The golden age of Japanese railroads

Since the establishment of the Japanese railroad, the basic policy was government and government administration. This is because Mr. Masaru Inoue, the leader of Japan’s railway administration at the beginning of his career, was an avid railway nationalist. However, due to the poor government finance, construction and operation of all the railroads by the government and government authorities is inevitable, and it is inevitable to forcibly submit a part of the trunk line railway construction to the private railroad. For that reason, Inoue preached the doctrine of state-owned railroad and private railroad acquisition of the theory, and the bill to nationalization of the railroad was also submitted to the Republican Diet, but it passed by 1893 (Meiji 26) when Inoue retires There was nothing to be done.

Railroad nationalization
There was a variety of trends in nationalization of the railroad in the Meiji era. At the time of the economic depression in 1891 and 1899, private railway side who fell into difficulties got a request for purchase, but it was not sent even twice. Especially in the latter case, the government extended the armaments of the Russo-Japanese war preparation and was financially impossible. The military (especially the Army) who was keenly aware of the effectiveness of the railroad and inconvenience caused by private rail allocation in the Russo-Japanese War requested the nationalization of the railroad after the war. In March 1906, the “National Railway Law” was passed by the National Assembly, and nationalization (acquisition) of 17 major private railway companies including the above-mentioned five major private railway companies was decided. The acquisition began in October 1906 and was completed in October 1907. The total operating distance of the government iron before the acquisition was 2,459 km, the total operating distance of the acquired nationalized routes was 4,806 km. In judging the availability of the acquisition, priority was given to the main line of domestic transportation. At that time, the Nankai Railway operated Namba – Wakayama City, Tobu Railway operated Kita Senju – Kuki, but in the direction of Wakayama it is the route of the Kansai Railroad, which is subject to acquisition, and also the line of Nippon Railway There was something temporarily involved in the nationalization as a result, but eventually there was also a budget problem and it was removed.

Empire railway accounting
The railway business was operated by the railroad laying law, the Hokkaido railroad laying law, and the business public bond regulations even after it was completely transferred from the Ministry of the Interior to the railway work station of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 1897. At the same time, the Imperial Railway of the German Empire The accounting was being studied by the Ministry of the Army.

The railway state-owned law and the imperial railway accounting law were established in the Imperial Council in 1906, the imperial railroad administration official regulation of the Imperial ordinance was promulgated in March 1907, and the Imperial Railroad Administration, which reorganized the railroad working office on April 1 of the same year It was set up, the Imperial Railway opened.

Next, the Ministry of Communications has promulgated laws such as “Imperial Railroad Agency represent the country in civil lawsuits”, “Imperial Railroad Administration Agency No. 2 Tazu Plant Magnification”, and promoted land acquisition and extension.

Although the special account was established from the beginning in the operation of this railroad (Saioni temple prosecuted cabinet), further revision of the Imperial railway accounting law in 1909, issuance of public bonds due to the imperial railway accounting burden when fund shortage, Or borrowed from other special accounts (the 2nd Taishi Cabinet).

According to the 1909 budget, the revenue schedule for the same year was 355,341,322 yen, the railway expended 62,642,226 yen for construction and upgrading in the two years to 1908, The expenditure schedule for the five years from 1909 to 1913 is 101.165 million yen, which shows that the railway accounted for around 18% from 6% of the annual budget. Besides the imperial railroad, the budget for railway projects in China and Korea, which were foreign lands, is also applied.

Trend after acquisition
As a result of the acquisition “state-owned railroad” became known as JNR after that. The first effect was the setting of a long distance train, a direct train between Tokyo – Shimonoseki and Ueno – Aomori direct train via Okuho line etc were set up. Moreover, the vehicle was operated nationwide and it became possible to arrange according to the busy / quiet of each region. On the other hand, the railroads owned by the railways had only a steam locomotive of 174 type 1,118 cars, 3,067 passenger cars, 20,884 freight cars, and great difficulties in operation, maintenance and repair occurred. After this, the JNR promotes domestic production and standardization of vehicles and equipment. The acquisition reverses the ratio of state-owned railroad and private railway, and the history of the railroad will follow led by state-owned railway.

On the other hand, however, it caused the harmful effect that the new private railway construction plan would calm down. As a country that used a lot of money in nationalization, it was not a situation that could raise funds to railway development in rural areas, so prompted the light railway law to encourage the construction of a simplified railway called the light railway It was.

Also, due to the nationalization of the Kobu Railway, the National Railways became a train driver (called the national railway train for short), but in 1915 (Taisho 4th year), such as completing electrification between Keihin, It also began to seriously embark on around the city.

Domestic production
The first railroad, both the vehicle, the rail and the iron bridge were made by foreigners, the tunnel drilling was hired, the foreigner guided, the locomotive driving and the diamond production were also employed and the foreigners went. Japanese learned from abroad gradually accumulated technological capabilities, and gradually became domestically produced.

In the tunnel, the Osaka mountain tunnel (664.8 m) between Kyoto and Otsu on the Tokaido Line completed in 1880 was excavated without hiring foreigners.
The first Japanese institution was in 1879.
Domestic production of rails was 1907.
Since the wooden passenger car and the freight car remodeling had woodworking technology, it was running from the beginning but the production of the steam locomotive progressed in accordance with mastery of modern technology.
In 1893, we hired Osamu Osamu Official Railroad Under the design and guidance of Trevisic Official Railroad Kobe Factory completed the axis arrangement 1B 1 860 tank machine. Even though it was domestic, the main parts were imported goods.
In 1903, the automobile manufacturing company established with Mr. Masaru Inoue as the center, completed 230 type of shaft arrangement 1 B 1 tank machine.
In 1911, shaft type 2 B tender machine model 6700 is manufactured. This type is a domestically produced machine based on the Japanese design, a total of 46 cars were produced at the train company and the Kawasaki shipyard. Main parts such as boilers and smoke pipes were also domestic products.
In 1911, we imported 60 large express express locomotives, which will be the last in full-scale import machines. 2 C tender 8700 type 12 (UK), 2 C tender 8800 type 12 and 8850 type 12 both (Germany), 2 C 1 tender 8900 type 24 both (America) steam locomotive. Besides the 8700 type, it adopted the latest technology of the time superheated steam at that time, but they both led the passenger train of Tokaido Line and Sanyo Line.

Completion of domestic standard machine
After the success of the first net domestically produced model 6700 (1911), locomotives suitable for being called “domestic production standard aircraft” began to be produced with reference to the new aircraft such as the 8800 form imported at the same time. The model 9,600 completed in 1913 was a tender locomotive for cargo with output of 870 horsepower and shaft arrangement 1D using supersaturated steam, totaling 770 cars were produced. In the following year, a tender machine of type 1 86 of shaft arrangement 1 was completed for passengers, and a total of 687 cars were also built (this locomotive will be tender machine unless otherwise stated). In 1923, the large D50 type (axis arrangement 1D1, output 1280 horsepower) was completed in 1923, the towing of a major trunk with a major trunk line and the Tokaido main line over Hakone (the old line before the Tanna tunnel was completed, now Of the Gotemba Line). In the passenger aircraft, C51 type (axis arrangement 2C1) was completed in 1919, but the configuration of “locating shaft 2C1 and moving wheel diameter 1750 mm” of this locomotive was passed on to the newly manufactured passenger steam locomotive after that (After completion of the war, the axle arrangement 2C 2 type locomotives completed are all modified machines from other models). C51 type was used for a long time as an express train towing machine of the Tokaido main line and Sanyo main line.

Progress in electric driving

Electrification of suburban routes
Operation of the steam locomotive generates a large amount of smoke and sparks from the chimney, so in many cases the ride into the city where the house was built was opposed. In that respect, the train has no such environmental problems, it is easy to change direction, is easy to operate with a single machine or a short organization, and it is suitable for a freakent service near a city. From the end of the Meiji era to the Taisho era, many lines were electrified from the beginning of the route constructed in the suburbs of the city, or electrified ones that were steam locomotive driving.

In 1899, the Rokugo bridge station of Daishi Electric Railway (present Keihin Electric Railway Daigaku Line) – Kawasaki Daishi station 2.5 km, opened as an electric railway adopting the first standard gauge. It was built for the purpose of carrying worshipers to Daio Kawasaki.
As an ordinary railroad, in 1904, Kobu Railway (present JR East Chuo Main Line) Iida-cho station – Nakano station was electrified in a form that partly shifted from steam operation. The train used was a truck or electric equipment made in the USA, a wooden car body was domestically produced, and the overhead wire voltage was DC 600 V. At the same time as electrification, we set up automatic traffic lights and ran the train at intervals of 5 to 10 minutes. With this smoke-free improvement of comfort and improvement of convenience by fre- quent service, the population along the railway line has increased and urbanization has progressed. After that, development and development of suburban housing by railroad construction progresses throughout Japan.
In 1905, a train railroad between cities opened in the east and west. In the Kanto area between Shinagawa Station – Kanagawa Station of the above Daishi Electric Railway, between Hanshin is Umeda Station of Hanshin Electric Railway – Sannomiya Station. Although Hanshin Electric Railway is treated as a part running on a road, we used a high-speed train equipped with a bogie truck from the time of opening, and robbed a lot of customers from the JNR.
The Yamanote line, which was a former Japanese railway holding line, was also switched to train operation in 1909 (note that the annual operation was in 1925). The vehicle was a large-sized car with a bogie truck while driving a single machine, and electricity to be used was sent from the thermal power plant of JNR.
In 1910, two companies began train driving in the Kansai area. The Keihan Electric Railway is laying a line between Kyoto and Osaka (between Temmabashi Station and Sanjo Station) as the name suggests, and in 1914 he drives “express” for the first time on train. Also, Minoo Arima Electric Railway (current Hankyu Electric Railway Takarazuka Line · Minoizu Line) Umeda Station – Takarazuka Station · Minoo Station also opened. Originally founder Kazuzo Kobayashi founded a girl opera at Takarazuka Onsen to attract passengers as it was not expected to have a satisfactory number of passengers (it was also mocked by the earthworm train), and is the current Takarazuka Revue Company.
In 1911 Keisei Electric orbit (after Keisei Electric Railway) opened the Oshigami station – Ichikawa station. It was 1926 that stretched to Narita of the final destination which became the origin of the company name.
In 1913, the Keio Electric orbit (later Keio Electric Railway) began operating between Sasazuka Station and Chofu Station.
In 1914, between Honmacho station and Nara station on the Osaka Electric orbit (later Kinki Nippon Railroad) opened.
During this period, the expansion and development of private railway inter urban type routes became noticeable. In the Hanshin Express Railway led by Kobu Kobayashi led by Kobayashi Kazuhiro, we are creating a model of railway management in Japan, such as making railway lines development and department store side jobs as a set of routes. In addition, companies such as Higashi Electric Railway and Shin Keihan Railway, which perform long-distance driving exceeding 100 km, such as Tobu Railway and Shinku Railway Electric Railway, also appeared a company operating at a high speed which is still comparable today. Also as an urban transportation facility, subway (1927, Tokyo Metro Railway first), trolleybus (1928, Japan Evil Train first) etc. appeared besides trams. Even local railroads, for the first time in 1921 (Taisho 10th year), gasoline electric cars were introduced in a favorable orbit, attempts of modernization were advanced little by little.

Usui Pass electrification
Between Yokokawa Station – Karuizawa Station to withhold Usui Pass on the Shin – Etsu Main Line (abolished in 1997) 11.2 km was a difficult point in traffic with a steep slope of 67 per mil and 26 tunnels (the slope of the other line of the National Railways , Except for a small part such as Itaya Pass etc., it is 33 per mil). Since the opening in 1893, the operation by a dedicated gear type Apt type steam locomotive has continued, but it becomes impossible to cope with difficulty of steam locomotive against the difficulty of driving in continuous tunnels and increasing transportation volume It was regarded as an important issue. After the construction work of two years without stopping the operation of the train, the Usui Pass was switched to operation by the electric locomotive since 1912. The electric locomotive 1000 type used (axis arrangement C · output 660 kW) was imported from Germany, and the power was built by building a 3,000 kW thermal power plant near Yokokawa station. Due to electrification, the engineer’s troubles caused by smoke have been eliminated, the weight per train has doubled from 126 t to 230 t, and the speedup enables a significant increase in trains (36 lines / day → 54 lines / day) It was.

Constructor reform or renovation
After the nationalization of the railway in 1907, the amount of cargo transportation increased with the development of industry, cargo income exceeded passenger revenue early in Taisho era. At that time Tokaido Line was progressing to double track, but the single track section remained in part, the transport capacity reached its limit. As a drastic measure against demand that will continue to grow in the future, a draft rebuilt proposal to “reform the major trunk line to international standards” was submitted to the Cabinet in 1910. On the other hand, as a result of widely recognized the convenience of the railway, strong requests for the construction of a new line were successively issued in the area where the railway was not installed (the total length of the railroad at that time was about 8,000 km, which was about half of the current one ). Although the National Railways has worked on improving the railway network and strengthening and improving existing routes, it developed into a serious political issue as to which emphasis is placed on new line construction and existing trunk line improvement in Taisho era.

Political settlement
The policy that priority should be given to the construction of the new line was called “renter of the builder”, and the constitutional alumni association insisted. On the other hand, the policy of giving priority to strengthening and improving railway lines in major trunk lines and metropolitan areas was called “reformed construction” and the economic, military and civilian political parties claimed (of course, I was enthusiastic about “Iida Iron” to attract routes to my constituency). Shinpei Goto strongly insisted on the reform at the National Railways side, which took office as the two-time railway president in 1908 – 1911 and 1916 – 1918, and in 1917 it was the center of the railroad center worker director Yasujiro Shima We also carried out a switching experiment to the standard gauge on the Yokohama line, and prepared for the rebuilding line.

However, in 1918 the honorary cabinet of the Alumni Association of 1918 was decided to not be reconstructed to international standards, after that the railway related personnel began to tackle “Improvement of narrow-gauge transportation power”. Meanwhile, as a move of the Ioda drawer, the revised railway laying law promulgated in 1925 (Taisho in 2002) was mentioned, and although many plan lines were included, concrete things such as how to prioritize It was not mentioned, it became a factor causing the problem of the local line laying and discontinuation of the National Railways later.

For further discussion on disputes, see also the Japanese controversial controversy.

Measures to improve transportation capacity
Various items were implemented as measures to enhance the transportation capacity not depending on reform. Among them, there were also large-scale large-scale effects that are unprecedented in the world, such as simultaneous replacement of link type (screw type) couplers to automatic couplers (1925). These improvements took place in the 1910’s and 1920’s, resulting in the arrival of the ‘Golden Age’ in the 1930’s. Below, we will explain measures implemented in this era.

Double trunk line – The main trunk Tokaido Main Line was drawn in 1913 and the Sanyo Main Line was drawn in a full line in 1928. In parallel with the suburbs of Tokyo and Osaka, parallel lines (train lines, so-called multiple lines) were built.
Improvement of steep slope section – As the largest one, switching from the Gotemba on the Tokaido Main Line to the Tanna tunnel can be cited. Along with the speedup by improving the gradient, the stopping due to the connection / disconnection of the slope auxiliary machines was eliminated, and the transportation capacity of the Tokaido Line improved drastically.
Strengthening the trajectory – Making the rail heavy orbital (replacing the rail with a heavy and heavy one), ballast crushing (angular stones are better than cobble stones because they are good for ballasting because of good engagement of stones) etc. It has made it possible to run a heavy train at high speed.
Link type (Screw type) Bulk replacement of couplers to automatic couplers – On July 17, 1925, we shut down all cargo trains and replaced couplings of all vehicles (passenger cars were replaced at night and driven ). The number of vehicles exchanged was about 3,000 locomotives, about 6,000 passenger cars and about 25,000 freight cars. As a result of switching to an automatic coupler that is superior in strength and safety and easy to connect and disconnect, it has been achieved speeding up work, improving safety, improving workability, and so on.
Installation of air brakes on passenger cars and freight cars – Trains started using air brakes that used compressed air from early on, but passengers towing steam locomotives were using non-powerful vacuum brakes There was no braking with the locomotive and the conductor car). The installation of the air brake on the train began around 1922, and in 1930 all passenger cars switched to air brakes. The operation speed could be increased by strengthening the braking force. Although the installation of the brake on the freight car gradually advanced, the uninstalled car remained until the Second World War.
Installation of automatic traffic lights – Until then it was only possible to run one train between the stations with a blocking system between the stations. By installing an automatic traffic signal and shortening the blocked section, it is possible to increase the number of train operations, and it is possible to increase the amount of transport greatly without increasing the number of trains. Firstly, in 1921, we installed a bracket type automatic traffic light machine between Yokohama station and Oboe station, and after 1925 it was replaced by the color lamp type like the present one after another.
Differentiation of stops – At the beginning of the railroad, one stop was doubling as a passenger treatment, cargo handling, train organization change and vehicle base. However, as transportation volume increased, it became necessary to differentiate each function. For example, Osaka station is specialized only for passenger treatment, a separate line (northern freight line) is built for the railway line on which the freight train runs, and the freight train does not enter the Osaka station premises. Umeda freight station was built with a retract line from a separate line and a vehicle base of passenger cars (Miyahara station) was established along a separate line. To the slightly Kyoto side, a vast suita maneuvering place which organized a freight train was built.
Electrification of trunk line and tunnel section – In 1919, “Securing coal resources and developing hydro power of rivers” was decided as a priority national policy. At that time, the National Railways used a large amount of coal for the steam locomotive, and according to the national policy, electrification of the trunk line and the tunnel section was to advance more than before. The electrification situation of each section is explained in the next section.

Progress of electrification of JNR
The electrification of the main trunk line of the JNR is the first between Tokyo Station – Takashimacho Station built in accordance with the opening of Tokyo Station in 1914. It was a full-fledged thing with 50 large trains of 3-car train equipped with pantographs in the section electrified with DC 1200 V. The train used electrical equipment from the General Electric Company in the US and traveled at a maximum speed of 80 km / h at the highest speed (trains up to that time were at most about 50 km / h). Initially the initial failure occurred frequently, there was a time when substituting with steam once, after that it was used stably, became the roots of the high-speed train group entering mass in the 1930s.

Next was electrified between the Tokyo station on the Tokaido Line – Kozu station (1925), because it was a long distance train, it was not a train but a train of electric locomotive tow. Although the voltage was boosted to 1,500 V, this voltage is also inherited to the present JR (Osaka railroad in 1918 was adopted for the first time this voltage). Since there was almost no production history of electric locomotives in those days in Japan, importing machines from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Switzerland and Hitachi’s independent development machine were adopted for electrification of this section. As an import machine, the EF 50 type made in England is famous, but it was told that initial efforts to stably use this locomotive were useful for improving the technical capability of the electric locomotive in many initial early failures. The Tanna tunnel constructed as a trump card for strengthening the transportation capacity of the Tokaido Line took 16 years to complete due to difficult construction, but it was completed as a long tunnel of double track electrification in 1934. The Shimizu tunnel of the Joetsu Line was constructed as a railway from the metropolitan area to the Sea of ​​Japan side without going through the Usui Pass. Construction was later than the Tanna tunnel, completion was completed early in 1931 as a single-wire electrification tunnel.

Golden Age before the Second World War
In the 1930 ‘s, the railway network of the National Railways was enriched, the effect of strengthening the transportation capacity of the trunk line appeared, and the increase in express trains and the speed were improved. For private railroads connecting cities, we introduced a domestically produced large-scale high-speed train and carried out a high-speed operation to surpass the steam train. The locomotive car was produced with a model D51 (shaft arrangement 1D 1 output 1,280 horsepower) and a express airplane C59 type (shaft arrangement 2C1) which were produced as a fixed version of the cargo aircraft as a definite version, and the EF 52 and other electric locomotive Domestic production started. It was the son of Yasujiro Shima who designed D51 and was Hideo Oshima who is involved in construction of the Shinkansen later.

Special express train
The special express train, abbreviated as “the express train” was first used in the 1912 direct trains between Tokyo and Shimonoseki. In 1929, it gave a trick nickname to this, “Fuji” was adopted as a 1st and 2nd-ranked express between Tokyo and Shimonoseki and “Cherry” was adopted as the 3rd-class express of the same section . Next 1930, “Yan” called super express, started operation. Up to that time the express had run between Tokyo and Osaka in 11 hours (the rated speed is 51.7 km / h), but “Yan” is 8 hours 20 minutes (the rated speed 66.8 km / h) for that section tied. “Yan” is popular, and later “irregular Yan Yang” also increased, and thereafter the limited express trains were upgraded, such as the limited express “seagull” set between Tokyo and Kobe. On the Tokaido Main Line descending diamond of 1940, in addition to the above-mentioned five express trains, as express trains to Nagoya (1), Osaka bound (3), Kobe bound (3), Shimonoseki bound (5) are set It was. Among them, dining cars are connected to all trains except Nagoya express, and one of the “Tsubame”, “Fuji”, “Seagull” and Shimonoseki express train is a luxury 1st etc. Observed cars were connected.

Development of private railway
By 1930, the main line of the railway company which is now called a major private railway is open. Current: Except for Sagami Railway, it was already electrified at this stage. Regarding the construction and management of private railways, unique managers such as Koichiro Nezu of Tobu Railroad, Yasujiro Tsutsumi of Seibu Railway, Keita Goto of Tokyu Corporation and Kazuzo Kobayashi of Hankyu Electric Railroad made production and cut down ho. There were various storytellers on the issue of the route construction, there were also executives called by the noisy name, such as “Pistol Tsutsui” (Kojiro Tsutayuki) and “Keita Bando” (Keita Goto).

In order to attract passengers, there were many cases where development of residential lots along the railway line was made, and attracting facilities such as amusement parks were made. Hanshin Electric Railway established the Koshien stadium in 1924 and established the professional baseball team Osaka Tigers (later Hanshin Tigers) in 1935, but rival Hankyu Corporation established the Hankyu army (later Hankyu Braves) the following year I fought. These measures were carried out by many companies, and it became a factor that many teams existed in the Kansai area.

Also, Hankyu Umeda station in 1920 was the first to have a department store at the terminal station, after that department stores were set up one after another at each private rail terminal.

Even after the acquisition by railway nationalization ended, there were cases where private railways were nationalized while being small. Many were due to the reason that it corresponds to the route described in the revised Railway Construction Law, but during the Second World War, as a private war acquiring private railway, routes having industrial routes necessary for national policy are also subject to nationalization It has become. Even in the remaining private railways, under the wartime regime, the policy to consolidate by region is established by the Land Transportation Project Coordination Act of 1938, like Tokyu Corporation (Otoro Tokyu) and Kinki Nippon Railway (Kintetsu) A huge company also appeared.

High-speed train
Each private railway has developed a characteristic train suitable for his route and attracted passengers. Trains up to that time were manufactured on the premise that they are used only for short-distance driving, so 3-door long seat cars were the main subject, but trains used for sightseeing routes constructed at this time and long-distance routes between cities , Two door cross seat cars were allocated. Below is listed the high-speed trains of the 2 door cross seat at the time.

Tobu Railway launched the Deha 10 series train to Tobu Nikko Line which passes directly to Nikko, the leading tourist destination in Japan.
The Shin Keihan Railway P – 6 train, made as a bypass line of the Keihan Electric Railway, competed with super express “Yan” near Yamazaki Station in Kyoto Prefecture.
The 2200 series trains of the Shimanomiya Express Railway Company extended from Osaka City to Ise (137 km).
The Hanwa Electric Railway (current Hanwa Line) was a departure from the Nankai Electric Railway which runs almost the same section, but adopted a high-speed train such as the Moyo 100 type train, between the Osaka’s Hanwa Tennoji Station and Hanwa Higashi Wakayama Station Running in nonstop, I recorded 81.6 km / h, the highest table speed before the war.
These were groundbreaking vehicles that will be honored as famous cars later. Between the Tokaido main line Keihansin which became a fierce battle with private railway, the Ministry of Railways (the administrative organization at the time of JNR) produced a streamline type 52 system train and set “express train” (quick charge) which operates at high speed and put it on private railway Although it opposes, this was a train of the same character as “New rapid” currently set in the same area.

Subway and tram
Around this time, the subway was built as a high-speed transportation facility in the big city. In Tokyo, the Tokyo Underground Railway (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line after) went on a train between Ueno and Asakusa in 1927 and extended to Shimbashi Station in 1935. In Osaka, the Osaka municipal subway opened in Umeda – Shinsaibashi (later Midosuji line) in 1933, extended to Namba station in 1935, and extended to Tennoji station in 1938.

Subway then develops as an indispensable transportation for large cities. The subway lines that opened as urban transportation agencies before the war were only those in the two cities mentioned above, but in suburban private railways adopting the underground line and entering the downtown area, the Miyagi Electric Railroad (opened in 1925) Seika line), some lines have been in operation around the Kansai area.

As a transportation within the city a tram was developed. In addition to major cities such as Kyoto (1895), Nagoya (1898), Tokyo (1903), Osaka (1903), etc., the track of the streetcar is laid also in the regional core cities from Asahikawa to the south to Naha It was done.

Bullet train
“The matter concerning the extension of Tokyo-Shimonoseki Shinkansen” passed by the “Railroad Congress” on January 16, 1940 is a construction to construct a separate line (double track) between the international standards from Tokyo to Shimonoseki, and Tokaido Main Line and Sanyo It aimed at drastic improvement of the main line. This plan was generally called a bullet train.

While the route route corresponds to the current Tokaido Shinkansen and Sanyo Shinkansen, while the current Shinkansen is a train specialized for human transport in the country, the bullet train is a train that specializes in domestic human transport, while the bullet train is a train from Shimonoseki to people and supplies to the Korean Peninsula and Mainland China In consideration of transportation, we decided to set up high-speed freight trains, baggage trains, etc. in addition to passengers, assuming locomotive traction. The electrified section is only partly used, and the use of a steam locomotive is planned, and the maximum speed of the passenger train was set to 200 km / h in the electrification section and 150 km / h in the non-electrified section.

To promote this plan, it is said that the military intention was also strong, which had expanded warfare (China – Japan war) at the then Mainland China. Construction work was started from the Shin-Tanna tunnel and the Nihon-zaka tunnel in August the same year, but in 1943 when the inferiority of the Japanese side was revealed in the Second World War, other than the Japan Hill Tunnel and Shin Higashi Tunnel Construction was interrupted. These two tunnels were completed in 1944 and used for conventional lines, contributing to wartime transport and post-war reconstruction.

Foreign situation
Railroads such as Korea, Taiwan, Karafuta, etc. possessed by Japan before the Second World War were also built by Japan (see the railway of the Republic of Korea, the railway in Taiwan, the Minami Karafuto railway in the era of Japanese occupation respectively ).Also in Manchuria, the South Manchurian Railway, which was founded with the interests of the Russo-Japanese War, proceeded the development locally and ran a luxury train like the “Aji”.