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My life =
1 UofT FSAE 2006 spec race car
2 Formula BMW race cars
no sleep
wonderful
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| One of the things I am most impressed about in Japan is the Train
System. Formerly, the entire railroad network was owned by the
government until it was privatized, at which point came into existance
the JR (Japan Rail) network which is divided into sub groups based on
geography. This JR network is the main train company in Japan and
covers most of Japan and connects all major cities. I was
surprised to learn that this is not the only rail company, but there
also exists a series of other private rail compaines. The main
purpose of these private lines are to conenct the smaller communities
to the main JR lines. I think this is just due to my Canadian
geography that I only know of highly inefficient rail lines that only
connect major cities. I am not used to the concept of an actual
efficient rail network that can be used as a primary transportation
system. In case you didn't know, all Japanese rail compaines
pride themselves on their promptness. As in, regular local trains
will be on time within ONE minutes, whereas shinkansen (super express
bullet trains), lateness is measured in 10 second increments.
This is one of the greatest things about the rail network in
Japan. I have often been frustrated taking VIA rail trains from
TO to OT where travel times can vary from between 4 hours to 6 hours
depending on rail traffic and weather. This would be inexcusable
in Japan. I travelled over 700 km, taking 13 hours of trains,
making 8 different transfers, and not ONE train was late by anymore
than a few seconds.
I have realized that trains have become not only an important form of
transportation in Japan, but also a cultural icon. Maybe not an
obvious icon like the bullet train but more like the pervasiveness of
trains in everyday life. I recently read an article that over a
life time, office workers who commute everyday will spend up to 5 years
of their total lifetime on the train.
Some other commonly recognizable things about Japanese rail service:
-Jam packed trains during peak hours. This is very true, but not
only for peak hours, but also for the last train at night and during
holidays.
-I get the feeling that one Japanese past time is sleeping on the
train. I swear I've been on trains where everyone was
sleeping. It's kind of creepy
-Jingles at train stations. There are many different lines and
stations, and many have unique jingles that they play once the train is
about to leave. I recall a creepy circus like jingle at a station
in the middle of nowhere. I was quite amused.
I recall seeing a man on the train with a magazine titled "rail fan"
with many admiring pictures of rail vehicles. I can relate to
this man. I dont know why, but I am fascinated with trains.
The number of different models, configurations, functions, special
features. I think I could enjoy just sitting around watching
trains, i could become a professional Trainspotter! In fact I
have done this on lazy afternoons. I live near the Shinkansen
line so I headed out there, found a good quiet spot, and just watched
them whiz by at 270kph. I love it.
One of the best times I have on the train is on the way home from
Tokyo. I live on the Tokaido line which has two sections:
one for the regular commuter trains, the other a dedicated line for the
Shinkansen (the require different gauge rails and power lines). I
really enjoy it when the train i'm on runs parallel to a shinkansen
that just happens to be running next to us. I'm rooting for our
train to go faster so we can beat those damn shinkansen!! but
alas, we only go max 100kph, shinkansen go 270kph. It's still fun
to think we're racing though. It's neat though, because the
elevation differential between the two tracks is constantly changing
making the view really interesting.
Speaking of Shinkansen, as an engineer and a geek, i love these
trains. Being a Motorsports enthusiast, I love Formula 1 not
specifically for the race or the drivers, but for the fact that there
is NO compromise for speed. It's rare that engineering can be so
one minded. Shinkansen are similar. The main goal of these
trains is to go as fast as possible. Using whatever materials,
whatever power source, whatever size track. I think I saw
statistics of around 18000KW power... The aero work that goes
into the nose profile is very intersting. I wonder why they went
with the duckbill profile. Me being a aerodynamically blind
person, I don't really understand why a needle/bullet nose would not be
ideal? Prehaps they are trying to undercut the air stream because
the train isn't in the air, it's on the ground? Or maybe it has
to do with the tunnel boom that seems to be the huge issue with
Shinkansen now? Anyways, my reserach at work is related to
vibration isolation, and the academic work done on real vehicles is
quite impressive.
Next up, stations. The train station in Ottawa is a sad sad
place, out in the middle of nowhere, and is dead in between train
depatures and arrivals. Union Station in TO can be a busy place,
but is no where near the transport hubs in Japan. In Japan, the
train station is the centre of town. Downtown IS the
trainstation. My city centre is all concentrated around the train
station. The largest train stations in Tokyo, Shinjuku,
Ikebukuro, and Tokyo Train stations all see millions of people pass
through each day. Department stores are build into, ontop of, and
underneath train stations, sometimes two! They have ceased to be
transpotation hubs, but also cultural hubs. Entire neighborhoods
and cities are defined by the location of the train station.
Maybe this is common and being a part of a car based culture has given
me my "train culture shock". Some of the train stations are
beautiful modern construtions with red brick interiors, illuminated
station boards, and glass benches. Others are small depots where
electronic gates are non existant, and sometimes there no one even
manning the gate!
Last but not least is the amazing confusion of the Rail Map. One
of the most confusing, but most useful maps I use in Japan in the JR
East map. I think my idea of geography is where things are
located on this map, but really this is nonsense. I enjoy the
multicolouredness and think this could have been a work of art if it
didnt have such a common nature!
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/info/map_a4ol.pdf
That's it.
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