On 1 October 1964, just nine days before the Tokyo Olympics, a games that would mark post-war Japan’s re-emergence on the world stage, the Japanese Shinkansen or bullet train was born. The Shinkansen’s inauguration saw two trains head out in a world first, on bespoke rails, one from Tokyo and one from Osaka. The 515-km journey took the bullet trains just four hours, shaving an extraordinary three hours from previous services and searing an image of a new, democratic nation and economic powerhouse in the world’s imagination.
Nearly 3000 kilometres of track
Though some in Japan grumbled about the cost and the compulsory purchases involved in the project, slowly other countries that had been seduced by the automobile and by air travel began to look on in envy and to plan their own high speed rail projects which, according to Christopher Hood, reader in Japanese studies at Cardiff University and author of Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan, would never have been developed without Japan’s example.
In 1964, Shinkansen trains served 60,000 passengers a day on average. That has grown over the last 60 years to nearly half a million. Today, Shinkansen trains serve three of the country’s four main islands on over 2,897 km of specialist track and connect most major cities, travelling at speeds of up to 322 km per hour.
White gloved efficiency
There are several lines, but the first and oldest route, Tokaido Shinkansen, linking Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka remains the most popular, having been slashed to a duration of just 2 hours and 22 minutes, almost halving 1964’s record. Passengers can usually choose from three classes of seat, and different types of carriage. There are also different types of train, some that stop at several stations, others that provide an express option.
The trains are a byword for cleanliness and efficiency, with white begloved staff who ensure services are punctual, rarely running more than a minute late, and above all, safe. Safety is “our top priority,” Japan Railways (JR) Central public relations officer Daisuke Kumajima told Tapei Times. Having handled millions of passengers, no Shinkansen train has ever been associated with a fatality.
What the future holds
Now with free wifi, some ticket machines in English, and increasing wheelchair access on newer rolling stock, the bullet train at 60 years old continues to look to the future. JR East network has touted driverless trains from the mid-2030s, and a new 483-km-per-hour line – the Chuo Shinkansen, is in the pipeline for 2034.
Originally scheduled for 2027, setbacks have included local objections and soft ground along the intended route. But via a dual “maglev” operation that will beat the current journey by nearly an hour and be earthquake proof, the new service should have brought Tokyo and Nagoya within just 40 minutes of each other by the time the Shinkansen celebrates its next big birthday.
