Tag: bullet train
Hair-raising! Japan bullet train staff made to sit by tracks
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese rail company has defended a safety exercise that requires employees to sit beside tracks in tunnels as bullet trains speed by at 300 kilometres (186 miles) an hour. JR West told AFP it has no plans to alter the exercise despite complaints from some employees. About 190 staff working on safety maintenance for Japan’s famed shinkansen bullet train have undergone the training, a company spokesman said. “The training aims […]
First ‘serious incident’ for Japan bullet train as crack found
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A crack has been found in a Japanese “bullet train” that could have caused a derailment, officials said Wednesday, in the first-ever “serious incident” for the iconic mode of transport. Crew aboard a “shinkansen” bullet train reported a burning smell and strange noises when it pulled out of a station in southern Japan on Monday. The train stopped for checks at Nagoya station in central Japan and inspectors discovered a crack […]
Japan bullet train driver puts feet up on the job
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese bullet train driver came under fire Thursday after an online photo emerged of him operating it with his feet up. Central Japan Railway said the 29-year-old acknowledged that he operated the high speed train in that position for 10 seconds on Tuesday. “He told the company that he had tired feet,” a spokesman for the operator said, also telling AFP that there was never any danger to the 320 […]
Malaysia, Singapore team up on bullet-train project
by Satish Cheney KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia and Singapore signed an agreement Tuesday to pursue an ambitious high-speed rail link touted as a first for Southeast Asia that would knit the historically fractious neighbours more closely together. The 350-kilometer (217-mile) bullet-train line from the regional financial hub of Singapore to Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur is expected to slash travel times to 90 minutes from the five or more hours by road today. The […]
