You can now ride a Toyota 2000GT train in Japan

Toyota 2000GT Train

How awesome is this? A Toyota 2000GT wrapped on the side of a train. Of course, it is in Japan and the train is the Linimo, a mag-lev train in Aichi Prefecture. Japanese rail companies often create limited-time decorations for their trains, but this is perhaps the coolest one yet. Here’s more than you ever wanted to know about it.

??????????

The fact that this train takes you past the Toyota Automobile Museum is no coincidence. Back in January 2004, we visited the museum and noticed there was a massive construction project in front of it. Turns out it was the Linimo. Before that, even in rail-connected Japan there was no easy way to get to the museum without a car (we had quite a memorable adventure getting there, but that’s a story for another day). Now, the stop is Geidai-dori, just look for the big red “T” that sits outside the museum.

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the Linimo (an abbreviation of Linear Motor, the type of electric motor that powers the magnetic field that the train floats on). It’s not as fast as the 268 mph maglev train in Shanghai, China, but the Linimo serves an urban area with close stops so it only needs a top speed of 62 mph.

Toyota Pavilion Expo 2005

At the time of its construction, it was Japan’s only maglev train. It was opened in 2005 to serve the Aichi Expo, a five-month-long, 22-million-visitor World’s Fair hosted in Toyota’s backyard. In fact, ToMoCo spent so much sponsorship money — showcasing technology and concept cars at pavilions, donating alternative fuel buses, and helping build Olympic-sized infrastructure projects — that some critics called it simply the Toyota Expo.

Toyota 2000GT Linimo Mag-Lev

Photos courtesy of the Toyota Automobile Museum.

 

permalink.
This post is filed under: Japanese Nostalgic Train and
tagged: , , , , .

4 Responses to You can now ride a Toyota 2000GT train in Japan

  1. Nigel says:

    Get the right seat on the train, and from the outside you look like the driver of the 2000GT.
    (More cool stuff from Japan). Thanks Ben.

  2. Toyotageek says:

    That’s cool!
    I rode the Linimo a few times…. ah, I miss the Linimo.

    I wonder if they’ll feature other cars too.
    They should just wrap the entire train in cars. 😀

  3. psyaddict says:

    i want a ride in a cosmo sport

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *