Tag - rail

 
Menu
Search
 
February 22, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

RAIL

A Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train featuring the Tokyo DisneySea amusement park Fantasy Springs theme is unveiled in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 18, 2025
JR Central unveils Disney-themed shinkansen train in Tokaido line first
The train's livery in inspired by the theme of Fantasy Springs, a new area of the Tokyo DisneySea amusement park
The construction site for an underground station at the Stuttgart 21 railway and urban development project in Stuttgart, Germany, in November 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2025
Late trains, old bridges, no signal: Germany's infrastructure woes
Germany's reputation for efficiency no longer holds true, critics contend.
A little-used section of the JR Geibi Line, which runs through the Chugoku Mountains in Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures, faces a threat of closure.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Feb 10, 2025
Underutilized Hiroshima-Okayama rail route struggles to survive
While the number of passengers has continued to decline, the Geibi Line has served as a lifeline for some residents.
JR Central's "Doctor Yellow" T4 train arrives at Tokyo Station on Wednesday after completing its final shinkansen track inspection.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2025
'Doctor Yellow' train completes final shinkansen track inspection
JR Central's T4 Doctor Yellow entered into service in 2001, and covered some 1.57 million kilometers.
A train during the handover ceremony of the high-speed rail project linking Kunming, China, with Vientiane, Laos, in 2021. Thailand expects to complete its first high-speed rail network linking the country to China through Laos by 2030.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 29, 2025
Thai high-speed rail linking Bangkok to China eyes 2030 opening
Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy is looking to improve its connectivity with China, its biggest trading partner.
Hokkaido Railway temporarily suspended train services after a 61-year-old Chinese tourist was fatally struck by a train in the city of Otaru, Hokkaido, on Thursday morning.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2025
Chinese tourist fatally struck by train in Hokkaido
The woman entered the Hakodate Line tracks near Asari Station in Otaru to photograph the ocean with her phone.
The number of passengers who used express services operated by Japan Railways Group companies during the 10-day period through Sunday was 2% higher than in fiscal 2018, surpassing the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Number of passengers on JR express services during New Year rose 11%, firms say
The figure for the 10-day period through Sunday surpassed the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time.
JR Central President Shunsuke Niwa speaks during a group interview in Nagoya on Dec. 18.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2025
JR Central to let pet dogs ride on shinkansen
Shinkansen cars will be chartered to allow passengers to release their dogs from cages and move around inside the cars with the pets.
At 60, the shinkansen has been mostly stuck in Japan, with only one system ever sold overseas.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 1, 2025
Japan’s go-slow approach to selling high-speed rail globally
The shinkansen has been mostly stuck in Japan as competitors from Europe and China sell their own high-speed trains in an increasing number of countries.
A sign warns of a nearby bear sighting in Takikawa, Hokkaido, on Oct. 17.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 30, 2024
Hokkaido 2024: Looking back on Rapidus, bears and shinkansen
The key topics are expected to continue making headlines in 2025.
Passengers of the urban railway line that opened in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Sunday
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2024
Vietnam's first subway opens with help from Japan
The project's total cost was estimated at ¥212 billion.
A Taiwan High Speed Rail bullet train arrives at Nangang Station in the city of Taipei.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2024
Taiwan’s bullet train a testament to shinkansen’s export potential
The line runs the length of Taiwan, over mountainous, unstable territory that makes the island a perfect test bed for the fast trains.
The East Japan Railway Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Within the next 10 years, JR East will develop automated walk-through gate technology so that passengers can enter the train platform without having to tap their Suica card or phone on the ticket gates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2024
JR East announces 10-year plan to drastically overhaul Suica
Dubbed the "Suica Renaissance," the plan involves redesigned ticket gates, new payment features and a subscription service.
Police officers reinvestigate a Tobu Tojo Line railroad crossing in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward on Dec. 27, 2023, after a man was fatally hit by a train weeks earlier.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 9, 2024
Tokyo police arrest four men on suspicion of staging colleague’s suicide
They allegedly coerced the 56-year-old victim into standing on railway tracks where he went on to be fatally struck by a train.
JR East Executive Vice President Chiharu Watari speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2024
JR East applies to raise fares by average of 7% in March 2026
The company plans to raise standard fares by 7.8%, commuter passes by 12% and student commuter passes by 4.9%.
Under a plan being put forward by JR East, the Yamanote Line's base fare will be raised from ¥150 to ¥160.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2024
JR East to raise standard fares for first time since privatization
The plan would mark the railway operator's first full-fledged fare hike since its creation through the Japanese National Railways' privatization in 1987.
The Keikyu Line in Yokohama
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024
Japan’s rail stocks soar on Keisei Electric activist stake news
Keisei’s stock jumped over 18%, its sharpest intraday rise since October 2008, with Keikyu climbing more than 16%.
A Moka Railway train car
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2024
Woman dies after train collides with car in Tochigi
The woman in her 80s who was driving the car died, but all train passengers were unharmed.
An employee at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Lost and Found Center in the Iidabashi area of central Tokyo bags, tags and organizes thousands of items.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2024
Tokyo police care for lost umbrellas, keys and flying squirrels
In Japan, lost items are rarely disconnected from their owners for long, even in a megacity like Tokyo — population 14 million.
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
The award of a contract to operate London’s Elizabeth Line to a consortium that includes the firm could help address concerns about its domestic growth potential.
Yen advances past ¥150 per dollar as BOJ rate-hike bets ramp up
The Japanese currency climbed as much as 1% to ¥149.95 against the dollar on Thursday, a level it hasn’t touched since Dec. 9.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Record percentage of Japanese firms plan wage hikes, survey shows
Some 61.9% of over 11,000 surveyed companies intend to pledge pay increases as part of annual wage negotiations culminating in March, according to a survey by Teikoku Databank.
Japan’s inflation speeds up, keeping BOJ on rate hike path
A customer visits a store along the Togoshi Ginza shopping street in Tokyo on Jan. 23. Rising fresh food prices contributed to the acceleration in overall inflation in January, as vegetable prices, including cabbage, soared.
Victor Wembanyama expected to miss remainder of regular season with blood clot
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (right) is expected to miss the rest of the NBA season, the team announced on Thursday.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).
Japan’s English-language education doesn’t pass the test
One-third of elementary school students in Japan do not like learning English, according to a 2021 poll, an 8% rise since 2013. The pressure of taking proficiency tests is eroding children's engagement with studying English and its benefits.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
The race to save 20th-century history
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Site designer on why expos matter more than ever
Site designer on why expos matter more than ever

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER