The Shinkansen inspection train ‘Doctor Yellow,’ announced to be completely retired by 2027, appeared at Tokyo Station on the morning of June 14th.
Doctor Yellow is a vehicle for inspecting electrical and track facilities on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines. There are two formations: the Series 923 0 series (T4 formation) owned by JR Central and the Series 923 3000 series (T5 formation) owned by JR West, which run alternatively about once every ten days. The operating days and schedules are kept confidential, making sightings rare, hence the popularity and belief that “seeing it brings happiness.”
The T4 formation started operation in September 2001, and the T5 formation started in 2005. With approximately 20 years since their debut and the progression of vehicle aging, JR Central and JR West announced on the 13th that the T4 formation will retire in January 2025, and the T5 formation is targeted to retire after 2027.
The following day after the retirement announcement, the T4 formation appeared at Tokyo Station. Shortly after 11:30 am, it entered platform 18, where travelers and families rushed to the front carriage, recording it on video cameras and smartphones. The train stayed at Tokyo Station for about 15 minutes and departed before noon.
JR Central plans to hold experience rides, photo sessions, and sell commemorative goods in celebration of Doctor Yellow’s retirement.
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This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
