Doctor Yellow, which JR Tokai and JR West have announced, will be retiring
12:12 JST, June 13, 2024
Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) and West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) announced Thursday that they will retire the test train nicknamed Doctor Yellow, which runs between Tokyo and Hakata stations on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, due to aging.
JR Tokai will cease operating the train in January 2025 and JR West will do so in 2027 or later.
JR Tokai and JR West each have one Doctor Yellow train, and JR Tokai started operations in 2001, while JR West started using it in 2005.
The train runs approximately once every 10 days, but the timetable is not made public. It has become popular among railway fans as ‘a train that brings good luck when you see it’.
Until his retirement, JR Tokai will sell commemorative goods and host events where visitors can ride the train.
After Doctor Yellow’s retirement, N700S series trains, which are in service as Nozomi and other bullet trains, will be equipped with special equipment to conduct inspections.
