Railway Museum (Saitama)

The Railway Museum

Location within Japan
Established	14 October 2007
Location	Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Type	Railway museum
Public transit access	Tetsudō-Hakubutsukan Station
Website	www.railway-museum.jp/top.html

The Railway Museum (鉄道博物館, Tetsudō Hakubutsukan^?) is a railway museum in Saitama, Saitama, Japan, which opened on 14 October 2007. It was built and is operated by the East Japan Railway Culture Foundation, a non-profit affiliate of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It consists of a 19,800 m² building on a site covering 42,500 m², with a display area 9,500 m² in size.

The museum features about 30 railway cars, train cab simulators, railway model dioramas, mini trains, storage for artefacts and books, video booths, a multi-purpose hall, a gallery balcony, a cafeteria, a museum shop, and a research room.

The museum places emphasis on learning through interactive experiences and is mainly divided into two zones: the history zone and the learning zone. The history zone recounts the history of railway technology with the help of trains that were in service in the past. In the learning zone, visitors can gain knowledge of the principles and mechanisms of railway with the use of actual parts and models. The tour of the museum takes roughly two hours with extra time for interactive exhibits.

A library room, known as the "Teppaku Reading Room" opened on 21 July 2012 in the remodelled North Wing of the museum.

The present Railway Museum is the successor to the Transportation Museum (交通博物館, Kōtsū Hakubutsukan^?) in Chiyoda, Tokyo. This museum also opened as the Railway Museum under the elevated railway track near Tokyo Station celebrating the beginning of the 50th year of the railways in Japan on 14 October 1921. In 1936, the Railway Museum was relocated to the new facility built in the place of former building of Manseibashi Station, which station continued to operate until 1943 as an accessory of the museum. The museum was renamed the Transportation Museum in 1948 to cover various means of transportation. On 14 May 2006, the museum was closed pending a move to the new Railway Museum in Saitama.