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Tokaido Shinkansen Celebrates 60th Anniversary, Renewed Commitment to Safe Transport Amid Intensifying Natural Disasters
The Tokaido Shinkansen marked its 60th anniversary on October 1st. A commemorative departure ceremony was held at Tokyo Station, where, with a signal from JR Tokai’s Tokyo Station Master Katsuyuki Wachi, the “Nozomi 1” (N700S, formation J29) train departed at 6:00 AM.
The Tokaido Shinkansen started operation between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka Station on October 1st, 1964. Over 60 years, it has served a cumulative total of 7 billion passengers. JR Tokai’s President, Shunsuke Niwa, reflected in his speech at the ceremony, “Since its opening, we have honed our characteristics of safety, punctuality, comfort, and speed. We have continued to have zero passenger deaths or injuries on board, and moving forward, we will work on creating an even more comfortable, convenient, and safe Shinkansen, with our priority being safe transport, especially in response to the escalating natural disasters.”
The ceremony saw stakeholders celebrating this milestone with a ribbon-cutting, and employees holding up homemade banners waved the train off.
To commemorate the 60th anniversary, concourses at a total of four stations including Tokyo Station, and stations in Shizuoka, Nagoya, and Shin-Osaka, will display photo spots. Additionally, from the first day, a new TV commercial reflecting on the 60 years using photos and videos of Series 0, 100, and 300 trains gathered from passengers will be aired.
The translation may not be accurate.