Modified Generalized Discriminant Analysis Using Kernel Gram-Schmidt Orthogonalization in Difference Space for Face Recognition

1.   Role Fulfilled by High-Speed Railways

• The advent of high-speed railways was the most significant technological innovation in railways in the last half of the 20th century. Faster speeds for intercity passenger transport saved railways from decline.
• Railways for transportation in cities and for large-scale freight transport have maintained their traditional competitiveness even in an era where automobiles and airplanes have come of age. But the competition has been strongest in high-speed intercity passenger transport. Creation of high-speed railways was the only path open for rail transport to survive in that field.
• Even in transportation marketing, development of high-speed transportation is a new challenge for railways. High-speed intercity railways have grown into profitable business, achieving a renaissance in rail transport.

2.   Shinkansen Success and the Current Situation

• Japan's Shinkansen that went into service in 1964 was the pioneer in modern high-speed railways.
• The nationwide Shinkansen network has carried 7.1 billion passengers in its 40 years of service. Today it carries approximately 770,000 passengers a day.
• The number of people who commute to work or school on the Shinkansen has grown to approximately 50,000. The Shinkansen allows people to make the trip from communities more than a hundred kilometers away to the city center in just about an hour, something nobody even considered when the Shinkansen was first built.
• The Shinkansen almost always operates reliably and on time even in areas subject to heavy snowfall and other bad weather, and this builds confidence in rail travel.
• The Shinkansen supports Japan's rail industry earnings. Income from the Shinkansen lines totals about $17 billion per year, which is 47% of the JR group's rail operations income. High-speed rail travel in Japan is a new business that is sufficiently profitable.
• Since 1964, Shinkansen service has grown to become the major artery for passenger transport in Japan, with about 2,176 km of operating lines. The JR East Shinkansen routes go north and northwest from Tokyo to five destinations.
• Construction is currently underway on 406 km ofnew extensions for the Tohoku Shinkansen from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori, the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Nagano to Toyama and Isurugi to Kanazawa, and the Kyushu Shinkansen from Hakata to Shin-Yatsushiro. Plans are for construction to be gradually completed over the next six to eight years. Also, new construction will start in 2005 on 184 km of further extensions for the Hokkaido Shinkansen from Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate and the section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Toyama to Isurugi.
• Joetsu Shinkansen derailment in the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake

1. Events Leading to the Incident

At about 17:56 on Oct. 23, 2004, a highly destructive magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit the Niigata Chuetsu region. That caused a Joetsu Shinkansen train traveling at about 200 km/h between Urasa and Nagaoka to derail. Eight of the train's ten cars derailed, and the train traveled about 1.6 km before coming to a stop. There were no injuries among passengers and crew.

2. Earthquake Mechanisms and Countermeasures

Japan's Shinkansen has operated for 40 years since its inauguration without any derailments, crashes, or other major accidents leading to the death or injury of passengers or crew. The derailment caused by the earthquake was the first time ever for any Shinkansen in normal operation.

A thorough investigation is underway to determine the exact sequence of events from the first ground movement to the derailment and from the derailment until the train came to a stop. Specific countermeasures will be taken based on the findings to further increase Shinkansen safety in large-scale earthquakes.

3.   Circumstances Leading to the Creation of the Shinkansen

• Many people in Japan, where the basic railway network was narrow gauge, had dreamt since the beginning of the 20th century of making a standard-gauge high-speed railway. But they faced numerous setbacks.
• It was Japan's need to overcome a lack of transport capacity that hastened the fulfillment of that dream. The Tokaido line, which had the highest transport volume in Japan, had reached its capacity limit in the 1950s, so it was imperative to construct a new railway parallel to it.
• Furthermore, the 1950s marked technological innovations in rail-related fields. Those included better technology for using alternating current, high-speed cars, lightweight car structure, track with long rail and concrete ties, catenary suitable for supplying power to high-speed trains, and new signal systems, such as ATC.
• Technical development to increase railway speeds further was based on those basic technologies. An entirely new high-speed railway—the Shinkansen—was achieved by combining and coordinating those technologies in a systems engineering manner.
• We can say that the Shinkansen was achieved through technical innovation brought about by the dream and real-world needs.

4.   Conditions for Future High-Speed Railways

4-1. Technological Innovations

• With the fast-paced progress of technological innovations on a global scale, high-speed railways need constant updating to new systems if they are to be winners in this age of competing transportation modes.
• Railway companies need to keep alert and to accumulate knowledge in many fields of technology. Today we are seeing remarkable progress in electronics, information technology, and materials technology. Also, in order to achieve further speed increases, maintenance technology which improves safety and reliability and environment technology which reduces noise, vibration, and energy are essential.

4-2. Market Conditions and Financial Rules

• It is important to construct high-speed railways in regions that actually need those railways and to do that under properly defined financial policies.
• Japan has suffered some bitter experiences concerning the Shinkansen. After the success of the Tokaido Shinkansen far exceeded expectations, high-cost Shinkansen construction went on under insufficient financial rules and without sufficient consideration of market conditions. That was one of the factors that led to the Japanese National Railways (JNR) facing bankruptcy in 1987. After the privatization of the JNR in 1987, rules were established under which railway operators would bear the burden of construction only insofar as they could make a profit. This is an important lesson that should be heeded in new construction of high-speed railways.

4-3. Environmental Effects and Impacts: Energy, Noise&Vibration

• Railways' share of the Japanese passenger transport market in terms of transport volume (measured in passenger-kilometers) is approximately 27%. And the railways' portion of energy consumed in transport is about 7%. Shinkansen energy consumption by unit transport volume is about 21% of that of airplanes. Advances in energy-saving technology (lighter cars, AC regenerative brakes) help maintain the Shinkansen energy advantage. Also, energy required per passenger is effectively reduced by about 25% on Shinkansen trains that are entirely two-level cars.
• Environmental standards for noise near tracks are of the strictest levels in the world for the Shinkansen. That has been the result of persistent efforts made since just after the Shinkansen opened in 1964. Countermeasures came from implementing results of research in reduction of noise at its source and in noise dampening. Spectacular results have been achieved recently, especially in low-noise pantograph development as a countermeasure for current-collection noise.

5.   JR East's Shinkansen Strategy

• The JR East Shinkansen network consists of three lines to full Shinkansen standards and two conventional lines converted from narrow gauge. These form a high-speed network extending from Tokyo and linking major cities in five directions. Up to now, the high-speed network has extended to around 500 km from Tokyo, and at this distance the Shinkansen has a predominant position over air travel.
• Plans are for the high-speed network to extend to Shin-Aomori and onward to Shin-Hakodate, as well as to Kanazawa. That will extend the network to more than 700 km from Tokyo, putting JR East in active competition with air travel. Passengers will have to be able to reach their destinations in three hours or less if JR East is to have a competitive advantage.
• In view of that situation, JR East started an R&D project in 2002 to achieve even faster speeds—more than 300 km/h. A test train that can run at an operational speed of 360 km/h is under development, and JR East plans to commence high-speed tests on the Tohoku Shinkansen in the summer of 2005.
• Environmental adaptation is the most important task for high-speed railways to tackle in this century. Therefore, JR East is putting emphasis on solving energy problems and taking environmental measures in drawing up plans to speed up train travel.
• It is important for the railway business for the Shinkansen to grow and to develop as a business that can remain profitable in the future. Thus, the next generation Shinkansen must gain customer satisfaction in terms of safety, reliability, convenience, comfort, and cost performance in addition to fast speeds.