JR Central to Show New Train "385 Series" Before Debut
Listen to the story
JR Central, a major Japanese railway company, will hold a special photo event for its new train on December 19. The new train is called the 385 series, and it will later run on the Shinano line.
The 385 series has not entered regular service yet. This event gives fans a rare chance to photograph it before its official debut.
The photo event will take place at the Jinryo depot, a facility where trains are kept and maintained. At the event, the new 385 series will be placed next to the current 383 series train, allowing fans to photograph the old and new trains together.
This kind of event, where both an old and a new model appear side by side, is often popular with railway fans. JR Central is organizing the event as a special tour, meaning participants will need to book a place in advance.
As part of the tour, a special 383 series train will also run just for this occasion. This train will not be part of regular passenger service.
Photo tours like this one let railway enthusiasts, often called railfans, get close access to trains that are normally hard to see or photograph. Events combining new and old train models tend to draw strong interest because they let fans compare the design changes between generations.
Further details about ticket booking, the exact schedule, and tour capacity were not included in the original announcement.
Vocabulary7 words
- photo event
- a planned time when people can take pictures
- 385 series
- the name of JR Central's new train model
- debut
- the first time something is used or shown publicly
- Jinryo depot
- a place where trains are stored and repaired
- 383 series
- the current, older train model
- tour
- an organized trip or visit that people join
- railfans
- people who are very interested in trains
Quiz
Answer key
1. The new and old trains will be photographed together 2. It will run as a special train just for the event 3. False
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
JR Central, a major Japanese railway company, will hold a special _____ for its new train on December 19.
The new train is called the _____, and it will later run on the Shinano line.
The 385 series has not entered regular service yet. This event gives fans a rare chance to photograph it before its official _____.
The photo event will take place at the _____, a facility where trains are kept and maintained.
At the event, the new 385 series will be placed next to the current _____ train.
JR Central is organizing the event as a special _____, meaning participants will need to book a place in advance.
As part of the tour, a special 383 series train will also run just for this occasion.
Photo tours like this one let railway enthusiasts, often called _____, get close access to trains.


