aboard

JR East to end sales aboard Yamabiko bullet trains

East Japan Railway Co. says starting March 15 it will no longer sell food and other goods aboard Yamabiko bullet trains on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line.

Such sales will be completely terminated on the Yamabiko service, which mainly links Tokyo Station with either Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture or Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture, JR East said Monday.

Onboard sales will also no longer be available starting March 16 on Komachi trains on the Akita Shinkansen Line for the section between Morioka and Akita stations and on some limited express trains, including the Odoriko and the Kusatsu, JR East said.

Sales on trains are declining as a variety of goods are now available at shops at stations and vending machines, JR East officials explained, adding that the decision also reflects labor shortages.

Also on Monday, Hokkaido Railway Co. said March 15 will be the final day that onboard sales are available on Hayabusa and Hayate trains running on the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line between Shin-Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station in Hokkaido Prefecture.

With JR Hokkaido slated to also halt sales on its Super Hokuto limited express trains at the end of this month, onboard sales will fully end on regular trains operated in the company’s service area.

For the section between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori for Hayabusa and Hayate services, and the Tokyo-Morioka section for Komachi trains, the product lineups for onboard sales will be scaled back starting March 16, with sales of bento, sandwiches, souvenirs and other items set to cease, JR East said. Items such as hot coffee and soft drinks will remain available.

In fiscal 2017, sales aboard trains were down 5 percent from the previous year, according to JR East.

Kyushu Railway Co. has already announced that its Mizuho and Sakura bullet trains will not offer onboard sales starting March 16.

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Baby Boy Born Aboard a JetBlue Plane Named 'Born to Be Blue' En Route to Fort Lauderdale

A baby was born aboard a JetBlue airplane named "Born to be Blue" in a flight to Fort Lauderdale.

In a statement, JetBlue said Friday's Flight 1954 from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Fort Lauderdale was met by medical personnel "following the onboard delivery of our youngest customer to date."

"We’d like to thank the crew and medical professionals on board for their quick action under pressure, and wish the new mother and son all the best. Flight 1954 was operated on aircraft N523JB, coincidentally named, 'Born To Be Blue,'" JetBlue's corporate communications manager Jennifer Dang told NBC 6 in a statement on Saturday.

Video aboard the plane obtained by NBC 6 partly shows medical personnel treating the woman as lively chatting occurs inside the plane.

JetBlue on Twitter said it wants to rename "Born to Be Blue" after the child.

"Giving storks a day off. With mom’s okay, we’d like to rename 'Born To Be Blue' after our newest baby blue and our youngest customer ever. More baby shower gifts to come! #AirBorn," JetBlue wrote.

Hop aboard vintage train for Easter Bunny meet-and-greet at Danbury Railway Museum

Published 11:20 am EST, Monday, February 18, 2019

The Easter Bunny will visit the Danbury Railway Museum April 13 and 14 and visitors can take a ride in a vintage train through the historic railyard to meet him.

The Easter Bunny will visit the Danbury Railway Museum April 13 and 14 and visitors can take a ride in a vintage train through the historic railyard to meet him.

Photo: Danbury Railway Museum / Contributed Photo

Photo: Danbury Railway Museum / Contributed Photo

The Easter Bunny will visit the Danbury Railway Museum April 13 and 14 and visitors can take a ride in a vintage train through the historic railyard to meet him.

The Easter Bunny will visit the Danbury Railway Museum April 13 and 14 and visitors can take a ride in a vintage train through the historic railyard to meet him.

Photo: Danbury Railway Museum / Contributed Photo

Hop aboard vintage train for Easter Bunny meet-and-greet at Danbury Railway Museum

The Easter Bunny will once again pay a visit to the Danbury Railway Museum and visitors can take a ride in a vintage train through the historic railyard to meet him.

The popular annual family event will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14; and Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20. Trains leave every 30 minutes from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (no train at noon or 12:30 p.m.); and on Sunday, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.. Admission is $12 age 2 and older; each child will receive a small gift from the Bunny. Reservations are suggested.

The short train ride in a fully-restored 1953 New Haven RR Rail Diesel Car (Budd RDC), will take visitors past the historic turntable, which is undergoing a major restoration, more than 70 vintage railroad cars and locomotives and many unique pieces of railroad history, including a Boston & Maine steam locomotive built in 1907, the museum said in a news release.

The train ride will stop at the Easter Bunny’s special railroad car. The museum’s beautifully restored circa-1910 Railway Post Office (RPO) car will also be open. Of course, the exhibits inside the restored 1903 Danbury station will be open, along with a coloring station, temporary tattoos, Thomas play table and the operating model train layouts. A fully-stocked gift shop will also be open.