/9LmdUz3rOQU
 

[JayMac]

See also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_and_calling

[Bmblbzzz]

It has a little in common with the police "running commentary" driving method, it seems to me.

[IndustryInsider]

Our railways increasing use ‘Press and Call’ and Risk Riggered Commentary which are means to the same end.  The reasoning is that if you verbally comment/call out when you do something it is far more likely to remain in your short term memory than it you just think it to yourself.  Pointing is just another way of achieving that aim.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Our railways increasing use ‘Press and Call’ and Risk Riggered Commentary which are means to the same end ...

Risk Triggered Commentary, perhaps - as explained in more detail here, on the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s Rail Safety and Standards Board website.

 

[grahame]

Japan looks to the future of rail transport in depopulated areas - is the future a Japanese "Beeching" or "Serpell", a Community Rail type initiative, or something else? From the Japan Times.

JR Hokkaido is one company formed from the split and privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1987

...

Something like one half of all lines belonging to JR Hokkaido are unprofitable, and the railway is trying to work with local governments situated along these lines, comprising approximately 1,200 kilometers of track, to come up with solutions. About two-thirds of lines operated by JR Hokkaido have considered seeking financial assistance in order to keep their respective routes open, while the remaining third are leaning toward shutting their lines down due to a dearth of passengers.

...

[infoman]

Can't understand why  Japan railways decided to park approx seven trains in a siding that became flooded.

Surely there must be some high ground that they could have parked them on,even if it was on the main line.

[JayMac]

Perhaps the JR East crystal ball was faulty and didn't predict the depot flooding.

The thing with typhoons is you never quite know where the damage will occur.

Oh and here's a link explaining what happened.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/13/national/ten-trains-used-hokuriku-shinkansen-line-sustain-damage-yard-flooded/

[Bmblbzzz]

Interesting link.

[Bmblbzzz]

The death of the buffet reaches Japan...

East Japan Railway Co. says starting March 15 it will no longer sell food and other goods aboard Yamabiko bullet trains on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line.

Also on Monday, Hokkaido Railway Co. said March 15 will be the final day that onboard sales are available on Hayabusa and Hayate trains running on the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line between Shin-Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station in Hokkaido Prefecture.

With JR Hokkaido slated to also halt sales on its Super Hokuto limited express trains at the end of this month, onboard sales will fully end on regular trains operated in the company’s service area.

In fiscal 2017, sales aboard trains were down 5 percent from the previous year, according to JR East.

Kyushu Railway Co. has already announced that its Mizuho and Sakura bullet trains will not offer onboard sales starting March 16.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/02/19/business/jr-east-end-board-sales-food-goods-yamabiko-shinkansen-tokyo-tohoku/#.XaTAo__QjIU

[onthecushions]

The same thing happened in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina. 46 modern streetcars and over 200 buses were under water, taking years to rectify.

The buses could have been used for evacuation, saving both lives and vehicles.

OTC

[JayMac]

Nice to see Japanese railways taking a lead from the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) and reducing catering. It's usually the other way round.

Although to be fair, the catering withdrawal here is trolleys, rather than buffet cars.

[Bob_Blakey]

Recently returned from a couple of weeks in Japan watching some early Rugby World Cup pool matches (and doing some of the usual touristy stuff). Our group used the JR Central Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen for Osaka > Nagoya, Nagoya <> Kyoto & Nagoya <> Tokyo trips and saw no evidence of any buffet cars, with on-board refreshments being supplied via a well stocked trolley. Needless to say said trolley was not nailed to a carriage floor and traversed it's section of the train more than once during each journey (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) take note! ).

[Bmblbzzz]

It doesn't specify whether the sales to be closed (and they were to be closed earlier this year, that article is from February) were from a trolley or buffet. I kind of got the impression it was a buffet. But note they also say "...sales of bento, sandwiches, souvenirs and other items set to cease, JR East said. Items such as hot coffee and soft drinks will remain available." So not a total desert. Also interesting that labour shortages are given as a reason, in addition to falling sales.

[grahame]

From Japan Times

In the driver’s seat of a two-carriage train, Katsunori Takemoto puts on his white gloves and checks the antiquated gauges before setting out alongside cabbage fields in Japan’s rural Chiba.

Like many small railway lines across Japan’s countryside, the 60-year-old trains that ply this route are a loss-maker, but Takemoto has found a way to keep the business afloat.

With a combination of savvy marketing partnerships with pop stars and branded souvenirs, the president of the Choshi Electric Railway navigated the firm into the black in 2021, while helping promote the local region.

“I feel strongly that this is the mission of all local trains. We want to serve as advertising vehicles for communities,” Takemoto said.

“Towns without trains wither away. So rebuilding rural trains must be done as part of rebuilding communities.”

and to confirm other similarities to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)

Depopulation, car ownership, freight trucking and the COVID-19 pandemic have decimated revenues.

“If we leave things as they are and don’t do anything, it is clear to everyone that sustainable public transport systems will fall apart,” Transport Minister Saito said earlier this year.

Actually, I think we may have less issues in the UK - I do not see depopulation of rural areas ... though I am seeing (in my Ukraine hat) a number of guests who have arrived in the UK fo safety and are finding work hard to find during the winter in seaside resorts.   Noting, though that none of the places being reported as "I must move from ..." has an open rail connection.