Shinkansen facts for kids

Shinkansen N700 Series

Shinkansen E5 Series

The Shinkansen (Japanese: 新幹線, lit. 'new main line') is a group of High-speed rail lines in Japan, upon which the famous "Bullet Trains" run.

The Shinkansen are run by the many JR companies. In the past, Japan Railway was called Japanese National Railways. It is now one group of private companies. JR also run commuter trains and inter city trains around Tokyo.

Naming
History
Future
List of Shinkansen lines
List of Shinkansen train models
List of types of Shinkansen services
Images for kids
See also

Naming

The name "Bullet Train" is the English translation of the Japanese word dangan ressha (弾丸列車), which was the name given to the project while it was being studied in the 1940s. Nowadays, the trains are called Shinkansen trains. The name Shinkansen means "New Trunk Line". The trains are called "Super Expresses".

History

Japan was the first country to build railway lines for high speed travel. Because Japan has many mountains, the network that already existed was made of 3'6" gauge (1067 mm) narrow gauge lines, which tended to take non-direct routes and could not be adapted to higher speeds. Because of this, Japan had a greater need for new high speed lines than countries where the existing standard gauge or broad gauge rail system could be upgraded easily. Unlike the older lines, Shinkansen lines are standard gauge, and use tunnels and viaducts to go through and over obstacles, rather than around them.

Construction of the first section of the Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka started in 1959. The line opened on October 1, 1964, just in time for the Tokyo Olympics. The line was an immediate success, reaching the 100 million passenger mark in less than three years on July 13, 1967 and one billion passengers in 1976.

The first Shinkansen trains ran at speeds of up to 200 km/h (125 mph), later increased to 220 km/h (135 mph). Some of these trains, with their classic bullet-nosed appearance, are still in use for stopping services between Hakata and Osaka. A driving car from one of the original trains is now in the British National Railway Museum in York.

Many more advanced models of train followed the first type, generally each with its own distinctive appearance. Shinkansen trains now run regularly at speeds of up to 300 km/h (185 mph), putting them among the fastest trains running in the world, along with the French TGV and German ICE trains.

Originally meant to carry passenger and freight trains by day and night, the Shinkansen lines carry only passenger trains. The system shuts down between midnight and 6:00 every day to allow maintenance to take place, including the running of Doctor Yellow test trains. The few overnight trains that still run in Japan run on the old narrow gauge network which the Shinkansen runs parallel to.

In 2003, JR Tokai reported that the Shinkansen's average arrival time was within 6 seconds of the scheduled time. This includes all natural and human accidents and errors and is calculated from about 160,000 trips Shinkansen made. The previous record was from 1997 and was 18 seconds.

The first derailment of a Shinkansen train in passenger service occurred during the Chuetsu Earthquake on October 23, 2004. 6 of the total of 8 cars of the train on the Joetsu Shinkansen derailed near Nagaoka Station in Nagaoka, Niigata.

Future

In recent years, due to noise pollution, increasing speed is getting harder. Thus, the current research is aimed to reduce the amount of noise, mainly when trains exit a tunnel.

Three extensions are under construction for opening by 2014-2018: Nagano-Kanazawa, Aomori-Hakodate and Takeo-Onsen-Isahaya.

The first ever Shinkansen line (built in 1964) travelled at 125mph and was called the Tōkaido Shinkansen. In 1972 a second one was developed and the improvements on infrastructure allowed it to travel at around 137mph. In 2003 the Japanese built the world's fastest ever Shinkansen, with a top speed of 361mph.

List of Shinkansen lines

Map of Shinkansen network

Nagano(Hokuriku) Shinkansen at Asama Station

Tōkaidō Shinkansen (Tokyo - Shin-Ōsaka)
Sanyō Shinkansen (Shin-Ōsaka - Hakata)
Tōhoku Shinkansen (Tokyo - Shin-Aomori)
Jōetsu Shinkansen (Ōmiya - Niigata)
Hokuriku Shinkansen (Takasaki - Kanazawa)
Kyūshū Shinkansen (Hakata - Kagoshima-Chūō)
Hokkaidō Shinkansen (Shin-Aomori-Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto)

Two further lines, known as Mini-Shinkansen (ミニ新幹線), have also been constructed by upgrading existing sections of line:

Yamagata Shinkansen (Fukushima-Shinjo)
Akita Shinkansen (Morioka-Akita)

Another standard gauge line using Shinkansen trains is not considered to be a Shinkansen line:

Hakata Minami Line (Hakata-Hakata-Minami)
Gala-Yuzawa Line (Echigo-Yuzawa – Gala-Yuzawa)

The following lines are under development:

Hokkaidō Shinkansen (under construction, Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto - Sapporo)
Hokuriku Shinkansen (under construction, Kanazawa - Tsuruga)
Kyūshū Shinkansen (under construction, Takeo-Onsen-Nagasaki)
Chūō Shinkansen (maglev, under construction, Shinagawa - Nagoya)

Most Shinkansen lines that were proposed during the boom of the early 1970s have been postponed indefinitely. These include a link to Shikoku by the Honshu-Shikoku bridge system, a link from Tokyo to New Tokyo International Airport, and a route covering the entire Sea of Japan coast of Honshu.

List of Shinkansen train models

0 Series (disused)
100 Series (disused)
200 Series (disused)
300 Series (disused)
400 Series (Mini-Shinkansen, disused)
500 Series (disused in Tōkaidō Shinkansen)
700 Series (disused in Tōkaidō Shinkansen)
N700 Series
800 Series
N700S Series
E1 Series (Max,disused)
E2 Series
E3 Series (Mini-Shinkansen)
E4 Series (Max)
E5 Series
E6 Series (Mini-Shinkansen)
E7 Series
H5 Series
W7 Series

List of types of Shinkansen services

Aoba (disused)
Asahi (disused)
Asama
Hayabusa
Hayate
Hikari
Hikari Rail Star
Kodama
Komachi
Max Asahi (disused)
Max Nasuno
Max Tanigawa
Max Toki
Max Yamabiko
Mizuho
Nasuno
Nozomi
Sakura
Tanigawa
Toki
Tsubame
Tsubasa
Yamabiko
hakutaka
Kagayaki

Images for kids

A lineup of JR West Shinkansen trains in October 2008
A JNR map from the October 1964 English-language timetable, showing the then-new Tokaido Shinkansen line (in red) and conventional lines
A 0 series set in Tokyo, May 1967
1964 JNR Passenger Timetable, Table 1, showing shinkansen service on the New Tokaido Line
Shinkansen standard gauge track, with welded rails to reduce vibration
Braking curve for the original ATC-1 used on the Tokaido Shinkansen (vertical axis represents the speed of the train whereas the horizontal axis represents the distance)
Replica of the Shinkansen CTC as seen at the Kyoto Railway Museum
A passenger's view of Shinkansen coaches (E2-1000 Series)
Tokyo Station Tokaido Shinkansen platforms, September 2021
The Shinkansen fare system is integrated with Japan's low-speed intercity railway lines, but a surcharge is required to ride the Shinkansen. Here, an ordinary ticket from Tokyo to Takamatsu is coupled with a Shinkansen surcharge ticket from Tokyo to Okayama, allowing use of the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Okayama and use of local lines from Okayama to Takamatsu. For trips exclusively on one Shinkansen, the ordinary fare and Shinkansen surcharge may be combined on one ticket.
Class 955 "300X"
L0 Series Shinkansen, unconventional world speed record holder (603 km/h or 374.7 mph)
Construction of the Hokuriku Shinkansen in Fukui
Shinkansen 700T train on a test run on the Taiwan High Speed Rail in September 2013
China Railways CRH2 based on the E2 Series Shinkansen, September 2018
Class 395 in the United Kingdom, September 2009
0 series
100 series
300 series
500 series
700 series
700 series (Hikari Rail Star)
N700 series
N700A series
N700S series
800 series
N700 series (Kyushu)
200 series
E1 series
E2 series
E4 series
H5 series
E7 series
W7 series
400 series
E3 series (Komachi)
E3 series (Tsubasa)
E6 series
Class 1000
Class 951
Class 961
Class 962
WIN350
STAR21
300X
Gauge change train (2nd generation)
Fastech 360S
Fastech 360Z
ALFA-X
ML100
ML500
MLX01
L0 series
Doctor Yellow Type 922
Doctor Yellow Type 923
Doctor Yellow Type 925
Type E926 East-i
Type 911 locomotive
Track maintenance vehicles stabled along sidings outside Kyoto station
Tamping machine
Ballast cleaner
Overhead line replacement vehicle
Loading vehicle