International Railroad Discussion > Cassiopeia Revisited (Japan)

Sleeper Limited Express Cassiopeia ended regular scheduled service in March of 2016, when the start of the Hokkaido Shinkansen service did not allow the train to go through the Seikan Tunnel between Aomori (Honshu) and Hakodate (Hokkaido). Lack of passenger-capable locomotives designed to handle Shinkansen's 25,000 volts (instead of the standard 20,000 volts) through the underwater tunnel was the biggest factor in ending the service.

JR Freight's EH800 locomotive that is used through the Seikan Tunnel is not passenger-capable.

However, the Type E26 train set used for the Cassiopeia did not get scrapped or does not sit idle. It is still used for charter trips. Two days prior to catching the Train Suite Shikishima, I briefly chased the charter Cassiopeia pulled by the classic EF81 locomotive (in red Hokutosei paint scheme), between Ueno and Utsunomiya, as shown in the video below. It's nice to see the luxury train that set the standard in Japan the last decade and a half still being utilized.

According to railfan rumors, the charter trip went to Aomori and stayed on Honshu, and did not go through the Seikan Tunnel to Hokkaido.

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Neat!

What a beautiful train!
Makes our Antrash look like crap.
(which it is)

Uncle Joe
Seffner,Fl.

Uncle Joe,
Yes. But get our voters to support something like this, especially in FL where you live which always goes Republican in elections? With the clown in office now you may have no passenger trains in Florida if he survives four years in office. I was in Japan in late 1967 on R&R from Vietnam. My friend and I, also serving in Vietnam, rode as much of the country as we could in seven days. Even then, the Japanese Railway system we rode, either national or private, was much better than you could find in the USA then, and certainly now. Why? Because they wanted it and supported it.

JLinDE Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> But get our voters to support something like
> this, especially in FL where you live which always
> goes Republican in elections? With the clown in
> office now you may have no passenger trains in
> Florida if he survives four years in office.

We can't rely on partisan politics to solve any transportation problems, IMHO. Last I recall, highway construction is neither Democrat or Republican - it simply gets support, or not, based on funding, NIMBYism, or reasons other than partisan politics. The fact that we unwittingly divide ourselves along partisan lines for rail transportation projects means we are doomed to fail regardless of which political party is in power.

Government-run JNR in the late 1950s knew they were in trouble due to the rise in popularity of the automobile and air travel. Fortunately, JNR was allowed to fight for its own survival without interference from nefarious influences like the automotive industry and the airline industry. That was one of the factors that allowed the Shinkansen project to succeed. It also helped that the Shinkansen project leads, former military industry engineers, hated the war so much that they were determined to use their aeronautical, mechanical, and communication expertise for peaceful purposes, like high speed rail.

Nowhere is voting a factor in Japan's success in passenger rail.

So after studying the history of the Shinkansen project, I'm convinced there was 0% chance we would have had a railroad renaissance even close to what Japan has now. Military engineers seeking work for anti-war reasons? They'll likely be ostracized, and out of a job here in the U.S.

I share in Uncle Joe's frustrations.