The author has covered nighttime maintenance work on the Shinkansen several times, and according to the data obtained, the time between the start of the work and the end of it is only about three to three and a half hours. During that short time, a wide variety of work is performed, such as replacing ballast and sleepers, rails, and overhead wires (trolley lines, to be precise). Because of the limited time available, it is not practical to perform all of these tasks at once over a long distance. It is not possible to start the next morning with the work “in progress. This would make it impossible to run commercial trains. Therefore, for example, the distance that can be covered in one night for a roadbed replacement is on the order of tens of meters (although this distance has been lengthened by improvements in equipment). In the case of rail replacement, the existing rails are cut and removed at both ends of the section to be replaced, and then new rails are installed and welded to the front and rear rails to make sure they are assembled correctly and with precision. This is done in less than three hours. Other nighttime work includes installation and expansion of soundproofing walls, erection and reconstruction of electrified poles (so-called “overhead poles”), shaving to maintain the proper shape of the rail heads, roadbed shoring, and replacement of worn trolley lines. This work maintains the condition of facilities and equipment and supports safe and comfortable operations. In cold regions, snow falls during the winter season, and snow removal work is also carried out during nighttime hours. Another unique feature of the Shinkansen is the “confirmation car. After all nighttime work is completed, a check car is sent out on the main line to make sure that there are no obstructions that would interfere with the operation. Only when it is confirmed that there are no obstructions can a commercial train be launched. In other words, no work can be performed after the confirmation car has been released. It is also necessary to allow time for this confirmation car to run on the main line and return to the base.
Shinkansen maintenance bases are located here and there. Basically, there is one maintenance base per station, and care is taken to ensure that there is not an extreme gap between maintenance bases. Otherwise, it would take extra time to get from the maintenance base to the site. Since these facilities are not commonly seen by passengers, their locations are not well known to them. However, sometimes maintenance bases are visible to passengers. For example, on the Tokaido Shinkansen, the Yuzuki maintenance base east of Shizuoka Station and the Yonehara base north of Yonehara Station are easily visible from train windows. The Washinomiya maintenance base of the Tohoku Shinkansen has hosted several open-house events in the past. It is located near the Higashi Washinomiya Station on the Tohoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line), far west from the main Shinkansen line. It is located adjacent to a conventional rail line so that rails and other materials can be brought in by freight trains. It was a rare opportunity to get a close-up look at the maintenance cars, which are not usually visible to the public.
© Source travel watch
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