Explore railways.im
shinkansen.railways.im
Every fact

100 facts, every one sourced

Every fact on this site in one list, each linked to its source. Our build stores the source text and checks that the key words and figures in each fact really appear in it; see the sources page.

  1. 1 The Tokaido Shinkansen opened on 1 October 1964, just 10 days before the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games began. Embassy of Japan
  2. 2 Many people saw it as a symbol of Japan’s modernisation after the war. Embassy of Japan
  3. 3 Shinkansen means ‘new main line’. Science Museum Group
  4. 4 It was the first railway route built just to move large numbers of people in comfort and at high speed. NRM
  5. 5 The National Railway Museum says that with it, Japan reinvented passenger railways. NRM
  6. 6 The first trains, the Series 0, were the first in the world to run in passenger service at a top speed of 210km/h. Embassy of Japan
  7. 7 They were soon called ‘bullet trains’, for their speed and for the bullet shape of their noses. Britannica
  8. 8 At first the journey from Tokyo to Osaka took 4 hours, instead of 6 hours 30 minutes on an ordinary express. Embassy of Japan
  9. 9 The first services were the 4-hour ‘Hikari’ and the 5-hour ‘Kodama’ between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. MLIT Japan
  10. 10 JR Central says the time came down to 3 hours 10 minutes, from 4 hours when the line opened. JR Central, 2024
  11. 11 The Science Museum Group says the line was about 320 miles long and its trains took a little over three hours. Science Museum Group
  12. 12 The first section, between Tokyo and Osaka, was 515km (320 miles) long. Britannica
  13. 13 The line roughly follows, and is named after, the old Tokaido (‘Eastern Sea Road’) highway of the Edo period. Britannica
  14. 14 Its builders introduced new ideas such as prestressed concrete sleepers and mile-long welded lengths of rail. Britannica
  15. 15 Unlike earlier Japanese trains, the Tokaido Shinkansen and every Shinkansen line since have been standard gauge. Science Museum Group
  16. 16 It was built and run by the state-owned Japanese National Railways, and has been part of the private Japan Railways Group since 1987. Britannica
  17. 17 Central Japan Railway Company, JR Central, was set up on 1 April 1987, when JNR was privatised and broken up. JR Central, 2024
  18. 18 The chief engineer was Hideo Shima, born in Osaka in 1901, who had joined the Ministry of Railways in 1925 to design steam locomotives. NRM
  19. 19 In 1955 Japanese National Railways asked Shima to oversee the Shinkansen project as chief engineer. NRM
  20. 20 Shima’s team designed the sleek cone-shaped front, inspired by the aircraft of the time. NRM
  21. 21 The bullet train also brought in air suspension and air conditioning. NRM
  22. 22 The first bullet trains ran at up to 130mph. NRM
  23. 23 The National Railway Museum in York has Series 0 power car 22-141, built in 1976 and withdrawn in October 2000. Science Museum Group
  24. 24 22-141 was the last car of the first series to be withdrawn from service. Science Museum Group
  25. 25 When new it ran between Tokyo and Osaka in a 16-car train; from 1997 it ran between Hiroshima and Hakata in a four-car train. Science Museum Group
  26. 26 The power car is about 25 metres long (82ft) and 3.6 metres wide. Science Museum Group
  27. 27 JR West donated it to the National Collection, and more than 100 JR West workers restored it before it came to the UK. Science Museum Group
  28. 28 It was the first rail vehicle built and run outside Britain to join Britain’s National Collection. Science Museum Group
  29. 29 The Science Museum Group’s catalogue calls it the only bullet train outside Japan. Science Museum Group
  30. 30 The National Railway Museum’s own page calls it one of only two bullet trains outside Japan. NRM
  31. 31 Professor Roderick Smith of Imperial College London helped arrange the gift of a Series 0 to the museum. Embassy of Japan
  32. 32 Its passenger carriage is open to visitors, with a ramp for step-free access. NRM
  33. 33 Shinkansen lines now run on the islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Hokkaido. Britannica
  34. 34 The line was extended west from Osaka to Okayama in 1972, and on to Hakata in Fukuoka in 1975. Britannica
  35. 35 Lines north from Tokyo to Niigata (the Joetsu line) and Morioka (the Tohoku line) were finished in 1982. Britannica
  36. 36 The Tohoku line was extended north to Hachinohe in 2002. Britannica
  37. 37 When the line to Aomori opened in 2010, the Shinkansen ran almost the whole length of Honshu. Britannica
  38. 38 A line from Aomori through the Seikan Tunnel to Hakodate, on Hokkaido, opened in 2016. Britannica
  39. 39 Work on the section from Hakodate to Sapporo began in 2012 and Britannica expects it to be finished in 2031. Britannica
  40. 40 Branch lines to Yamagata and Akita opened in 1992 and 1997, and a branch to Nagano in 1997. Britannica
  41. 41 The Nagano line was extended west to Toyama and Kanazawa in 2015. Britannica
  42. 42 On Kyushu, a line opened between Yatsushiro and Kagoshima in 2004 and the full route north to Hakata in 2011. Britannica
  43. 43 A branch to Nagasaki opened in 2022. Britannica
  44. 44 Much of the track runs in tunnels, including one under the Shimonoseki Strait between Honshu and Kyushu. Britannica
  45. 45 A tunnel near Aomori was a record 26.5km long for a double-track tunnel on land when it was finished in 2005. Britannica
  46. 46 Half of the Sanyo Shinkansen, from Osaka to Hakata, is in tunnels. JFS, 2005
  47. 47 The Tohoku Shinkansen opened in 1982 and runs from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori, the longest line JR East runs. JR East
  48. 48 Several hundred trains run on the Shinkansen system every day. Britannica
  49. 49 The trains are electric multiple units, powered from overhead wires, and can seat 1,000 passengers or more. Britannica
  50. 50 Every train movement is monitored and controlled by a central computerised centre in Tokyo. Britannica
  51. 51 The first ‘Nozomi’ trains, the Series 300, started running on the Tokaido Shinkansen in March 1992. JR Central history
  52. 52 With the Nozomi, Tokyo to Osaka came down to a fastest time of 2 hours 30 minutes. JR Central, 2024
  53. 53 The Series 700 joined the Nozomi in March 1999. JR Central history
  54. 54 In October 2003 Shinagawa station opened and every Tokaido Shinkansen train’s top speed was raised to 270km/h. JR Central history
  55. 55 The Series N700 began Nozomi services in July 2007, and the N700A in February 2013. JR Central history
  56. 56 The latest Tokaido type, the N700S, began running on 1 July 2020. Embassy of Japan
  57. 57 In 2005 JR West’s 500 Series, with its long nose, was running between Tokyo and Hakata at up to 300km/h. JFS, 2005
  58. 58 JR East’s Series E5 began regular running at 320km/h on the Tohoku Shinkansen on 16 March 2013, the fastest speed then allowed for passenger trains in Japan. Railway Gazette, 2013
  59. 59 JR East says its E5 trains have run at 320km/h since 16 March 2013. JR East
  60. 60 The E5 was designed to bring Tokyo to Shin-Aomori down to 3 hours 5 minutes. Railway Gazette, 2013
  61. 61 The E6 ‘Komachi’ runs to Akita, joining the Shinkansen and older lines with no need to change trains. JR East
  62. 62 The E8, for Yamagata, began running on 16 March 2024; it has a top speed of 300km/h and a 9-metre nose. JR East
  63. 63 ‘Doctor Yellow’ is the nickname of the yellow Shinkansen trains that inspect the track, the overhead wires and the signals. Asahi, 2025
  64. 64 Seeing one is said to bring good luck, because they run only once every 10 days and their times are never published. Asahi, 2025
  65. 65 JR Central’s Doctor Yellow made its last run on 28 and 29 January 2025, from Tokyo to Hakata and back, retired because of its age. Asahi, 2025
  66. 66 JR West’s Doctor Yellow was due to keep running until at least 2027. Japan News, 2025
  67. 67 Engineer Eiji Nakatsu says the bigger challenge was not speed but noise: the faster a train runs, the louder it gets. JFS, 2005
  68. 68 Owls fly almost silently, and the saw-toothed edges of their feathers inspired a quieter pantograph, the arm that collects electricity from the wires. JFS, 2005
  69. 69 Trains rushing into tunnels made pressure waves that left the far end with a loud boom, heard by people 400 metres away. JFS, 2005
  70. 70 A kingfisher dives from air into water without a splash. Tests showed the best nose shape was almost the same as a kingfisher’s beak. JFS, 2005
  71. 71 The 500 Series nose is 15 metres long, and it cut air pressure by 30% and electricity use by 15%, while running 10% faster. JFS, 2005
  72. 72 About 7 billion people have used the Tokaido Shinkansen since 1964. JR Central
  73. 73 It links Japan’s three biggest city areas: Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. JR Central
  74. 74 JR Central says no passenger on board has been killed or injured in a train accident on the Tokaido Shinkansen since it opened. JR Central
  75. 75 In the 2023 financial year, its trains’ average delay was 1.6 minutes, counting delays from natural disasters. JR Central
  76. 76 The Science Museum Group says that on average bullet trains arrive within 24 seconds of their timetabled time. Science Museum Group
  77. 77 The Tokaido Shinkansen’s top speed today is 285km/h, and the fastest trains take 2 hours 21 minutes from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka. JR Central
  78. 78 The top speed was raised to 285km/h on 14 March 2015. JR Central history
  79. 79 In the 2023 financial year it ran 372 trains a day and carried 432,000 passengers a day. JR Central
  80. 80 Each train has 1,318 seats, or 1,314 on the N700S. JR Central
  81. 81 Since March 2020, up to 12 Nozomi trains an hour can run at the busiest times, one every 5 minutes on average. JR Central, 2024
  82. 82 Between Tokyo and Osaka, at rush hour, trains leave every 10 minutes or less. Britannica
  83. 83 JR Central says that per seat, Tokyo to Osaka uses about one-eighth of the energy of a plane, and produces about one-twelfth of the carbon dioxide. JR Central
  84. 84 Each car has brakes with cast-iron discs designed not to bend under emergency braking. Britannica
  85. 85 Britannica says trains first ran at up to 210km/h (130mph), and later improvements allowed 240 to 300km/h. Britannica
  86. 86 In early 2013 some trains began running at up to 320km/h (200mph). Britannica
  87. 87 The fastest trains go from Tokyo to Hakata in about five hours, and from Tokyo to Aomori in about three. Britannica
  88. 88 On 21 April 2015 a Series L0 maglev of JR Central reached 603km/h (374mph) on the Yamanashi Maglev Line, the fastest maglev train on record. Guinness
  89. 89 The Yamanashi Maglev Line is still a test line. Guinness
  90. 90 JR Central began building its L0 (‘L zero’) maglev trains in 2010. Guinness
  91. 91 In April 2015 a maglev also ran 4,064km in a single day, a record for the line. JR Central maglev
  92. 92 Tests began on the first 18.4km of the Yamanashi line in April 1997; it was extended to 42.8km in August 2013. JR Central maglev
  93. 93 The train is lifted about 10cm (3.9 inches) off the guideway by magnets on the train and coils in the track. JR Central maglev
  94. 94 At low speed it runs on rubber wheels, and above about 150km/h (93mph) it lifts off and tucks them away. JR Central maglev
  95. 95 Since November 2014 about 80,000 people have ridden the test maglev at 500km/h. JR Central maglev
  96. 96 The maglev line will be part of the Chuo Shinkansen, which JR Central says will link Tokyo and Nagoya in as little as 40 minutes and Tokyo and Osaka in 67 minutes. JR Central maglev
  97. 97 Chuo Shinkansen trains are planned to have 16 cars, like the Tokaido Shinkansen. JR Central maglev
  98. 98 The project missed its first target of 2027 after Shizuoka’s governor opposed a survey; Britannica now gives 2034 for Tokyo to Nagoya. Britannica
  99. 99 The extension to Osaka is planned for 2037, and the line is planned to run at 500km/h. Britannica
  100. 100 Britannica says the kingfisher idea was used to cure a tunnel ‘boom’ on Japan’s maglev trains. Britannica