Ōu Main Line, Ōmagari to Akita

[Sacto1985]

YouTube member yajia2801 filmed this zenmen tenbou video of the Ōu Main Line from Ōmagari to Akita Stations:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTWbxoD226I

 

Filmed from a 701 Series EMU, this part of the Ōu Main Line is actually part of the Akita Shinkansen line, where 1067 mm and 1435 mm gauge tracks parallel each other. Because there are very few places for Shinkansen trains to pass each other here, note that we only see two Shinkansen trainsets going the other way during the course of this video.

[Densha]

The part at Akita station is interesting, where both gauges cross eachother.

[Sacto1985]

By the way, the video I posted is actually the second part. The first of this video--from Yokote to Ōmagari--is shown here:

 

Edited April 27, 2014 by Sacto1985

[yakumo381]

Been some years since i travelled this line and I may have been slightly jet lagged at the time but I think I remember seeing a section of this track as being dual gauge or at least there seemed to be an extra rail?

[kvp]

The first video has some dual gauge looking tracks on it (even some sections with 4 rails), but the extra rail looks more like a guard rail or third rail with lots of gaps and no connection to the standard gauge tracks next to the cape gauge one. This is one interesting construction, since guard rails are usually placed inside the rails. It looks like someone was seriously worried about a derailed cape gauge train fouling the shinkansen track.

[miyakoji]

There is some dual gauge here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Cu_Main_Line. This is a result of the 1067mm conventional line being regauged to 1435mm to be a mini shinkansen. Also, some 1435mm conventional rolling stock was built, 719-5000 series and 701-5000/5500 series, and really rare a 1435mm conventional work car, KUMOYA 743-1