Shima Hideo

Shima Hideo ( Japanese 島 秀雄 ; born May 20, 1901 in Osaka Prefecture ; died March 18, 1998 in Tōkyō ) was a Japanese railroad engineer, known for his idea of ​​the "New Main Line" - Shinkansen .

Live and act

Shima Hideo graduated from the Technical Faculty of Tōkyō University with a degree in mechanical engineering . Then he began to work on the modernization of the railway for the Ministry of Railways (Modern 道 省). In 1955 he became Technical Director and Chief Engineer of Japan National Railways. (国立 鉄 道). Under his direction, a rapid railway connection, initially between Tōkyō and Osaka, was planned and implemented, the "New Main Line", Japanese - Shinkansen (新 幹線) under the specifications:

• route independent of the rest of the track network without freight traffic,
• Standard gauge , large curve radii and low gradients to enable higher cruising speeds,
• larger vehicle gauge for more space comfort.

After retiring, Shima took over the management of the “ National Space Development Agency ” (NASDA) (today “ Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ” (JAXA)) from 1969 to 1977 , which he remained as a consultant after he left.

In 1960 Shima was awarded the "Mainichi Prize for Industrial Technology" (毎 日 工業 技術 賞, Mainichi kōgyō gijutsu-shō), in 1964 he received the Asahi Prize and in 1969 the James Watt Medal in gold. In 1969 Shima was honored as a person with special cultural merits and in 1994, almost thirty years later, was also awarded the Order of Culture .

Web links

• Biographies of Shima Hideo in the Kotobank, Japanese

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Shima is the family name, Hideo the first name.