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Wednesday, 13th April 2016
In Japan Travel News,
Invisible trains being developed in Japan
Invisible trains could be seen – or not seen – on the tracks in Japan as early as 2018, it has been announced.
The carriages will sport a semi-reflective surface, allowing them to blend into the landscape and appearing almost invisible to the naked eye.
Japanese architect, Kazuyo Sejima, was granted the commission to develop this new type of train for the 100th birthday of the Seibu Group.
The company is world-renowned for its bullet trains and is keen to pave the way for the future of transport in Japan.
It is a high-profile collaboration as Sejima has won the Pritzker Architecture Prize for her designs in the past.
Lord Palumbo, the chair of the Pritzker Prize, praised her work as "architecture that is simultaneously delicate and powerful".
The trains will operate amongst such varied scenery as the mountains of Chichibu and the outskirts of Tokyo.
Saejima said: “I thought it would be good if the train could gently coexist with this variety of scenery.”
Commuters, who could be riding the so-called Red Arrow train on a limited number of routes in just two years, will also benefit from the architect’s vision for the interior, as well as its unusual external design.
Sejima has expressed the desire for the inside furnishings to resemble a living room, being soft and welcoming.
The new invisible design is in contrast to the current trains that the Seibu Group operate on around 180 kilometres of track in and around Tokyo.
These feature brightly coloured stripes to make them instantly recognisable, with hues including yellow, blue and grey used in the past.
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