Notice

Dear followers of Twitter, subscribers and readers of this blog

This blog has been suspended temporarily since 8 June due to the copyright infringement, but I am pleased to announce that the weekly update will be resumed on the next Saturday (1 July, Japanese time). However, many past articles remain unavailable.

Before the suspension, I have written 175 articles in three years with over 800 images. Inserting a new watermark to all photos and editing all articles will surely take weeks and thus it is not feasible. Therefore, I have given up making all articles public once again, and decided instead to reinstate only 12 articles which seem to be important.

I have been inserting a watermark to almost all photos I upload online, and many of you may think that my response to copyright infringement is a little excessive. There is a reason why I take the case very seriously: about two years ago, at least one of my photos was sold by an unknown individual without my permission, and an agent in the United States claimed that THEY had the copyright and effectively blackmailed me. Hence, I had no other option but to defend myself this time.

Images on the blog and The Red List of Trains in Japan now have a logo and URL. I appreciate your patience and understanding.

KHKQ, a Japanese railway enthusiast

Temporary closure of the blog

Update (16 Mar 2023): the issue has been settled.

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Dear followers of Twitter, subscribers and readers of this blog

Earlier today, I found a tweet obviously using my photograph without my permission. The photo contained a blue translucent logo I often insert either at the bottom left or right of each image I uploaded online. It clearly constitutes a copyright infringement, and I have sent a tweet directly to the person in question, but no response is made so far.

All photos I upload on this blog, my website and Twitter are my works except very few images which are specifically mentioned in a caption. I have NEVER relinquished the copyrights. I withhold myself at the moment from taking further action against the person in question, such as filing an official complaint to Twitter, Inc. or taking a legal action against him, but note that I always reserve the right to resort to any measures deemed proportionate whenever necessary.

Such a case is not new to me. I have been inserting the logo to deter people from copying images without my permission, and make the photos easy for me to find when uploaded somewhere. With the deepest regret, it now appears that the current logo did not work well so that I have no choice but to take more actions as follows:

• This blog will be temporarily closed whilst photos are examined, and they will be covered with another watermark in due course.
• Some photos on Twitter may be deleted. Upcoming images will have a watermark of my Twitter ID.
• Photos on The Red List of Trains in Japan will have a watermark with the URL of the website, and it takes effect immediately.

I am merely an amateur photographer, but I have already spent more than a decade, spent substantial amount of money and made great effort to take photos, edit them and upload them online with English texts, just like each of you, the kindred minds across the world. I would like to urge once again: do follow rules of copyright, and ask me in advance if you want to use any of my photograph. If you send me a message on Twitter, I would be happy to talk about the photos, and I would send you the original-sized image if necessary.

I regret the decision, and I am fully aware that these measures make photos far less attractive and not a few people may feel it annoying, but I appreciate your understanding.

KHKQ, a Japanese railway enthusiast

Who is responsible for seat removal, JR Kyushu or passengers?

In 2021, some commuters in Fukuoka and Oita areas felt that something was wrong on a train. They found large spaces next to doors, and they wondered if such spaces existed ever before. Then, they realised that there were less seats than before the pandemic began. Many people accuse JR Kyushu of deteriorating service quality, while a few others defend the company.

The controversial seat removal has been taken place on 813 series, the most common train type in northern Kyushu. Local newspaper Nishinippon Shimbun reported the issue earlier this year, which this blog article mainly relies on. According to the newspaper, up to 40% of seats have been removed from a fleet.

Fewer seats simply means less likely to get a seat, but it also provides standing capacity and leads to more efficient operation. To be specific, a carriage with reduced seats gives 20% more capacity in total. In that case, a nine-car train can be shortened to eight or seven coaches while the overall capacity remains unchanged, and it must be an attractive option for JR Kyushu amid a decline in revenue caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

(This is what was supposed to be)

It might satisfy the company, but many commuters and students are discontented with the seat reduction. They mourn that they can no longer take a seat on a stressful journey to and from their workplaces or schools. It is also said that the train has got colder in winter than before, as JR Kyushu removed heaters under the seats. Meanwhile, a few others insist that wheelchair and pram users feel easier to be on a train than before.

Many people condemn the reduction and suspect that JR Kyushu just wants to cut expenditures by reducing the number of carriages. However, the company contends the view, and argues that the seat removal was necessary to allow smoother boarding and alighting especially during rush hours. Unlike commuters and students in other major cities like Tokyo and Osaka, those in Fukuoka have been notorious for behaving badly on a train, as most people always stand in front of doors and never move down inside the train. The sticker above reads "do not sit on a floor", which is very rare outside Kyushu as it is a well-known unwritten norm.

JR Kyushu is going to reduce seats on 153 out of 246 carriages of the 813 series by September 2022. The company will also enhance heater capability to keep the trains warm enough in winter. JR Kyushu has been criticised that their services are getting inconvenient in recent years, and the seat reduction is unpopular among many passengers. However, it must not be forgotten that passengers are partly responsible for it, and they should learn from commuters in Tokyo and Osaka.

The longest train journey in Japan

Disclaimer

This article is about regular services. Timetables show major stations only so that those who seek for detailed information should check official websites.

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British Rail Class 220

"The longest train journey" always sounds attractive for railway enthusiasts, even if there is no daily user that enjoy (or rather, endure) the whole journey. In Britain, the famous Crosscountry's service from Aberdeen to Penzance is the longest one among all trains.

Crosscountry service

Aberdeen	8:20
Edinburgh	11:08
Newcastle	12:42
York	13:44
Leeds	14:11
Birmingham New Street	16:03
Bristol Temple Meads	17:45
Exeter St Davids	18:47
Plymouth	19:44
Penzance	21:39

According to The Guardian, the train runs on Saturdays, though not always because of service alterations caused by planned engineering work and COVID-19. It travels 774 miles (1245.6 km) and takes 13 hours and 19 minutes. Surprisingly, this service is neither a night train nor a high-speed train, but an ordinary intercity train that runs through the main island.

Then, how about Japan? There were so many long-distance services until the 2010s, but they were mostly discontinued and split into several parts, as a lengthy route is always prone to delays and troubles. Furthermore, it is not easy for all parties concerned to adjust tracks, signalling systems and other facilities to be compatible with a specific train. Even so, there are a few such services today.

Nozomi bullet train

N700A series bullet train

The longest train service in Japan in terms of distance is a bullet train Nozomi. It runs on Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen high-speed rails between Tokyo and Hakata in Fukuoka Prefecture. There are 32 round trips a day (2-4 services per hour), and more on holidays.

Nozomi 64

Hakata	18:59
Hiroshima	20:00
Shin-Osaka	21:20
Nagoya	22:12
Tokyo	23:45

Nozomi 64 is pretty unique. It is the last eastbound service of day to Tokyo, and it is also the fastest service between Hakata and Tokyo, as it runs 1,069 km (664.3 miles) taking 4 hours and 46 minutes. It is usually very crowded as people always rush into this service, otherwise they will have to wait for the first train on the next day.

Sunrise Izumo

JR West 285 series

What about non-high-speed trains? Among them, Limited Express Sunrise Izumo is the longest service in Japan. It is a night train with a round trip everyday (plus one during the peak season).

Sunrise Izumo (Eastbound)

Izumoshi	18:53
Okayama	22:30
Osaka	0:31
Shizuoka	4:38
Tokyo	7:08

Since it runs on "conventional lines", it is way slower than Nozomi. Sunrise Izumo travels 954 km (593 miles) and takes 12 hours and 15 minutes, the longest journey time among all trains. There is a cheap option on this service called "Nobinobi Zaseki" (lit. "unconstrained seat"), but it would be a very hard journey to spend more than 12 hours on a sleeping space without a mattress or a pillow. Those who plan to use this train should consider booking a bedroom.

Nichirin Sea Gaia

JR Kyushu 787 series

The longest non-night train journey in Japan is Limited Express Nichirin Sea Gaia in Kyushu, western Japan. This service is not well known outside the area. However, it is not so long compared to trains in other countries, including in the Continent.

Nichirin Sea Gaia 5

Hakata	7:30
Kokura	8:31
Oita	10:03
Miyazaki	13:07
Miyazaki Airport	13:19

There are many Nichirin services, but only one round trip of them a day runs the entire section. There is no direct road or railway between cities of Fukuoka and Miyazaki so that this train runs longer than the actual distance. It takes 5 hours and 49 minutes to complete a journey of 413 km (256.7 miles).

There are three "longest train journeys" in Japan, but surprisingly, none of them can beat the one in the UK both in terms of distance and journey time. Thus, these services might not always sound attractive for travellers living outside Japan, but probably still worth checking them.

Finally, Crosscountry issues "longest journey certificate" to passengers, but none of the three services in Japan provide such a collectable. Pretty disappointing!

Platform edge doors and fare rise

On 6th April, JR East announced a fare rise in the Greater Tokyo Area. On the next day, Tokyo Metro announced a fare rise as well. They charge 10 more yen for each single ticket. With the additional source of revenue, both companies will install more platform edge doors (also known as platform screen doors) across the entire network.

The very first platform edge doors are said to be the ones at Park Pobedy station in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which were installed in 1961. The first ones in Japan were installed on Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed rail in 1974 (excluding a demonstration at Expo '70). Unsurprisingly, platform edge doors were mainly for small stations with trains passing at dangerously high speed. In terms of ordinary railway (i.e. non high-speed rail nor monorail), Namboku line in Tokyo was the first one among them.

The platform edge door had been very rare until the 1990s, but it has become mandatory for new stations after 2000, as "Act on Promotion of Smooth Transportation, etc. of Elderly Persons, Disabled Persons, etc." (also known as the Barrier-Free Transport Act) was promulgated. Railway companies are not obligated to install the doors on existing stations, but several tragedies (some of which were blind people being hit by a train) gave impetus to do more. In 2020, The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (hereinafter referred to as the Transport Ministry) adopted a report that railway companies should make stations with more than 3,000 daily users 100% accessible.

However, the platform edge doors are so expensive that even major railway companies have been struggling to deal with implementing the policy. Hence, the Transport Ministry established Railway Station Barrier Free Fares Scheme in 2021, which allows railway companies to raise fares in so far as the extra income is duly spent for making stations accessible. Not only installing platform edge doors, but also lifts and accessible toilets are included. Even so, the most important issue is the platform edge doors, since more than 94% of JR East stations in the area already have lifts and accessible toilets.

JR East raises fares in March 2023. Tokyo Metro is also expected to do so at the same time. JR East and Tokyo Metro plan to complete installing the platform edge doors on stations required by the Barrier-Free Transport Act by 2032 and 2026, respectively. Since the fare rise is reasonable and justifiable, most passengers surely accept it. More railway companies are highly likely to follow JR East and Tokyo Metro.

*Sources including a press release of JR East, a document from the Transport Ministry and a newspaper article of Yomiuri Shimbun.