Shinkansen (新幹線) in Japanese means 'new trunk line' or 'new main line', but this word is used to describe both the … See more

Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high-speed travel. Because of the mountainous terrain, the existing network consisted of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge lines, which generally to… See more

To enable high-speed operation, Shinkansen uses a range of advanced technology compared with conventional rail, achieving not only high speed but also a high standard of safety and comfort. Its success ha… See more

The main Shinkansen lines are:
In practice, the Tokaido, San'yō, and Kyushu lines form a contiguous west/southbound line from Tokyo, as train services run between the Tokaido and San'yō line… See more

Originally intended to carry passenger trains by day and freight trains by night, the Shinkansen lines carried exclusively passengers for the first five and a half decades of their operation. Since 2019 light freight has … See more

Trains are up to sixteen cars long. With each car measuring 25 m (82 ft) in length, the longest trains are 400 m (1⁄4 mile) end to end. Stations are similarly long to accommodate these trains. Some of Japan's hig… See more