50 Fun Facts About Shinkansen

What does the Japanese word Shinkansen literally mean?

The English nickname bullet train translates dangan ressha, a name from 1939 planning documents.

The first Shinkansen line opened in October 1964, days before which event?

Service began on 1 October; the Games opened on 10 October.

Roughly how long is the original Tokaido Shinkansen route?

The 552.6 km route links Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka, Japan's four largest cities.

How long did the Tokyo-Osaka journey take on conventional limited expresses before the Shinkansen opened?

The first limited-stop services cut it to four hours; today's fastest trains do it in about two and a half.

At what top speed did the original 0 series trains run in 1964?

It was later raised to 220 km/h, cutting the fastest run to 3 hours 10 minutes.

How far apart are the rails on Shinkansen track, unlike most of Japan's railways?

Japan's mountainous conventional network was built to 1,067 mm, which limits curve speeds.

Which JNR president championed the Shinkansen, then resigned in 1963 over cost overruns?

He deliberately used a World Bank loan to make it politically impossible for the government to back out.

Who was the JNR chief engineer described as the driving force behind the first bullet train?

After leaving the railways he ran Japan's space agency, NASDA, from 1969 to 1977.

How much did the World Bank lend toward the first Shinkansen line?

The line was estimated at 200 billion yen but ended up costing about 380 billion.

Which private railway's 1957 Romancecar speed record convinced JNR a much faster train was feasible?

Its 3000 series SE hit 145 km/h during tests JNR arranged.

Early-1940s wartime plans envisaged extending the Shinkansen via Korea to which city?

Three tunnels dug for the abandoned scheme were later used by the Tokaido Shinkansen.

How many passengers had the Tokaido Shinkansen carried by July 1967, under three years after opening?

It passed one billion in 1976 and has now topped 6.5 billion.

What is the fastest service category on the Tokaido and San'yo lines?

Its name means Wish or Hope; the all-stations local and limited-stop tiers sit below it.

Which limited-stop service cut the Tokyo-Osaka run to four hours when the line opened in 1964?

The all-stations Kodama took five hours; the name means Light.

The Nozomi's name was first used in 1934 for expresses from Busan to where?

Mukden is now Shenyang; the service ran through Japanese-occupied Korea into Manchukuo.

What is the maximum operating speed on the fastest stretch of the network, the Tohoku Shinkansen?

A rise to 360 km/h is planned once the Hokkaido line reaches Sapporo in the late 2030s.

What speed record did the L0 series maglev set on the Yamanashi test line in April 2015?

Commercial Chuo Shinkansen service is planned at about 500 km/h.

How long is the maglev Chuo Shinkansen expected to take between Tokyo and Osaka?

Construction began in 2011; the Tokyo-Nagoya section is now not expected before 2034.

Why do modern Shinkansen trains have such long, elaborately streamlined noses?

Japan's small-bore tunnels create explosive compression waves at the far portal, and noise rules are strict.

The nose of the 500 series was modelled on the beak of which bird?

The biomimicry cut energy use by 15% and noise while raising speed by 10%.

Which German industrial designer oversaw the design of the 500 series?

Only nine sets were built, each costing an estimated 5 billion yen.

Which anime franchise got its own 500 series livery in 2015 to mark the San'yo line's 40th anniversary?

A Hello Kitty 500 series followed on the same line.

What is Doctor Yellow?

It inspects at full line speed and, in Japanese folklore, is lucky to spot.

How often did Doctor Yellow trains make the Tokyo-Hakata round trip before 2025?

JR Central announced in 2024 that it would retire its sets from the Tokaido line in January 2025; JR West's sets were due to follow by 2027.

What was JR Central's reported average delay per Shinkansen train in 2016?

The figure includes delays from natural disasters.

How many passengers have died in Shinkansen derailments or collisions in over 60 years?

The network has carried over 10 billion people; the only fatality involved a door closing on a passenger.

What caused the first derailment of a Shinkansen in passenger service, in October 2004?

Eight cars of the Toki No. 325 left the rails near Nagaoka; not one of the 154 passengers was hurt.

What is UrEDAS, introduced in 1992?

Newer, lighter trainsets with stronger brakes can stop even faster when it triggers.

What is the seating capacity of a 16-car Tokaido Shinkansen trainset?

Up to 16 trains an hour run each way at peak, three minutes apart.

What seating layout do wider Shinkansen coaches allow in ordinary class?

The E1 and E4 double-deckers even managed 3+3.

What overhead voltage powers full Shinkansen lines?

Mini-Shinkansen lines use 20 kV; the old narrow-gauge network runs on 1,500 V DC.

How do Shinkansen trains differ from the TGV and ICE 2 in traction layout?

Distributed traction gives faster acceleration for a network with unusually frequent stops.

What are the 'mini-Shinkansen' routes to Yamagata and Akita?

Trains run at 130 km/h on them and couple to a Tohoku Shinkansen set for the run to Tokyo.

Which prime minister, an ardent Shinkansen supporter, proposed a nationwide network in the 1970s?

The debts run up building it helped push JNR into privatisation in 1987.

In which year were the last 0 series trains withdrawn after 44 years of service?

They finished on JR West Kodama services between Shin-Osaka and Hakata.

Where outside Japan is a 0 series lead car preserved, donated by JR West in 2001?

It was the first Shinkansen vehicle of any series preserved in a museum abroad.

Which country's high-speed railway used a 0 series car for structure gauging while being built?

Taiwan High Speed Rail is the only export of full Shinkansen technology; the car is displayed at Tainan.

Which express service introduced the E5 series between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori in 2011?

It now runs under the Tsugaru Strait to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in Hokkaido.

What is the premium tier above Green Car on E5 series trains called?

Car 10 has 18 leather shell seats in a 2+1 layout with a 1,300 mm pitch.

Through which undersea bore does the Hokkaido Shinkansen reach the island?

At 53.85 km it was the world's longest rail tunnel until the Gotthard Base Tunnel opened.

Why is the Hokkaido Shinkansen slowed to 160 km/h through the undersea tunnel to Hokkaido?

It is one of only two places where Shinkansen trains meet conventional traffic.

In 2025, the Hokkaido Shinkansen extension to Sapporo was rescheduled to open when?

The 211.8 km extension had originally been promised for 2030.

The Kyushu Shinkansen runs from Hakata to which southern city?

Its southernmost 127 km section opened first, in March 2004, cutting Hakata-Kagoshima from 4 hours to 2.

Which mountain does the Tokaido Shinkansen skirt at its southern foot before reaching the Shizuoka plain?

Window seat E on the right side heading west gives the classic view.

What is the daily overnight closure of the Tokaido Shinkansen used for?

Passenger service normally runs from 6 a.m. to midnight, leaving a six-hour window.

What is the minimum curve radius on newer Shinkansen lines?

The older Tokaido line makes do with 2,500 m, which is why its top speed is lower.

Why can the Tokaido and Tohoku Shinkansen not be joined at Tokyo Station?

All northbound trains from Tokyo share the Tohoku line at least as far as Omiya.

Where was the Kamonomiya Model Section, the test facility for the first rolling stock, opened in 1962?

It became part of the Tokaido line itself.

What did engineers install to cope with winter weather around Maibara on the Tokaido line?

Trains still slow down and 10-20 minute delays occur in winter.

How many passenger journeys did the Shinkansen network record in 2024?

The Tokaido line alone carried 161 million in fiscal 2023.