Shinkansen

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Shinkansen 700 Series at Tokyo Station

Shinkansen 500 Series at Kyoto Station, March 2005

The Shinkansen (新幹線) is a group of high speed rail railway lines in Japan, upon which the famous "Bullet Trains" run.

The Shinkansen are run by the many companies of Japan Railway (which in the past was called Japanese National Railways, but now is one group of private companies).

1 Naming
2 History
3 Future
4 List of Shinkansen lines
5 List of Shinkansen train models
6 List of types of Shinkansen services
7 External links

[edit] Naming

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

[edit] History

Japan was the first country to build railway lines for high speed travel. Due to the largely mountainous nature of the country, the pre-existing network consisted of 3'6" gauge (1067 mm) narrow gauge lines, which generally took indirect routes and could not be adapted to higher speeds. In consequence, Japan had a greater need for new high speed lines than countries where the existing standard gauge or broad gauge rail system had more upgrade potential. In contrast to 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 segment 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 further 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 intended 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 parallels.

In 2003, JR Tokai reported that the Shinkansen's average arrival time was within 0.1 minute or 6 seconds of the scheduled time. This include all natural and human accidents and errors and is calculated from all of about 160,000 trips Shinkansen made. The previous record was from 1997 and was 0.3 minutes or 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.

[edit] Future

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

The Kyushu Shinkansen from Kagoshima to Yatsushiro opened in March 2004. Three more extensions are planned for opening by 2013: Hakata-Yatsushiro, Nagano-Kanazawa, and Hachinohe-Aomori. There are also long-term plans to extend the network to Sapporo (through the Seikan Tunnel) and Nagasaki, as well as complete a link from Kanazawa back to Osaka, although none of these are likely to be completed by 2020.

[edit] List of Shinkansen lines

Map of Shinkansen network

The main Shinkansen lines are:

Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo-Shin-Osaka)
Sanyo Shinkansen (Shin-Osaka-Hakata)
Tohoku Shinkansen (Tokyo-Hachinohe)
Joetsu Shinkansen (Omiya-Niigata)
Hokuriku Shinkansen or Nagano Shinkansen (Takasaki-Nagano)
Kyushu Shinkansen (Shin-Yatsushiro-Kagoshima-Chuo)

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)

The following lines are under development:

Tohoku Shinkansen (under construction, Hachinohe-Shin-Aomori)
Hokuriku Shinkansen (under construction, Nagano-Toyama & Isurugi-Kanazawa)
Kyushu Shinkansen (under construction, Hakata-Shin-Yatsushiro)
Chuo Shinkansen (maglev, under development)
Taiwan High Speed Rail (under construction)

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.