Must-see Railway News: The Latter Half of 2022

Various railway-related news stories from across Japan.

In today's program, we take a look at railway news from the latter half of 2022.

Off we go!

In Japan, October 14th is "railway day."

Across Japan, events were held to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first railway, which ran between Shimbashi and Yokohama Stations.

The Railway Museum in Saitama Prefecture held a steam locomotive whistle-blowing event.

This is Locomotive No.1.

Made in the UK, it ran between Shimbashi and Yokohama Stations when the railway first opened.

It's pretty cool.

I could imagine what it was like back when
the train whistle was an everyday sound.

In Gunma Prefecture, a special service was run using a preserved Class D51 steam locomotive.

With a total of 1,115, the Class D51 was the most manufactured steam locomotive in Japan.

This steam loco No. 498 was manufactured in 1940.

The Class D51 hauled six old passenger cars on a round trip between Takasaki and Minakami Stations on the Joetsu Line.

At a railway museum in Kyoto, they celebrated the 150th anniversary of the railway by holding a "special exhibition."

Here, 12 preserved steam locomotives could be seen standing out from the roundhouse.

Choo choo train, choo choo train...

Many railfans and families visited the exhibition, taking pictures of the steam locomotives.

It's an impressive display.

I haven't seen so many steam locomotives
in one place. It's spectacular.

At the Kyushu Railway History Museum in Fukuoka Prefecture, the driver's cab of a steam loco that operated in the prefecture's coal mining region until 1975

was opened to the public especially for the event.

Excited children had fun moving the brake levers back and forth.

It was cool.

At the museum, visitors could also watch the sleepers of a railway track being replaced.

I realized that they avoid accidents
by doing important work like this.

Everyone enjoyed their time, taking lots of pictures on the trains.

To commemorate "railway day," a tour of a freight depot in Aichi Prefecture, was held for elementary and junior high school students.

About 30 parents and children participated in the event.

Participants got the chance to ride in the conductor's car, connected to the end of the freight train.

They could also see an electric locomotive being lifted for inspection.

Onlookers were amazed as they watched the 50-ton vehicle raised to a height of 2.6 meters.

Families enjoyed taking commemorative photos with the EF66, an electric locomotive that has been in service for about 50 years.

I had fun. I rode the freight train.

It was fun to see so many things.

Yes, a highlight of 2022 was definitely 150th anniversary of Japan's first railway.

And seeing all those events across Japan was super exciting.

What a milestone.

Indeed.

You know during these 150 years Japanese railways were driving force of Japanese economy and society.

And I think it's not at all exaggeration to say that Japanese railways were something that created Japan as we know now.

And also I'm quite happy to be able to say that Japanese railway have become something that the entire Japan can be proud of.

Yes, they can also be proud of the shinkansen, the world's first high speed railway.

Yes certainly.

The shinkansen opened in 1964, as the first highspeed railway in the world, and therefore 1964 should be marked as the year when the very important event took place in the entire history of the human kind.

But after 1964, Japanese railways experienced many ups and downs, and many people say that now the Japanese railways are at the turning point.

Sounds like there's some challenges ahead, now let’s see how the Japanese railways are tackling those challenges and progressing into the future.

On October 11, a test run of autonomous-driving train carrying passengers was conducted on the JR Yamanote Line, Tokyo's loop line.

JR East began developing its autonomous driving system to offset a future shortage of train drivers due to the declining population.

Test runs have been conducted on the Yamanote Line for the past four years.

On this day, a train with the autonomous driving system carried passengers for the first time.

Running on the 34.5km Yamanote "Loop" Line, the driver simply pushes a button when departing from each station.

Acceleration, deceleration, and stopping are all automated.

Two of JR East's autonomous-driving trains will make around 1,000 laps over a two month period to collect data on the trains' functions and energy-saving performance.

Once considered a male-dominated industry, more and more women have been joining Japan's railways over the years.

JR West's Kanazawa branch in Ishikawa Prefecture recently welcomed its first female diesel train driver.

Ms. Nishikawa Miho has been with the company for almost 20 years.

Ms. Nishikawa joined the company in 2004, serving at the ticket counter and as a conductor.

Then, in 2012, she obtained her driver's license and became a train driver.

Her next step was to learn how to drive a diesel train, with her mind set on driving "Hanayome-Noren," the popular sightseeing train that connects Kanazawa and Wakuraonsen Stations.

Working on the Nanao Line, I always wanted
to drive the Hanayome Noren.

I thought it would be a great job.

But, there was one obstacle in the way of her fulfilling her dream.

The training facility lacked changing rooms for women.

Her dream came true, however, in 2022.

When a new facility was built, Ms. Nishikawa was able to get her diesel train license.

On December 4, the day Ms. Nishikawa had been waiting for finally arrived.

Today, she will drive "Hanayome Noren" for the first time, departing from Nanao Station, one of the stations on the line.

Ms. Nishikawa has one goal for her first time.

She wants to ensure the sightseeing train stops smoothly.

The brakes on this train can be difficult so instead
of trying to stop at a particular point I want to focus on stopping
smoothly like we're taught.

She drives from Nanao to Wakuraonsen Station.

Ms. Nishikawa makes her first stop of the day.

The train stops on time and smoothly.

There are 24 minutes until the train is scheduled to depart Wakuraonsen Station.

While preparing for the next leg of the journey, she serves passengers and takes pictures.

From Wakuraonsen Station, Ms. Nishikawa drives approximately 71 km to Kanazawa Station.

At 1:21 p.m., Hanayome Noren arrives at its destination.

The train stops safe and sound.

While waiting for the next leg to begin, Ms. Nishikawa is visited by her parents, her sister and her sister's children.

Come ride it next time.

At 2:15 pm, Ms. Nishikawa heads back to Wakuraonsen Station.

The whole trip from Kanazawa to Wakuraonsen Station and back runs on schedule.

At 5:54 p.m., Hanayome Noren reaches Kanazawa Station once again.

Stopping smoothly at each station, Ms. Nishikawa achieves her goal.

I think it all went pretty smoothly.

I hope to keep improving while making it
a fun train that everyone wants to ride.

Ms. Nishikawa had to work really hard jump over couple of hurdles and now she's working in her favorite occupation.

Good job.

Indeed.

Actually, the railways are still a male dominated workplace in Japan as in many other workplaces.

But, in the past decade or so, we have seen the number of female drivers and conductors on the increase especially in railways along Tokyo.

Slow changes have been made and we're progressing towards the future now.

Yes, and also speaking of autonomous driving, It's not just about the driver shortage.

Already JR East is talking about reducing energy consumption by autonomous driving.

But I think there's also the possibility to improve the frequency of the trains or cutting the travel time of the trains or even improving the convenience for the passengers

by using autonomous driving so there are a lot we may be able to do by introducing that.

That sounds really exciting.

Next, rural railways are striving to recover from the pandemic and they have some brilliant ideas.

Let's find out what they are.

Home to about 700 residents, Hase Station on the JR Bantan Line in Kamikawa Town, Hyogo Prefecture, sees only a few passengers per day.

A group of local residents have been getting together once a month to take train trips to the next station and back.

It's my second time. I'm looking
forward to it.

It's my seventh. I'm glad
to be going again.

It'll be great to see everyone.

See you later!

They gather at the station at around 7 p.m. and board the train.

There are 36 people today.

When they began in 2020, there were only about 10 participants.

But that number increased when the coronavirus started affecting the already low number of regular passengers.

The round trip takes just 25 minutes.

The participants enjoy the train ride.

Our contribution may be small but more and
more people are joining us all the time.

We hope our passion can help
save the Bantan Line.

In Mie Prefecture, Iga Railway in cooperation with a herb garden and tourist spot along the line, began running their popular "Sage Train," a train garlanded with the herb sage.

The Sage Train was out of action last year, due to the pandemic, but it's back now after a one year break.

The train was decorated with garlands of sage and potpourri.

Passengers could watch the scenery go by while enjoying the floral aroma.

The sage is very pretty. I'm happy
to take my time enjoying it.

On November 20, a "pro-wrestling train" ran on the JR Kururi Line that runs through Chiba Prefecture.

"We are now departing."

As soon as the train departs, the match begins.

Passengers enjoy professional wrestling as the train runs.

JR East's Chiba Branch thought it might be fun to use the wrestlers' energy to attract passengers and promote the line's charm.

Seventeen wrestlers battled it out over the one-and-a-half hour round trip between Kisarazu and Kururi Stations.

It's a lot of fun!

It's crazy to see a wrestling
match on an ordinary train.

We thought a train like this would be
a fun way to boost the community.

We are grateful to everyone
who came to ride it.

Taking a community trip on a train, having a fragrance on the train, and my favorite wrestling on the train.

Every region is coming up with some new and fun ideas.

I'm really surprised with a wrestling train as well, but many different regions trying many different things actually that is really important.

And taking the example of the return trip on the Bantan Line, I think that's a really good idea because that will make people get involved in the problem that they are going to face.

It's nice to see them being really passionate about it get involved trying to protect their railway like that.

That's right.

Now let's have a look at the trains we had to say farewell to and trains got a second life overseas.

On November 7, Chikuho Electric Railroad in Fukuoka Prefecture said goodbye to its Type 2000 trains.

The three cars first began running on Chikuho Electric Railroad in 1977, 45 years ago.

Unfortunately, due to their age, the company decided it was time for them to retire.

On its last day, the train left the depot in Kitakyushu City and made its way to the last stop over an hour away, completing its final operation.

Many railfans gathered along the line to take pictures of the train's last run and to say farewell.

I used to go to school on this train.

It's like an old friend.

On November 27th, Chiba Prefecture's Isumi Railway saw regular service end for their Kiha 28, the last Kiha 28 in regular operation in Japan.

This Kiha 28 was built in 1964.

It has been used mainly as a tourist train by Isumi Railway since 2013.

Of the approximately 1,800 Kiha 28 cars manufactured, this was the only one still running.

The train is a favorite among railfans, however, due to its age and estimated repair costs, this day was its last day in regular operation.

We won't be able to ride it everyday.

It's sad to see so many trains that
ran when I was a kid retiring.

We are currently using crowdfunding to preserve
the train or its memory in some way.

The "Kiha 28" will continue to operate as a chartered train for the time being.

Next up is a news from Thailand in Southeast Asia.

This used diesel train is currently being tested by the State Railway of Thailand.

The Series Kiha 183 was once used as an express train in Hokkaido Prefecture in northern Japan.

But in 2021, 17 cars were shipped from JR Hokkaido to the State Railway of Thailand.

The State Railway of Thailand plans to use them as tourist trains in the future so they improved facilities such as the air-conditioning and adjusted the width of the wheels.

A test run took place on a 70km stretch between Bangkok and a neighboring province.

Many people gathered at the station to take pictures of the train.

Japanese vehicles are getting a second life overseas, that was great to see.

Is it common for Japanese trains to be used overseas?

Well it's not uncommon I would say.

There are examples other than Thailand which include Indonesia where many urban railways are exported from Japan from regions around Jakarta.

Why are Japanese used trains so popular overseas?

Well Japanese trains are well maintained and probably they will have the remaining life of around decade after the retirement in Japan.

Also the prices are really cheap compared with the introduction of the new cars, these combined makes them so attractive for operators overseas I think.

That makes sense.

Let's have a look at railway events and trains we can enjoy here in winter.

On December 1, the "Sasara Train," a winter feature of the Sapporo Streetcar that runs in Sapporo City, was dispatched for the first time this winter.

Sasara trains are special snow removal vehicles that operate rotating brushes called "sasara" made of bundled bamboo.

At around 5:00 a.m., there's approximately 5 cm of snow on the tracks.

The two trains dispatched run through the city to clear away the snow.

A total of four Sasara trains are expected to operate until March, depending on the weather.

On December 7, Noto Railway in Ishikawa Prefecture invited around 20 children from a kindergarten in Nanao City to a special Christmas train service.

On the train, the children had fun answering Christmas-related quiz questions.

The answer is "false".

Inside the tunnel, a surprise awaits the kids.

The children are delighted by a magical display of lights.

Waiting at Anamizu Station, on the way back, are Santa Claus and his reindeer.

The children talk excitedly to Santa Claus and his reindeer as they make their way down the train.

Do you make snowmen?

Yes, I do.

The children celebrate Christmas early, eating cake and taking pictures by the tree.

I'm happy!

I had so much fun today!

Tsugaru Railway in Aomori Prefecture has begun operating its "stove train," a train with a coal-burning stove onboard.

On its first day of operation, a commemorative ceremony is held at the first station on the line.

The ceremony featured a "tsugaru shamisen" performance.

Off we go!

With a signal from a group of kindergartners, the first train pulls away from the station.

The passengers enjoy grilling dried "surume" squid as they ride the train.

It's warmer and a lot more
retro than I expected.

Stove trains are perfect in the snow. I'll be
talking about it when I get home.

The stove train will operate daily until the end of March.