By AYATERU HOSOZAWA/ Staff Writer
June 13, 2024 at 18:17 JST
Luck has finally run out for the inspection bullet trains called Doctor Yellow, which will be retired over the next few years due to their age and condition, according to West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) and Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai).
Since the schedules for the bright-yellow Shinkansen were never announced publicly, sightings of the trains were said to bring good luck to all who spotted them.
After the Doctor Yellows make their final run, inspection equipment will be installed on Shinkansen that will be utilized in their regular operations. These trains will also inspect the tracks and other aspects, while running as usual.
The Doctor Yellows only ran once every 10 days or so, entrusted with inspecting railways, overhead wires and track signals.
With the schedules and tracks that they would run on not disclosed, the belief arose that sighting one was lucky and that, ”If you see Doctor Yellow, you become happy.”
Currently, JR West and JR Tokai each operate a Doctor Yellow inspection bullet train utilizing the 700 Series Shinkansen.
However, both the operation and other qualities of the 700 Series trains are inferior to those of the latest N700S Series.
In addition, the inspection method using bullet trains in regular operations has been improving.
Subsequently, JR Tokai decided to quit running inspection bullet trains from January 2025 and JR West will end the inspections from or after 2027.
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The Doctor Yellow is headed for retirement. (Provided by JR Tokai)
