Japan is set to launch at the weekend itsnext-generation high-speed train, featuring sleek green and silver carswith pink stripes and named for the peregrine falcon. (How is a colour sleek? The cars are sleek thanks to its aerodynamic shape!)
The "Hayabusa (Perigrine Falcon)," is the first upgrade of Japan's bullet train fleet in 14years (which I missed, having missed one having left in 1993), has sparked such excitement among railway buffs that one ticketfor Saturday, March 5, 2011, when it debuts, sold for thousands of dollars on theinternet, media said. (That's a pretty vague dollar amount... who the heck writes this? Does no one fact check or ask questions?!)
The train clocks in at a top speed of 300 km (180 miles) an hour,making it the fastest train in Japan -- and just short of China'sHarmony Express, a cross-continental rapid transit line that hits ahigh of 350 km an hour. (How is 50 kilometeres - 1/7 of the speed 'just short' of the Chinese train. Japan hates it when the Chionese havce something better or faster than them... it's a knock against their national pride).
"It is indeed a bullet train that represents the high level of ourcompany and Japan's technology," states Tomoyuki Endo, manager of theShinkansen Group at East Japan Railway Company.
"Not only with its speed but also with its eco-friendly, speedy,reliable and comfortable mechanical performance as well as its finepassenger service."
The train offers "GranClass" service (Did they leave the 'd' out on purpose? Yes... that's done on purpose. Canadian and US companies do that crappy misspelling of words all the time.. for example, the Chevy Cruze auto. Yeesh.), that comes with real leather (Corinthian, I hope) seats,personal reading lights (my bus has that) and leg rests, along with free and unlimitedalcoholic drinks (Kanpai!/Cheers!) in glassware and light meals (IE cheap or small)-- at an extra charge of9,490 yen ($116) depending on the destination (Drunk town!).
Travellers on the 714 km (444 mile) trip between Tokyo and Aomori, acity on the northern tip of Japan's largest main island of Honshu, willsave up to 10 minutes when Hayabusa takes flight, with a surcharge ofonly 500 yen over current prices for the same trip on older trains. (Wow... it probably takes an extra 10 minutes to get out of the station what with the crowds).
Every launch of a new bullet train (Shinkansen was the first introduced for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics), is more aerodynamic thanthe one before (that's what it should be, right?), sets off a frenzy among Japanese train aficionados (all three of them) andthe media (who love anything to do with a day away from the office), who crowd station platforms for ceremonies marking the debutdepartures. "GranClass" tickets for all Hayabusa trains on Saturdaysold out in 20 seconds. (Wait... are you telling me that Japan is so efficient that it can service more than one customer in 20 seconds? It takes me 50 seconds to buy a token with cash when I ride the Toronto subway lines!) Or... did one person buy all the tickets and then sell them on the Internet?)
There were 139 bids for one such ticket in an online auction and itfinally sold for 385,000 yen ($4,705), the Yomiuri Shimbun daily (Daily Yomiuri newspaper) said.(Aha!)
Japan's first bullet train went into operation on Oct 1, 1964, and fornearly two decades was the fastest passenger train in the world.Throughout its 46-year history it has not had a single fatal accident,despite its speed and Japan's frequent natural disasters such asearthquakes and typhoons. (This is actually true... I think when I was in Japan back in 1992, it was big news when a train actually had a delayed service running seven minutes behind schedule - because a freaking F5 typhoon (Hurricane) was blowing over the tracks!)
Somewhere enjoying being snarky,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is by Jethro Tull: ISAWTHEM! I chose this title because I felt the 'all-time loser' mentioned in the song is the one from the Internet who paid all that money for a ticket to ride on that first train. (You know you could probably get it real cheap for the second train! I mean, who are you going to brag about being the first to? Will that impress the women? If it does, what sort of woman would that be? Yeesh.)
PS: Huh... I'm still being snarky.
PPS: The photo is blurry because it's moving so fast... yeah, that's the reason.
