The Shiki-Shima is a modern day interpretation of the Orient Express – a luxury train that’s been built to explore the beauty of Japan in levels of comfort that will seem the stuff of fantasy to commuter rail passengers.
The East Japan Railway Company has already sold out for its luxury journeys travelling from Tokyo to eastern areas on the main island of Honshu.
The Shiki-Shima offers a striking mix of modern constriction and traditional Japanese design. The 10-car luxury train includes a glass-walled panoramic carriage and six private suite cars.
Each luxury suite occupies an entire carriage
Tickets for the Shiki-shima range from £2,100 to an eye-watering £6,500, but demand has been such that passengers have been chosen by lottery.
Luxury train? We’d settle for electric
Britain may be the birthplace of railways, but electrification of the entire network lags behind other European countries. Forty per cent of the British rail network was electrified by 2006, representing 60% of all rail journeys. However, electrification of remaining lines, particularly with the more-efficient overhead lines, remains slow.
While we wring our hands about the financial cost of going electric, German politicians are being lobbied to dramatically increase the 60 per cent proportion of its network that is already electrified. The country’s Pro-Rail Alliance reports that although the EU average is only 52 per cent, European front runners such as Switzerland (100% electrification ), Belgium (85%), the Netherlands and Sweden (both 76%), Italy (71%) and Austria (70%) should be emulated.
According to Pro-Rail Alliance director, Dirk Flege: “While our European neighbours are upgrading their networks to make them more environmentally friendly, we in Germany are besotted with the idea of installing overhead lines on our motorways. In contrast, there are no clear targets and no properly funded programme of electrification for Germany’s railway network.”
Flege called on politicians to adopt a target for the national rail network of 70 percent electrification by 2025.
Matthias Gastel, the Green party’s railway policy spokesman in the Bundestag, pointed out that policies in other countries are considerably more sustainable: “On the issue of electro mobility, Germany should not just concentrate on the car. Today, 40 per cent of our rail network is still not equipped with overhead lines. Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands are doing considerably more for climate protection. A 70 per cent degree of electrification by 2025 is a first, interim target on the way to 100 percent e-mobility on the railways.”
Britain’s most ethical insurance company
The ETA has been voted the most ethical insurance company in Britain for the second year running by the Good Shopping Guide.
Beating household-name insurance companies such as John Lewis and the Co-op, the ETA earned an ethical company index score of 89.
The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Twenty seven years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance, travel insurance and breakdown cover while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.
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