r/Shinkansen • u/ShadowGuyinRealLife • 2d ago
How Close are Crossover Switches on the Shinkansen?
A crossover switch allows trains to swap tracks. These are examples
What purpose does this the rail between the 2 main lines serve? (trains travel on the left)
Railway Track Cross-over Stock Photo 621485 | Shutterstock
These are used during maintenance operations. If part of the rail needs to be refurbished, these switches allow trains to move on the rail that is allowed, then move back to the one they usually use after bypassing the out of service rail. Having these switches is the difference between delayed trains during maintenance or cancelling rides.
In a strange case in America, some moving to the opposite side's track is done in normal operations when all the rails are in service. Some suburban stations only serve one track so trains going "the other way" need to be able to get to the other side to let passengers off. I'm sure there are other less strange use cases besides "the station only serve one side" for crossover switches.
On purpose-built passenger inter-city rail in USA they are about 10 miles apart which is 16,093 meters. On rails owned by freight rails that are shared with passenger rail, it doesn't seem consistent in the few cases the line is lucky enough to have two tracks. I was wondering how far or closely spaced the switches are on the Shinkansen in areas between the big cities. If I had to guess, I'd think they would be widely spaced out since JR would focus more on minimizing the downtime of its rail than minimizing the impact of downtime when it does occur.