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Photos: Light rail in Japan |
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Posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009 I always have a fortnight off work during July and this year I have been to Japan. What a place that is, everything is so efficient it even puts Germany to shame. The language is a challenge though. But anyway, the variety and scale of the train action there is unbelievable, so to start off I will post some pictures I took of the light rail action to be seen.... There is only one proper tram/streetcar line in Tokyo, the 'Arawa' line to the north of the city. It connects with several Metro lines, and a handful of Japan Railways lines too. This is taken outside the famous circular Yamanote line.  Another shot taken where the tram connects with a JR line, which is what the elevated train is operating on. Although it's a relatively short route, the tram has about four or five different types of car in operation.  Proof that the Wuppertal 'thing' is not the only suspended monorail in the world. This is the Shonan Monorail and it runs from the JR station at Ofuna (about 50km south of Tokyo) to Enoshima, which is on the coast and is a pleasant place to visit. It's a single-track job, but with split-second meets as passing points they still manage to run a 7-minute frequency.  Also running through Enoshima is the Enoden Electric Railway. It runs from Fujisawa, where this is taken, to Kamakura, including a stretch right along the sea-front. Again it is a single-track operation with passing places, on a 12-minute frequency.  Back to Tokyo now. The man-made island of Odaiba is served by the elevated Yurikamome Line, a driverless rubber-tyred people-mover type operation. Being driverless, there is a good 'railfan window' to be had, the highlight of which is the crossing of the spectacular Rainbow Bridge from the mainland onto Odaiba.  I spent a couple of days in Hiroshima after visiting Tokyo. Unfortunately the weather was terrible for most of the time, hence these next few pictures aren't too good. If ever there was an interesting tram system to see, then it is Hiroshima's. They have some modern low-floor cars running....  ....and they also have some really old stuff as well. These aren't museum cars, they are in normal service.  This one reminded me of a couple of the old cars I have seen in San Francisco. It's taken at Hiroshima Port, where apart from ferries to the various islands you can also get the boat to Busan in South Korea if you want.  Another old car. I wonder if any of these date from before the atomic bomb.  Slightly more modern car, again in Hiroshima. They have some which are similar to this but articulated....  ....like this one. They sell an all-day ticket for ¥600, although with little priority measures progress can be agonisingly slow.  Another three of the old cars, waiting at the Port. I rode the far one, which was wooden-framed and had a pronounced sag in the middle. They have the traditional brass controllers in them and come with all the old-school tram sounds such as whining motors and such.  Older articulated car. These have very comfortable seats in them.  There's still a couple of tram routes operating in Osaka. They are both run by the Nankai Railway company, with these kind of cars.  Finally this is what the Atomic Bomb dome looks like in Hiroshima. It is set in its own park, the accompanying signs saying it was 60m away from the epicentre of the bomb blast. Nothing remains of the interior - it's just a shell. A sobering sight to say the least, and one which may be of interest to North Korea if they want to know what the future might hold for them.... Some pictures of the Metros and Bullet Trains etc to follow.... |
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