Word: railways
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Japan's national railway network, much like the people it serves, enjoys an international reputation for efficiency and civility. But last Friday both the system and the national cool proved fragile indeed. For several chaotic hours, Tokyo came to a virtual halt after a group of radical activists sabotaged the core of its transportation system. As many as 10 million commuters who normally use the railroads were forced to battle their way onto buses, subways and private rail cars. They pushed and shoved with such force that police officers had to use bullhorns to direct the vast throngs. Those...
...activists and students had used wire snippers to sever coaxial and optical cables for signal, communication and computer systems at 24 locations in Tokyo, Osaka and five other cities. Using canisters of kerosene attached to crude timing devices, they also blew up or burned down cable connections. Thus, when railway officials tried to start the first trains of the day at 5 a.m., they found to their horror that neither signal lights nor rail switches were operating on 22 commuter lines. As a result, the system in Tokyo and Osaka remained frozen until noon, when service was partly restored...
...trouble began on Thursday in Chiba prefecture, just south of Tokyo, when 1,100 members of a renegade chapter of the Locomotive Engineers' Union went on a 24-hour wildcat strike. At issue was the proposed breakup of the stateowned Japanese National Railways and its eventual sale to private ownership. Privatization is favored by the government, which is liable for the JNR's deficit, which totals over $92 billion. The proposal was harshly denounced by the 38,000-member Locomotive Engineers' Union as well as by the 200,000-member National Railway Workers' Union because it could reduce...
...sands of the parched Wadi, below imposing sandstone mountains. Captain's Desert Camp (tel: [962-3] 201 6905; www.captains-jo.com) offers desert tent accommodation, while Bedouin Roads (tel: [962] 795 899 723); www.bedouinroads.com) has local guides for mountain hikes. SYRIA In 1917, Lawrence joined Arabs in dynamiting the Hejaz Railway, which was built by the Ottoman Turks to carry Muslim pilgrims from Syria to holy sites and act as a supply route. But one 320-km stretch is still intact, and several times a week you can take the journey between Damascus and Amman, Loh and Behold Avant-garde murals...
...SYRIA In 1917, Lawrence joined Arabs in dynamiting the Hejaz Railway, which was built by the Ottoman Turks to carry Muslim pilgrims from Syria to holy sites and act as a supply route. But one 320-km stretch is still intact, and several times a week you can take the journey between Damascus and Amman, Jordan (minimum duration is seven hours), passing sites that would have been familiar to Lawrence. Sitting in the sidings at Amman station are coaches recognizable from the era. In its heyday, the train carried up to 300,000 pilgrims to the annual Hajj in Mecca...