Eastern Pacific Railroad (Johnsonverse)

The Eastern Pacific Railroad (AAR Reporting Mark EP) is a railroad company operating all rail services in the Japanese Isles, Korea, and South China. Established in 1953 under the name United States Railway Administration (USRA) as a replacement for Japanese National Railways, the railroad was initially nationalized by the United States government, before being privatized in 1955 as a subsidiary of Continental Rail, itself a subsidiary of Johnson Industries. In 1963, the Railroad Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation in Korea announced it would be transferring its operations to EP, with South China Railway following suit in 1968 and Tibet contracting Continental Rail to construct and operate its rail network in 1983. In 1972, the United States and Korea commenced construction of the Japan-Korea Undersea Tunnel, which opened in 1980, connecting the Japanese States to the Eurasian mainland by rail.
== History ==
=== Founding ===
Following the Hattori Coup and the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952, the United States inherited 19,756.8 km (12,276.3 mi) of narrow gauge (1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)) railways in all 46 prefectures (now counties) of Japan. Japanese National Railways initially continued operating on a state-by-state basis, but this scattershot arrangement created problems with interstate services.
On March 1, 1953, JNR was nationalized and renamed the United States Railway Administration, a name previously used for a nationalized system in the mainland United States during World War I, and later used as the name for the state-owned corporation overseeing all American rail infrastructure established by the Sheldon Johnson administration in 2021. This arrangement was always meant to be temporary until a plan for privatizing the system could be decided upon.
All rolling stock in use by the USRA was carried over from JNR, the only change being the loss of any and all JNR markings. The decision was made very early on to abolish steam haulage, with a set date of 1960.
Another issue was the fact Japan's railway system used Cape gauge (3 ft 6 in) instead of standard gauge (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in). This meant that mainland-based rolling stock manufacturers such as EMD and ALCo had to make specialized models, the most-notable being the EMD G8 that soon became the standard diesel locomotive in the Japanese network (the G8 was also being built for other countries such as Australia, Brazil, Egypt, and Korea). Japan-based rolling stock manufacturers continued building rolling stock to their own designs.
=== Privatization ===
On January 1, 1955, the USRA was disbanded with the handover of Japanese rail operations to Johnson subsidiary Continental Rail. Rather than operate the network with their own name, Continental Rail elected to create a subsidiary called Eastern Pacific Railroad, the name being chosen as a sort of joke so that all four points of the compass could have their own "Pacific Railroad". Then-Johnson CEO Robert Johnson immediately drafted the "Japanese Railway Modernization Plan", which involved the following areas:
* Converting the entire network to standard gauge, as well as rebuilding stations and enlarging tunnels to accomodate larger rolling stock
* Electrification of trunk lines
* Building new lines to areas without rail service
* Construct new classification yards, with automated switching to streamline freight handling
* Modernizing all signalling systems
* Replacing grade crossing signals with American-made signals
Not mentioned in the plan was anything related to new rolling stock. This was because the existing rolling stock was expected to be converted to standard gauge, and then a new source for modernized rolling stock would be identified by 1965.
On November 1, 1958, the Kodama limited express service debuted. Services used 151 series trainsets, the last trains built to a Japanese design. This was the first EMU train service of the Japanese National Railways classified as a limited express, the highest (fastest) of train types on the national railway system. The train travelled between Tokyo Station and Osaka Station in six hours and 50 minutes and first enabled passengers to go and return between the two cities in one day. This is why the train was named Kodama, or echo.
=== Modernization ===
In 1964, the EP opened the Tokaido Shinkansen, the world's first modern high speed rail line. The previous year, the conversion to standard gauge across the entire network had been completed, and Continental Rail had taken control of the entire British railway network at the behest of the Labour Government. With the 1965 deadline for identifying a new source of rolling stock looming, the decision was made to replace all trains of Japanese design with those of British design. The first train to do so was the Osaka-Amanohashidate Hashidate, inaugurated on January 1, 1965, and run using new-build "Deltic" diesels hauling new-build Mark 1 coaches. Throughout the 1960s, Japanese-built rolling stock would be rapidly replaced by British-built rolling stock; this included a second run of certain locomotive classes such as the Class 08, 14, 17, 22, 23, 35, 37, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 50, 52, 55, 76, 77, and 86. Any steam locomotives built to pre-nationalisation designs that didn't find homes at heritage lines in Britain were instead shipped to the Japanese Isles, where they gained a new lease on life. There was initially skepticism as to whether a large amount of steam and diesel locomotives were needed, but the larger geographic size of the Japanese Isles and rail network compared to the British Isles, as well as the later takeover of the Korean and South Chinese rail networks, justified the need for a fleet that outnumbers even Continental Rail's locomotive fleet in North America.
The construction of new rolling stock extended to new coaches, wagons, and departmental stock, all to British designs.
In 1978, the last Japanese-built non-Shinkansen trains were replaced, these being the 151 series trainsets on the Kodama, which were replaced by the InterCity 125. The EMD G8 thereafter became the last non-British locomotives on the system, remaining in service until being replaced by the Class 60 in 1992. The Shinkansen trains themselves were replaced by the InterCity 225 in 1992; a proposal to use InterCity 250 trains was rejected after the power cars developed severe stress cracks in four months of service on the West Coast Main Line.
=== Asian mainland ===
In 1963, the Korean government, faced with an increasingly run-down rail network exacerbated by the ravages of the Korean War, decided to follow the British government's lead in soft-privatizing their rail network under Continental Rail's banner. CR initially proposed running the network as "Korean Rail" (KR) or "Korail", before deciding it would be more efficient for the system to be run by Eastern Pacific. This resulted in even larger orders for rolling stock from the British Isles, though the transition was much smoother due to Korea utilizing standard gauge.
The South Chinese government followed suit in 1968, and handed its South China Railway over to Continental Rail. This handover also went smoothly due to the South Chinese rail network also being standard gauge, and again resulted in bigger orders for British-made rolling stock to replace the dilapidated Chinese stock.
This arrangement was seen as non-ideal in its early years, as the Japanese States are on an island chain. Trials with rail barges in 1969 proved unsuccessful. With tensions between the two Chinas rising in 1972, the United States and Korea made an agreement to construct the Japan-Korea Underwater Tunnel, with construction beginning later that year. The tunnel opened to international fanfare on October 10, 1980, with a ribbon cut by US president Jimmy Carter and Korean president Chun Doo-hwan. Because Korea borders North China, and North China refused to allow EP trains to use its rails due to the belief that they could covertly bring entire armies into Beijing, EP uses railferries to transfer freight cars between Mokpo, Korea, and Korea's Legation City of Nantong on, with passengers transferring to Continental Shipping Lines passenger ships for travel between South China and either Korea or the Japanese States.
In 1983, Tibet contracted Continental Rail to construct and operate its rail network, as the nation had long been without any form of a railway. The first segment, known as the Kuoming-Lhasa Railway, opened in 1988 after controversial Johnson CEO Phil Stacker dragged his feet on construction, eventually greenlighting the line in 1987 (the line was built in record time by Johnson's "Blitzkrieg Crew").
=== Present Day ===
The Eastern Pacific Railroad is considered the single-most profitable part of Johnson Industries (even more profitable than the Northwest Regional services run by Continental Rail from Vancouver to Tijuana), with the Central Region being the most profitable and highest throughput high-speed-rail operator, carrying 138 million high-speed-rail passengers in 2009, considerably more than American Airlines. EP recorded a total of 1.3 billion high-speed-rail passengers in 2009.
EP has come to be known as a "retirement home" for rolling stock withdrawn from British Rail. Roughly 90% of non-preserved Mark 1 carriages Mark 1-derived multiple units still see daily service on the railroad. It is expected that, as the Intercity Express Trains (IETs) are rolled out on BR, InterCity 125 and 225 trainsets will make the pilgrimmage to the Japanese Isles and become the primary high-speed trains of the network, alongside the Adelante, Voyager, and Pendolino trains; non-high-speed express services are generally run using Class 40, 52, 55, and 91 locomotives, as well as steam locomotives from pre-British Rail companies and multiple units designated for express duties.
=== Future ===
As of 2022, talks are ongoing for Eastern Pacific to potentially take over all rail operations in India, Thailand, and Burma. This would require a massive new order of rolling stock from BREL.
== Operations ==
=== Passenger ===
See also: List of named Eastern Pacific Railroad passenger trains
Passenger services on Eastern Pacific are widely diverse, ranging from high-speed trains connecting major population centers to small, single-car diesel multiple units trundling along rural branchlines. Most trains are locomotive-hauled, either by diesel, electric, or steam locomotives; multiple units, both diesel and electric, are almost-exclusively found in large metropolitan areas with large commuter belts (the remainder being high-speed sets).
=== Freight ===
Freight represents a large portion of trains on Eastern Pacific. Typical trains include unit trains carrying crude oil, petroleum, gasoline, diesel, coal, and agriculture, with small wagonload traffic the rule, especially in South China. 97% of freight cars used on EP are small two-axle wagons constructed specifically for the railroad.
==== Freight services ====
Eastern Pacific operates several freight services with their own names, including Eastern Wagon Services (EWS) for long-haul freight, Load Haul for unit trains such as coal, crude oil, and grain, and Direct Rail Services (DRS) for intermodal trains.
EWS locomotives include the Class 66 and 67 (with Class 08 shunters at designated EWS terminals), Load Haul exclusively uses the Class 60, and DRS uses several locomotive types, including the Class 20, Class 37, Class 66, and Class 68 (all Class 68 locomotives carry the DRS livery, even though they are mixed-traffic locomotives and are frequently engaged in suburban and regional passenger services; DRS also has its own fleet of Mark 2 push-pull stock for use on relief trains wherever they are needed).
== Livery ==
Upon the formation of the United States Railway Administration in 1953, all locomotives and rolling stock retained their original pre-nationalization liveries, albeit with all JNR markings removed. As Eastern Pacific, they were rapidly repainted into Continental Rail's familiar blue-and-white livery.
When the first British-made stock began arriving in 1965, the livery was completely overhauled. Passenger diesels and non-express multiple units were painted in all-over BR Blue with yellow warning panels, express multiple units and locomotive-hauled coaching stock in BR Blue and Grey, freight, shunter, and maintenance diesels in BR Green (the Class 01 shunters retained their original BR Black liveries), and steam locomotives were painted either black, green, or blue, depending on what livery they carried in BR service, though many depots elected to repaint them back into their post-grouping, pre-nationalization liveries. Regardless of livery, all locomotives, coaching stock, and multiple units proudly display the iconic Blue Globe logo on their sides.
Newer locomotives have no standard livery. The Class 58 carries Railfreight Grey, Class 60 carries all-over light grey (being part of Eastern Pacific's "Load Haul" brand), Class 66 and 67 carry red and yellow (being part of Eastern Pacific's Eastern Wagon Services brand), and Class 68 carries a unique "lightning bolt" livery (being part of Eastern Pacific's "Direct Rail Services" brand)
== See also ==
* List of Eastern Pacific Railroad diesel and electric classes
* List of Eastern Pacific Railroad steam classes
* List of Eastern Pacific Railroad diesel multiple unit classes
* List of Eastern Pacific Railroad electric multiple unit classes
Category:Johnsonverse
Category:Eastern Pacific Railroad