Due to a change in the JRTR editorial team, this column does not carry the Chief Editor's personal view. Instead, the team explains why the Feature subject was chosen.
Technical developments have always been a major driving force in the advancement of railways. People tend to think that railway research has occurred mainly in Western Europe, North America and Japan. While partly true in the past, many other countries today are also developing their own technologies. This is quite natural, because the railway industry is highly dependent on each country's geographic economic and sociocultural conditions. However, little is known about the R&D activities in such countries and this issue of JRTR tries to fill this gap by outlining some R&D in China, Korea and India. It also provides fairly detailed information about railway research in Japan.