Shinkansen track-testing trains to be given the chance to visit
The Shinkansen track-testing trains known as Doctor Yellow and Easti will give visitors the chance to board the Shinkansen train this month, as railway companies try to recover from the COVID 19 epidemic.
It will be a rare treat for visitors considering that even the operation schedules for such trains are not normally disclosed to the public. There are swarms of trains which are said to bring good luck.
Tickets were immediately sold out because of the popularity of the trains.
An official of Central Japan Railway Co. said that they would like to organize tours of Doctor Yellow for parents and children in the future. JR Tokai JR Tokai's Doctor Yellow is based on the 700 Series Shinkansen. East Japan Railway Co. JR East operates the East i, which is based on the E 3 Series Shinkansen.
The technical name of the trains is an electric track comprehensive testing vehicle, which runs on Shinkansen tracks once every 10 days or so to check the condition of the rails, overhead wires and signal current.
JR Tokai and JR East, both from Japan Railway Group, saw passenger numbers decline on their regular lines during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The idea of allowing people to enter the test trains is one of the ways they are trying to recoup their losses.
On March 22 and 23, JR Tokai will allow paid visitors to board Doctor Yellow.
On each day, Doctor Yellow will make one inbound journey and one outbound journey between Tokyo Station and Shin-Osaka Station.
Since JR Tokai was created in 1987, this will be the first time for Doctor Yellow to run with passengers.
Passengers will be able to see the equipment onboard and the observation dome, a room on the train's roof that inspects overhead wires while Doctor Yellow is running.
The ticket price is 23,620 yen $176 or around 9,000 yen more than the Nozomi Shinkansen ticket price for the journey between Tokyo Station and Shin-Osaka Station.
The tickets are limited to adults and 50 passengers will be able to experience the test train for each journey, which means a total of 200 lucky train aficionados.
Over five days from Feb. 24th, JR Tokai received about 100 times more applications than available tickets on its website.
On March 26th, JR East will allow visitors to board Easti at Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture, but the train will remain at the platform for Shinkansen.
Visitors will be led to a corridor beneath the platform that is normally reserved for staff only. They can see Easti and other trains, such as the Tohoku Shinkansen, from below.
"We have shown East i to paid visitors at a depot before, but this will be the first time that we will do so at a platform," said a JR East official. We would like visitors to see the suspension systems of train cars that are normally invisible. All tickets were taken in just two minutes when they were sold on a first-come first-served basis on March 7.
Thirty people will be allowed to see the train in morning and afternoon slots.
Tickets for a pair of one parent and one child cost 11,000 yen, while tickets for junior high school students or older cost 7,000 yen.
The company will consider providing more opportunities for paid visitors to see East i, the official said.