When in Japan, make sure you keep an eye out for Dokutā Ierō. The locals believe that seeing "Doctor Yellow" - high-speed test trains painted in bright yellow - brings the viewer good luck. Since the train's schedule is not made public, witnessing it in action is a case of chance.
As trains go, Doctor Yellow is extremely rare, not just because there aren't many of them - they are only used on the Tokaido Shinkansen and Sanyo Shinkansen - but also because they perform their test and diagnostic function at full line speed. That means up to 300km/h in the case of the Sanyo Shinkansen or 285km/h for the Tokaido Shinkansen.
The trains have special equipment on board to monitor the condition of the track and overhead wire, including special instrumented bogies and observation blisters. Otherwise, they are very similar to production, passenger-carrying Shinkansen trains, aside from their lemon-yellow paintwork.
Sadly, JR Tokai and JR West have recently announced that the use of the Doctor Yellow trains for inspections on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines will soon end. JR Tokai's test trains will cease to operate after January 2025, while JR West will terminate operations around 2027. Avid trainspotting fans, your chance to catch Dokutā Ierō is fast running out.
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