Good evening #TrainTwitter! To celebrate my travel this weekend on the Northeast Corridor, I'll post a bit about the Tokaido Main Line.
It takes its name from the Tokaido, one of the major highways of feudal Japan. Tokaido = East (東) Sea (海) Road (道)
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Connecting Tokyo with the Kansai area (Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe), this line has always been at the forefront of Japan's intercity rail industry
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The first railways in Japan were built in 1872 (connecting Shimbashi in Tokyo w Sakuragicho in Yokohama) and 1877 (connecting Kyoto w Kobe)
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Those two were finally connected in 1889--at the time, it took 20 hours to go all the way from Tokyo to Kobe.
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In 1903, travel time was reduced to 15 hours. In 1906, it was nationalized under the new "Japan Imperial Railways" along w other main lines.
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In 1930, the limited express "Tsubame" (Swallow) was introduced, cutting Tokyo-Kobe times from 15 hours to 9 hours.
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In 1956, the route was fully electrified, and the "Kodama" (Echo) limited express was launched, cutting travel time to 6.5 hours.
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In 1964, the Tokaido Shinkansen (Shinkansen = New Trunk Line) was built roughly parallel to the existing line, cutting travel times again...
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...to 4 hours, then 3 hours 10 minutes the following year. Modern Shinkansen travel the route in 2 hours 22 minutes.
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The maglev train under construction between Tokyo and Osaka, when finished (2045), will cut the travel time to 67 minutes!
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But enough talk--you're here for pictures! First, some trains that are no longer in service...pic.twitter.com/BQo8TjFHmv
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The Tokaido Main Line is operated by three companies: JR East, JR Central, and JR Westpic.twitter.com/QDEWsw92RA
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Limited Express trains in first two pics--Shinano, Hida, Super View Odorikopic.twitter.com/4r9wlJwQNG
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More limited expresses: Haruka, Thunderbird, and Sunrise Seto (an overnight train to Shikoku)pic.twitter.com/HrFRJAL0LT
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Shirasagi, Fujikawa, Odoriko, Resort Odoriko (operated by Izukyu, uses Tokaido Line to get to Tokyo)pic.twitter.com/U2tOe6amDm
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Hamamatsucho, in Tokyo, where the Tokyo Monorail crosses the trackspic.twitter.com/DYRS613jmK
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