Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 25 (pp.68–70)

Topics
March – June 2000


8 MarchLast car of train on Tokyo's TRTA Hibiya Line derailed and collided with other train, killing five and injuring 60
11 MarchJR Group revised train diagrams with new Hikari RailStar (eightcar formation) of San'yo Shinkansen debuting between Shin Osaka and Hakata with journey cut from 3 hours 17 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes
15 MarchAmtrak long-distance train bound for Los Angeles from Chicago carrying 155 passengers and crew derailed near Topeka, Kansas, injuring 29 persons
23 MarchNew runway B (2500 m) opened at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
30 MarchChinese government announced decision to commence construction of Beijing–Shanghai High- Speed Railway during tenth 5-year plan (2001–05). Running tests to be held on high-speed line between Beijing and Shengyang
31 MarchJR West's Takatori Works in Suma-ku, Kobe closed as part of Kobe City's earthquake reconstruction project after 100 years of operations in manufacturing, inspecting and repairing steam locomotives
Truck hit by six-car train at crossing in Kawasaki on JR East Nambu Line, killing truck driver
7 AprilJR West signed sister agreement with Modern Transportation Museum in Minato-ku, Osaka, Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum in Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, and National Railway Museum in York, UK to deepen mutual exchange and revitalize museum activities
8 AprilJR East entered Internet shopping in tie-up with Lawson Inc. (major convenience store), and Mitsubishi Corporation by opening ‘Eki-net’ to deliver products at 179 JR convenience stores in JR stations in Tokyo Metropolitan Area and 720 Lawson stores nationwide
10 April240 Tokyo buses turned into ‘Wrapping Buses,’ featuring large advertisements covering most parts of bus after deregulation
15 AprilVehicle stalled on crossing of Tobu Isezaki Line in Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture, hit by super-express train, killing girl passenger
19 AprilAir Philippines B737-200 domestic airliner crashed on landing at Davao Airport in Mindanao, killing all 131 on board
20 AprilExtension (2.1 km) of Tokyo Metropolitan Oedo Line opened between Shinjuku and Kokuritsu-kyogijo. Tennisracket shaped line to run 40.7 km when fully opened in December this year
Car pushed from behind onto crossing near Philadelphia, and hit by freight train, killing four people. Other driver arrested by state police
27 AprilNew Tokyo International Airport Authority (NAA) posted record highs in 1999 due to recovery of Asian economies, etc. Arrivals and departures increased 4% to approximately 133,000; number of passengers increased 5% to 26 million, and air cargo jumped 14% to 1.83 million tonnes
29 AprilJR Hokkaido Muroran Line reopened to operations between Toya and Nagawa 1 month after eruption of Mt Usu
3 May17-year old boy with knife hijacked Nishitetsu Highway Bus in Fukuoka Prefecture, killing one passenger and injuring five others. Police rescued other passengers after 15-hour standoff
5 MaySaitama New Urban Center opened on 47.7-hectare site of former Omiya marshalling yard. Offices of 10 government ministries and agencies as well as 18 institutions moved to the Center and JR East Saitama Shintoshin Station opened
10 MayJapan's House of Councillors passed Barrier-Free Law obligating public transport businesses such as railway companies, bus companies and airlines to install elevators, etc., in new facilities for elderly and disabled people
20 MayConcrete pedestrian bridge collapsed in Concord, North Carolina, injuring more than 90 persons on bridge
21 MayBA31 Jetstream crashed in NE Pennsylvania, killing all 19 people onboard
23 MayWhite Paper on Traffic Safety revealed number of Japanese traffic casualties topped 1 million level for first time
24 MayJR East held joint seminar with International Union of Railways (UIC) on management innovation at new JR East General Training Centre at Shin Shirakawa in Fukushima Prefecture
UAL (parent company of United Airlines) announced purchase of US Airways at price of $4.3 billion
25 MayArmed man parachuted to death after robbing passengers of domestic flight over Manila
26 MayWhite Paper on Tourism indicated 3.5% increase in Japanese overseas travellers in 1999 amounting to 16.36 million people
1 JuneEXPO 2000 Hannover opened, promoting environmentally compatible development in 21st century
2 JuneNagoya City Transportation Bureau opened Tram & Subway Museum in north side of Nisshin Factory in Nisshin City, Aichi Prefecture to conserve street/ subway cars
9 JuneTokaido Shinkansen awarded Milestone Award by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Landmark Award by American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
10 JuneMountain trains collided headon in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in southern Germany, injuring at least 57 passengers
13 JuneTaiwan High Speed Rail Corp. in charge of constructing/operating shinkansen in Taiwan, signed memorandum with Taiwan Shinkansen Consortium and Japanese business group of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., and Toshiba Corp., etc., confirming adoption of Japanese shinkansen system
14 JuneMinistry of Transport granted Sendai International Airport licence to build 7.1-km category-I railway between Natori and Airport with connection to JR Tohoku
Continental Airlines MD80 undergoing pre-departure check ran into terminal at Newark International Airport, slightly injuring one mechanic
15 JuneSouth Korean government in joint communiqué with North Korea, announced agenda including reconnection of Seoul–Shinwiju Line, now cut at demilitarized zone
Teito Rapid Transit Authority announced construction of large-capacity optical fibre cable in subway network of Tokyo city centre to establish wide area information infrastructure by late 2001
Italian government decided to sell remaining 51.2% shares in Aeroporti di Roma (Rome Airport) with dissolution of IRI government holding company by end of June
20 JuneJapan Airlines and Nagoya Railroad Co. (Meitetsu) announced dissolution of High Speed Surface Transport Development Corp. for joint development of maglev linear motor vehicle, and transfer of project to Meitetsu affiliate, Chubu HSST Development Corp. with HSST to be built in Nagoya suburbs for EXPO 2005 Aichi
Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co. Ltd. granted permission to close 86-year old Kita Kyushu Line on 25 November. However, Kurosakiekimae–Kumanishi (0.6 km) section to be leased to Chikuho Denki Tetsudo as category-III railway
Ministry of Transport granted permission to The Fair Inc. to start three daily return jet services between Sendai Inter national Air por t and Kansai International Airport
Three front cars of eight-car New York subway train derailed at Dekalb Ave. Station, Brooklyn, injuring 89 passengers
22 JuneAir France, Delta Airlines, Aeromexico and Korean Airlines announced SkyTeam alliance
Domestic passenger plane of Wuhan Airline struck by lightning and crashed in suburb of Wuhan, China, killing all 42 passengers and crew
23 JuneAirbus Industrie announced decision to manufacture ultra-large capacity A3XX from late 2005. Company to be fully privatized from January 2001 and renamed Airbus Integrated Company (AIC)

Photo: Newly opened JR East Saitama Shintoshin Station. See also JRTR 22 front cover.
(JR East)


Milestones

Junji Hayashi
Former Administrative Vice-Minister for Ministry of Transport died on 31 March. After retirement from the ministry in 1990, joined Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., serving as Vice-President and Vice- Chairman. During 1980s, dubbed ‘Mr National Railway Reformer,’ because of untiring efforts to divide and privatize JNR

Mutsutake Otsuka
Vice-President of JR East appointed new President on 28 June. After graduating in laws from University of Tokyo in 1965, joined former JNR and then joined JR East in April 1987. Former President Masatake Matsuda became Chairman

Hideaki Mukaiyama
Vice Minister for International Affairs of MOT appointed Chairman of Japan National Tourist Organization on 16 June. Graduated in laws from University of Kyoto, and joined Ministry of Transport in 1963. After leaving Ministry, became Vice- Chairman of Transport Economy Research Center (current Transport Policy Research Institute) in April 1995

Yasutoshi Tsuchisaka
Vice-President of Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA) appointed President on 30 June. Joined Ministry of Transport after graduating in laws from University of Tokyo in 1963. Left Ministry as Director General of Maritime Safety Agency and appointed Vice-President of TRTA in 1997. Former TRTA President, Kiyoshi Terashima, resigned to take responsibility for Hibiya Line derailment in March

Jiro Hanyu
Director General of Transport Policy Bureau appointed Vice Minister for International Affairs of MOT. After graduating in economics from University of Tokyo in 1969, joined MOT where held senior posts mainly in Civil Aviation Bureau


Obituary
Mr Tadashi Matsudaira (1910–2000)

Mr Tadashi Matsudaira, former Director General of JNR's Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), died aged 90 in hospital in Nagano Prefecture on 4 August 2000. Born in Tokyo in 1910 as a descendant of a Daimyo (feudal lord) family in eastern Kyushu, Mr Matsudaira graduated in engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1934 and immediately joined the then Imperial Navy as an aeronautical engineer. He was an important member of the team that designed the famous carrier-borne Zero fighter, which suffered from serious wing fluttering at the development stage.
A prototype Zero disintegrated suddenly in mid-air when nosediving, but Mr Matsudaira distinguished himself when he successfully established a theory of aircraft vibration and developed a countermeasure.
After Japan's defeat and the break-up of the navy, he joined the forerunner of RTRI with his fellow military engineers. He established a theory on the so-called snaking motion (violent wheel rocking-and-rolling at high speeds under certain track conditions) and developed a new bogey design that became an indispensable part of high-speed trains. He led JNR's shinkansen development team at RTRI, and saw the opening of the world's first high-speed railway in 1964 as Director General of RTRI.
He left JNR in 1969 and joined Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries where he served as a board director and then as an advisor until 1983.

Photo: (Transportation News, 1967)

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