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Book Cover
E-book
Author Shimomae, Tetsuo, 1941-

Title Birth of the Shinkansen : the origin story of the world-first bullet train / Tetsuo Shimomae
Published Singapore : Springer, [2022]
©2022

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Description 1 online resource : illustrations (some color)
Contents Basic study of railways after World War II -- Commemorative lecture on the possibility of high-speed railways -- Decision of constructing a Shinkansen line and technological problems -- Technological development to realize Shinkansen -- Breakdowns after the opening -- Shinkansen in 2020.
Summary This book discusses the Shinkansen, the world's first high-speed railway, which was born in Japan in 1964 and how it has developed up to the present day. In the 1950s, some European railways were trying to increase the commercial operating speed up to 160 km/h, and it was considered difficult to raise it to 200 km/h. Japanese engineers with excellent engineering ability post World War ll moved from the military to the railways to overcome the technological challenges realizing the high-speed railways using new approaches. The book discusses the technological barriers in speeding up the railway at that time and how these engineers overcame them in non-computer days. In the five decades since the Shinkansen began operating, there have been significant developments enabling high-speed, safe, and frequent train operation with high punctuality while conserving the environment. The book also describes todays highly evolved Shinkansen. The Shinkansen, which runs 440,000 km a day, has carried 13.3 billion people without a single fatality in 56 years. The book overviews factors that contributed to the Shinkansens high safety record. This book is an excellent guide for those interested in the history of the worlds first high-speed railway
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed June 13, 2022)
Subject Tōkaidō Shinkansen (High speed train) -- History
Tōkaidō Shinkansen (High speed train)
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9789811665387
9811665389