Japan's iconic Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60 on October 1. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka in 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after its World War II defeat.
The service remains integral to the nation's economy and way of life -- so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job.
The service remains integral to the nation's economy and way of life -- so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job.
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00:00We take great care in making sure that safety always comes first.
00:27No matter what our past achievements have been, about maybe no fatalities, once one
00:35accident occurs and one incident occurs, then our reputation as a company and our trust
00:45that we have gained from the customers may all disappear just in one moment.
00:58For most passengers, I think the priority is one, it's safe, and two, it's reliable.
01:04And the Shinkansen is both of those.
01:07I mean, the average delay on the Tokaido Shinkansen is around about 0.3 minutes.
01:15So, I mean, that's just a handful of seconds.
01:37For example, we perform a sound test to make sure that there is no slack in the bolts.
01:50No matter how small the problem is, we work hard every day to make sure that we don't miss it.
02:07If you look at the way the economy developed during the 60s right the way through to the 80s,
02:20look at the growth of cities along the lines, you can see the impact of the Shinkansen.