大きな地図で見る
Please look at the map of Hokuriku District in Japan.
On the north side of Lake Biwako, which is the greatest lake in Japan, is a big mountain range.
That is also a violent snow coverage zone and the old track which opened for traffic in 1896 had a serious problem.
There was a steep hill, with deep snow coverage and a landslide. A steam locomotive towed the train by a three-car connection.
However, the transport capacity was still insufficient.
A new construction of a long tunnel is not new in present day Japan. However, Japan in those days was recovering from defeat in the Pacific War.
Hokuriku tunnel was a symbol of the development of Japan in those days. The opening to traffic was big news.A new stamp which celebrated the opening of traffic through Hokuriku tunnel was issued by the Japanese government.
The new long tunnel had a new danger. Japan in those days had insufficient knowledge of the danger of a long tunnel. At 1:00 a.m. on November 6th, 1972, the KITAGUNI Express was running through Hokuriku tunnel. An EF70 type of a new style electric locomotive was towing it. It was the organization of the coach of 15 cars of 10 series. Fire broke out in the dining car(OSHI 17-2018) of 11 numbered passenger cars. The driver stopped the KITAGUNI Express from the report of the fire by a passenger. However, it was the 5.3km neighborhood from the entrance at Tsuruga of the Hokuriku tunnel.
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