Yoshihiko Sato

THE first battery emu for JR East, which was delivered in January, will enter service in March enabling through operation on the partly-electrified line between Utsunomiya and Karasuyama.

THE first Shinkansen train to be developed jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) was unveiled to the press at JR East's Rifu depot near Sendai on November 28.

JR East plans to introduce its Advanced Train Administration and Communications System (Atacs) on the busy Saikyo Line in Tokyo from autumn 2017.

CENTRAL Japan Railway (JR Central) published the Preliminary Environment Assessment on September 18 for the 286km maglev line from Tokyo to Nagoya.

JR Central has confirmed that construction of the inaugural 286km section of its Yen 5.1 trillion ($US 51.97bn) maglev line between Tokyo and Nagoya will commence as early as April next year.

FOLLOWING an international tender, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) has issued a provisional notification of contract award to a consortium of Sojitz, Japan, and Larsen & Toubro, India, for Packages 1 and 2 of the Rewari – Iqbalgarh section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.

THE Peoples Committee of Ho Chi Minh City signed a contract with Hitachi on June 11 for Metro Line 1 Package 3, which covers electrical and mechanical works, trackwork, and rolling stock for the first phase of the city's metro network.

COMMERCIAL services began on March 16 on the 1.5km link between Daikanyama and Shibuya in Tokyo, completing the connection between Fukutoshin metro line and suburban lines to the south-west of the city.

EAST Japan Railway Company (JR East) began scheduled operations at 320km/h on the Tohoku Shinkansen with the timetable change on March 16.

ALSTOM and Thales have been selected by JR East to negotiate a contract to install communications-based train control (CBTC) on the Ayase - Toride Joban Local suburban line in Tokyo with a view to awarding a contract to one of the companies in December. JR East plans to introduce CBTC on the line in about 2020.