This October will mark 60 years since the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen, which connects Tokyo and Osaka at high speed. After that, Shinkansen routes continued to expand, extending from Honshu to Hokkaido and Kyushu. Meanwhile, Shikoku remains a blank area. However, the Shinkansen and Shikoku are actually closely related. The man who pushed forward the plan for the “Dream Super Express” and was called the “creator of the Shinkansen” was from Ehime. A sightseeing train that looks exactly like the first-generation Shinkansen “0 series” runs on the local line connecting Ehime and Kochi.

Praise achievements

Iyo-Saijo Station on the JR Yosan Line (Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture). The Shikoku Railway Culture Museum has a north building and a south building across the railroad tracks. In the north building, the lead car of the 0 series, which has a distinctive dumpling nose, is on display. This train was manufactured in 1975, and when it retired in 2000, it belonged to the JR West Hakata General Rolling Stock Yard and was active as the “Kodama” of the Sanyo Shinkansen. Later, JR Shikoku took over and moved to the museum.

Unfortunately, the back half of the car has been cut off, but you can still get inside the car and into the driver’s seat. “Having the driver’s seat open all the time is rare, even in Japan,” said the museum. It is said to be the most popular exhibit, with many visitors sitting and taking commemorative photos.

Why are Shinkansen vehicles on display here? The bronze statue that stands in front of the north building is the answer. Shinji Sogo. In 1955, at the age of 71, he became the president of Japanese National Railways. In order to strengthen the transportation capacity of the Tokaido Line, the government pushed forward with its Shinkansen plan to build a new broad-gauge line between Tokyo and Osaka, overcoming the lack of construction costs with a loan from the World Bank, and overcame the difficulties in the face of opposition. The achievements of the “creator” of Japan’s main artery are being honored with an exhibition of Shinkansen vehicles.

Sogo is a local celebrity. Born in the 17th year of the Meiji era in what is now Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture, he attended the old Saijo Junior High School and Tokyo Imperial University before joining the Railway Institute. After moving to Manchuria, he also served as the second mayor of Saijo after the war. Adjacent to the north building is the Shinji Sogo Memorial Museum, which introduces Sogo’s footsteps and personality. At a time when Shinkansen construction had not yet begun, he told his grandson, who was visiting Tokyo from Hyogo/Ashiya, “Right now, Grandpa is going to build a train that will take you to Osaka in about two hours.” I can feel the passion for this.

many hurdles

Nowadays, there is active movement toward the realization of the Shikoku Shinkansen. In August, the “Shikoku Shinkansen Development Promotion Committee”, which is made up of the four prefectures of Shikoku and economic organizations, held a conference in Tokyo and proposed budgetary measures to carry out a statutory investigation in order to upgrade the Shinkansen to a maintenance plan. etc. requested. According to the association, if the Shinkansen were to be built, extending from Okayama to various parts of Shikoku via the Seto Ohashi Bridge, the travel time between Matsuyama and Shin-Osaka would be shortened by nearly two hours, to one hour and 38 minutes. In Shikoku, the time between Matsuyama and Takamatsu is now 42 minutes. This will be a significant reduction from the current 2 hours and 22 minutes.

However, it has been pointed out that construction costs are rising for the Hokkaido Shinkansen’s Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto-Sapporo section and the Hokuriku Shinkansen’s Tsuruga-Shin-Osaka section, which are scheduled to open in the future. In addition, there are many and high hurdles to overcome in moving away from the Shinkansen blank zone, such as balancing expressways and population decline. The situation is different from the Sogo era, when everything was on the rise.

A row of valuable vehicles

The north building of the Shikoku Railway Culture Museum exhibits the first DF50 diesel locomotive, which was also used in Shikoku, next to the 0 series. This is a valuable vehicle that has been designated as a “Semi-Railway Monument,” and you can also sit inside the driver’s seat.

On the premises of the South Building, there is a test vehicle for a free gauge train that can change the width of its wheels to allow direct operation on routes with different rail widths. On display in the museum are the Kiha 65-class diesel train, a powerful engine used in express trains in Shikoku, and the C57-class steam locomotive No. 44. Railway dioramas that recreate scenery along the lines in the four prefectures of Shikoku are also gaining popularity.

Additionally, the cultural museum will hold a special exhibition until October 31st to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Shinkansen’s opening. The mulberry used by Shinji Sogo, President of Japan National Railways, in the mulberry container at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tokaido Shinkansen in April 1960 is on display. There is an anecdote that the head of a hoe that was swung down forcefully fell off the third time. (Keizo Samejima)

Shikoku Railway Culture Museum and Shinji Sogo Memorial MuseumImmediately after getting off at Iyo Saijo Station on the JR Yosan Line. Both museums are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (admission until 4:30 p.m.). You can enter both the north and south buildings of the Shikoku Railway Culture Museum for 300 yen for high school students and above, and 100 yen for elementary and junior high school students. Admission to the Shinji Sogo Memorial Museum is free. Both the Railway Culture Museum and Shinji Sogo Memorial Museum are closed on Wednesdays. For inquiries, please contact the Shinji Sogo Memorial Museum (0897-47-3855).