The Third Line - The Tohoku LineThe next line to open was the Tohoku Shinkansen line. This line is a bit complex. It is a bit confusing as 3 other lines are coming out of it. It's very complicated on a map. It runs from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori which is the last station before moving to Hokkaido. The stations include, Tokyo, Ueno, Omiya, Oyama, Utsunomiya, Nasu-Shiobara, Shin-Shirakawa, Koriyama, Fukushima, Shiroishi-Zao, Sendai, Furukawa, Kurikoma-Kogen, Ichinoseki, Mizusawa-Esashi, Kitakami, Shin-Hanamaki, Morioka, Iwate-Numakunai, Ninohe, Hachinohe, Shichinohe-Towada, Shin-Aomori. The line opened between 1982 and 2010. In 1982 the line opened from Tokyo to Morioka and other lines like the Joetsu line and the 2 mini Shinkansen lines opened before it got extended all the way to Shin-Aomori in 2010. The Fourth Line - The Joetsu LineThe fourth line to open is the Joetsu Shinkansen. This line is a pretty small line and it runs from Omiya to Niigata. The line goes from Omiya to Takasaki and then takes a turn and goes up until it reaches the shore of Niigata. The stations are Takasaki, Jomo-Kogen, Echigo-Yuzawa, Urasa, Nagaoka, Tsumbane and Niigata. It opened all at once in 1982 and uses the track of the Tohoku line until Omiya. It is a pretty busy line and has an annual ridership of 35 million people. The Fifth Line - The Hokuriku LineThe fifth line to open is the Hokuriku line. This is also a very confusing line. If you look at the map below, you will see that it is in 2 colours. This is because the line is operated by both, JR East and West. It runs between Takasaki and Kanazawa. It opened between 1997 and 2015. It took the longest to open so far and it is the longest line in Japan. This is line is as used as the others but it will be extended all the way down to Kyoto and Osaka. With the new extension, the line might reach the 500km mark. The stations are Takasaki, Annaka-Haruna, Karuizawa, Sakudaira, Uedo, Nagano, Iyama, Joetsu, Itoigawa, Kurobe-Onsen, Toyama, Shin-Takaoka and Kanazawa. The Sixth Line - The Kyushu LineThe sixth line to open is the newest line opening between 2004 and 2011. The line runs from Hakata all the way to Kagoshima. A new route on this line will also open going to Nagasaki. The stations on the first route include, Hakata, Shin-Tosu, Kurume, Chigoku-Funagoya, Shin-Omuta, Shin-Tamana, Kumamoto, Yatsushiro, Shin-Minamata, Izumi, Sendai and Kagoshima. The Nagasaki route is a very short one. The stations are Takeo-Onsen, Ureshino-Onsen, Shin-Omura, Isahaya and Nagasaki. The first part from Kagoshima was opened in 2004 and then connected to Hakata in 2015. This is the second part of the Japan High Speed Rail series. In the next part, I will talk about the trains and the upcoming projects. Photos will also be added to the other parts when Part 3 gets uploaded. Thank You!
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Introduction to The Rail LinkThe Japanese High Speed Rail Link is the second largest high speed rail link in the world. It is also the oldest High Speed Rail link in the world opening all the way back in 1964 and the latest line opening in 2030. The rail reaches all corners of the country including Hokkaido as well. In this week's blog post, I will tell you about the history of the Rail and many more things. This blog post maybe split into 2 or more parts because it will be quite lengthy. Where it All StartedThe Japanese High Speed rail link first opened in 1964 by the company, JR Central. The line went from Tokyo through Yokohama and Kyoto before arriving at Osaka. The stops included, Tokyo, Yokohama, Odawara, Atami, Mishima, Shin-Fuji, Shizuoka, Kakegawa, Hamamatsu, Toyohashi, Mikawa-Anjo, Nagoya, Gifu-Hashima, Maibara, Kyoto and Osaka. The first Shinkansen train started operation 56 years ago on the 1st of October 1964. It was called the 0 series Shinkansen. Sadly, these trains retired in 2008 and none remain in operation however, 27 of them have been preserved. Shinkansen TrainsNow you know where this whole rail link started, lets see the trains that it used over the years. First up we have the 0 series Shinkansen. This train started operation when the High Speed rail link opened in 1964 and ended its service in 2008. They were all white with glass in the middle and a square-like nose at the front. Next, we have the 100 series. The 100 series train started operation in 1985 and left service just back in 2012. They were constructed in 1984 till 1992 and refurbished between 2000 - 2004. Something strange was that they started scraping the trains between 1999 and 2012 which is before they got refurbished. Why refurbish a train if you are going to scrap it the next year. What a waste. The last train I will describe will be the 200 series Shinkansen. They started service earlier than the 100 series and started in 1982. They ended their service in 2013. They were refurbished between 1999 - 2002 and mainly served on the Tohoku Line which ran from Tokyo to Osaka. I will write about the other trains in a separate blog post. The Second LineThe second line is the Sanyo Line and it opened between 1972 and 1975. It runs between Osaka and Hakata. The stops include, Shin-Osaka, Shin-Kobe, Nishi-Akashi, Himeji, Aioi, Okayama, Shin-Kurashiki, Fukuyama, Shin-Onomichi, Mihara, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Shin-Iwakuni, Tokuyama, Shin-Yamaguchi, Asa, Shin-Shimonoseki, Kokura and Hakata. The line is run by JR West and the first series of trains to run on the line was as well, the 0 Series and currently on the line serves the 500 Series, 700 Series and N700 Series. I will add more parts to this series in the following days so stay tuned! This is just Part 1. Thanks for reading.
IntroductionAustralia doesn't have many scenic routes but in my opinion, it has enough. We have 4 famous scenic routes. These are the Indian Pacific, The Ghan, The Overland and the Great Southern. The major cities they go to are Darwin, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth. In today's blog post I will tell you about these 4 passages, how much they cost, where they go and many other things. The Indian PacificThe Indian Pacific is my favourite scenic route. It goes from my hometown, Sydney to Perth via Adelaide. It is a 4 day, 3 night journey with 9 meals. You can choose Sydney to Perth, Sydney to Adelaide and Perth to Adelaide. The train also stops in small towns such as the Blue Mountains, Broken Hill, Cook, Rawlinna, Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills. Something that all these scenic routes offer is Off-Train excursions. Now let's get into the cost. The cheapest Sydney to Perth route is $1,819 per person. PRICY! The cheapest Sydney to Adelaide is $639 per person. A bit better. Lastly, the cheapest Adelaide to Perth service is $1,279 per person. Pretty much the only downside is that you can only fit 2 people in each Gold Cabin. Other than that, the Indian Pacific is amazing. Now you know the general facts, let see the experience. On day one, you will start in Sydney and explore NSW, including the Blue Mountains and Broken Hill. On day two, you will arrive in Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills and Adelaide. On day three, you will in remote Western Australia and on the last day you will arrive in Perth. The GhanThe Ghan is also an amazing route. The Ghan goes from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, to Adelaide in South Australia. This means it goes to Uluru. Probably the most iconic natural landmark in Australia. Sadly, The Ghan only goes to the Uluru in specific months, so if you want to go to Uluru, you have to plan ahead! There are two different routes. One is The Ghan and the other is The Ghan Expedition. The Ghan stops at, Katherine, Alice Springs, Marla and Manguri. The Ghan Expedition stops at, Katherine, Alice Springs, Coober Pedy and Manguri. To stop at Uluru, you must pay extra. Now to the price, The Ghan Expedition only depearts Wednesdays, April to October and the lowest price is $2,829 per person! The cheapest Ghan ticket is $1,239 per person! Still very expensive! With the Ghan, it is close to the Indian Pacific because it also provides all meals. Now here is the experience of being on The Ghan. On Day 1, you will be in Adelaide on Day 2 you will arrive in Alice Springs and on the last day you will be in Katherine and Darwin. The Great SouthernThe Great Southern is another amazing route. It goes from Adelaide to Brisbane via Melbourne, Canberra and popular regional NSW spots like Hunter Valley, Port Stephens and Newcastle. Two bad things about this route. Number one: It does not stop in Sydney even though its stops in other places in New South Wales. Number two: The Great Southern only runs every December and January. Now to the prices! There are only two routes and they both start at a whopping, $2,229 per person. From Brisbane it costs $2,839 per person! WOAH! Keep in mind that that is the cheapest ticket. If you choose to go from Adelaide to Brisbane, here is the journey. On day one you will settle into your cabin and will arrive in regional Victoria where you have a number of choices of Off Train excursions in the Grampians region. On day two, you will arrive in Canberra where you will spend the whole day there. You will be able to choose from the many wonders there such as the War Memorial, Parliament House, National Gallery and so many more. On day three you will arrive in Coffs Harbour and you will have again a large range of Off Train Excursions before you have your final lunch and arrive in Brisbane. ConclusionNow I won't write about the Overland because it only goes from Adelaide to Melbourne and doesn't give you a true scenic train experience like the Indian Pacific and The Ghan do. Overall, Australia has some wonderful scenic routes. Thank you so much for reading this week's blog post.
BLOG 8 I will update this post regularly. It will tell you when a new podcast episode will appear or when a new blog post gets posted. The next post and podcast episode will be posted before this Sunday 12th September. The topic will be The Japan High Speed Rail. Next episodes include, Perth Airport Metro, Shanghai Maglev and Australian High Speed Rail. If you would like to suggest a topic, please leave a comment below. Thank You!
BLOG 7 Introduction to the ProgramAs you may know, NSW and all of Australia for that fact, does not have high speed rail. It does have regional rail and Interstate rail as well as scenic passages such as The Ghan and the Indian Pacific but none of these rail links are high speed. There is a simple reason to why Australia still doesn't have High Speed Rail. It's because we have so much farmland which is in the way of making track. Luckily, Australia's and New South Wales' government has got a plan. Today I will be telling you about this plan, where it will go, when it will open and so many more things about New South Wales' High Speed Rail. Planning is nearly complete and construction is on its way. Where will the Rail go?The New South Wales High Speed Rail won't have just one route. It will have many routes. The first one will be going through the T1 line and the Blue Mountains before going through Lithgow, Bathurst and terminating in Orange and Parkes. The second line will be the Central Coast line. It will also go through existing track, up to Newcastle and go through new track such as Gosford and Port Macquarie where the train will terminate. The third line will be going through the T4 line until Wollongong and go all the way to Nowra in the South Coast. To top it all off, the last line will be the most popular line. It will connect Sydney by High Speed Rail to Goulburn and Canberra. Sadly, nothing has been planned to go to other states and cities like Melbourne and Brisbane. Maybe something like this will be thought about later. How long will it take to get from one place to another?The High Speed Rail network will slash travel times massively. Here are some of the times from major cities and stations. From Sydney to Canberra, it currently takes 4 hours and 7 minutes on normal rail and on High Speed Rail it will be a short 1 hour. That's 3 hours and 7 minutes faster! From Sydney to Newcastle it currently takes 2 hours and 35 minutes on train. With the High Speed Rail, it will take 45 minutes! I'm not going to type them all out but I will leave a picture of the timetable at the bottom of this blog. More things about the project.Because Australia is absolutely clueless about what they are doing, they are learning from other networks in Japan, the UK and France. They also teamed up with many different teams in the UK to learn more about new High Speed Rail projects in the United Kingdom. If you want to learn more about the High Speed Rail project, please click on the link here: New South Wales High Speed Rail. BLOG 6 Introduction to the ProjectThis project isn't an amazing high budget metro or train infrastructure project but this time it's about TRAMS! Sydney has 3 tram lines right now. The first line goes from Central to Dulwich Hill. The second line goes from Circular Quay to Kingsford and the last line goes from Circular Quay to Randwick. The fourth line will be located mainly in the newly opened Parramatta CBD. Rundown of the ProjectCurrently 1 stage of the project is confirmed and the second stage is already vaguely planned out. The Parramatta Light Rail will connect the communities on the closed Carlingford line to the newly built Parramatta CBD. The first line will be connected to Westmead and then it will go into Parramatta, go up the old T6 line and terminate in Carlingford near Pennant Hills. The second line will go from Camellia through to Olympic Park via Rydalmere, Ermington, Melrose Park and Wentworth Point. Cool Stats about the network.The first line will have 16 stops. They include, Westmead Station, Westmead Hospital, Westmead Children's Hospital, Cumberland Hospital, Factory Street, Fennel Street, Prince Alfred Square, Eat Street, Parramatta Square, Harris Street, Tramway Avenue, Camelia, Rydalmere, Dundas, Telopea and Carlingford. The second line will include 10 - 12 stops and the stops have not be concluded. The project will open in 2023.
BLOG 5 Introduction to the ProjectSydney Metro is one of the largest public transport projects in Australia that are actually happening. It is happening in Sydney and it is all about making travel times around Sydney much quicker than what they are now. It also means that existing train stations in Sydney will be heavily upgraded, rebuilt or having a new station. Sydney Metro started planning in 2012 and after 7 years, the first line of Sydney Metro opened.
Read More ----------> Introduction to the ProjectThe Metro Tunnel is an amazing new infrastructure project for Melbourne in Australia. Melbourne is the 2nd most populated city in Australia and Flinders Street Station is one of the busiest train stations in the world. Because Melbourne is so busy, it has a large train network with over 200 stations and 800 km of track. The City Loop is the most congested part of the network with nearly every line using it. Because of this, a lot of services are getting stuck and delayed. This means less passengers and income as well as more work for the staff all around the network. What is the Metro Tunnel?The Metro Tunnel is a huge new infrastructure project for Melbourne. It is already under construction and it is said to open in 2025 or 2026. The tunnel will run from South Kensington on the Sunbury line to Anzac in the tunnel before arriving on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines at Caulfield Station. It will have 5 new underground stations including: Arden, Parkville, State Library (Melbourne Central), Town Hall (Flinders Street) and Anzac before arriving in the outside and at Caulfield station, where you will continue your journey until the terminus at Cranbourne or Pakenham stations. Why do we need the Metro Tunnel?As I said in the Introduction, Melbourne's City Loop is extremely congested with nearly every single line using the loop. This is causing delays. To fix that PTV has created a new infrastructure project called Metro Tunnel. When the tunnel opens, the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines will not use the City Loop. You might be thinking that you can't go to any CBD stations but State Library is connected to Melbourne Central and Town Hall is connected to Flinders Street. Another good thing is that, you can get from one side of the CBD to the other by taking the Metro Tunnel. Now to the downsides. The tunnel means that Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham line users will have to get out at Melbourne Central or Flinders Street to get to other CBD stations. Is there more?Melbourne still doesn't have an Airport Rail Link but very soon they will have one. So what does it have to do with the Metro Tunnel? Services will at Metro Tunnel stations every 10 minutes which will then go up to Melbourne Airport. Why is it going through the Metro Tunnel? It is going through the Metro Tunnel because it will connect with the Sunbury line and go into the Airport. The project is proposed and is already in its planning stage. The project will commence construction in 2022 and open to the public in 2029. BLOG 3 Sydney has been waiting for new Intercity trains for such a long time. We did have the release of the OSCAR trains in December 2006 but they were only used on two routes and on suburban lines. It is good that Transport for NSW is finally releasing a new set of Intercity trains for Sydney and NSW on all of the intercity lines except for the Southern Highlands line. These new trains are already in testing! They are very accessible for disabled people and visually impaired people but that's not all! They also have amazing features such as a completely different toilet design with baby changing facilities, luggage racks, modern heating and cooling system, USB, USB-C and power plugs, tray tables, high-backed seats and secure bike racks. These new trains will also have completely new and amazing technology on the doors and screens which will not only be inside but also outside the train. The new trains will be called the Mariyung trans or the D set. The trains were built in a city in South Korea called Changwon. I have provided a map below. Something a lot of train enthusiasts have been waiting for is, the old Intercity V set trains retiring. They will be retiring in 2022 or when the new trains get released.
Blog #2 of MANY I absolutely love trains and I know so much about them. This blog website will be all about trains and other types of transport. This blog is based in Australia so most of the blogs will be about Australia and New Zealand. I would also love to talk about countries such as Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, Sweden, France and Britain as well as so many more. I would love to have a count of how many blogs I have and if you want to request anything or ask a question, I will research and respond as soon as possible. I will post at least once a week and I will check comments on my blog everyday at 7PM AEST.
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