The is a Japanese

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

line that is part of the nationwide

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 1964, running between

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

and Shin-Ōsaka, it is Japan's first high-speed rail line. Along with being the world's oldest high-speed rail line, it is also one of the most heavily used. Since 1987 it has been operated by the

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...

(JR Central), prior to that by

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

(JNR). It is also called the Kyoto Express due to other previous services for this high-speed train and operating from Tokyo to Kyoto. There are three types of services on the line: from fastest to slowest, they are the limited-stop '' Nozomi'', the semi-fast '' Hikari'', and the all-stop '' Kodama''. Many ''Nozomi'' and ''Hikari'' trains continue onward to the

San'yō Shinkansen The is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), it is a westward cont ...

, going as far as

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

Hakata Station is a major railway station in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. It is the largest and busiest railway terminal in Kyushu, and is a gateway to other cities in Kyushu for travelers coming from Honshu by rail travel. The San'yō Shinkansen from Osaka end ...

. The line was named a joint Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark and IEEE Milestone by the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via " continuing ...

and the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

in 2000.

History

The predecessor for the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines was originally conceived at the end of the 1930s as a standard-gauge ''dangan ressha'' (bullet train) between Tokyo and

Shimonoseki is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. With a population of 265,684, it is the largest city in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the fifth-largest city in the Chūgoku region. It is located at the southwestern tip of Honshu facing the Tsush ...

, which would have taken nine hours to cover the nearly 1,000 kilometer distance between the two cities. This project was planned as the first part of an East Asian rail network serving Japan's overseas territories. The beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

stalled the project in its early planning stages, although three tunnels were dug that were later used in the Shinkansen route. By 1955, the original Tokaido line between Tokyo and Osaka was congested. Even after its electrification the next year, the line was still the busiest in Japan's railway network by a long margin, with demand being around double the then capacity. In 1957, a public forum was organized to discuss “The Possibility of a Three-hour Rail Trip Between Tokyo and Osaka.” After substantial debate, the

(JNR) decided to build a new standard gauge line alongside the original narrow gauge one to supplement it. The president of JNR at the time,

Shinji Sogō was the fourth president of the Japanese National Railways (JNR), and is credited with the creation of the first "bullet train", the Tōkaidō Shinkansen. Born in Niihama, Ehime, Shikoku, in 1884, Shinji Sogo graduated from the Faculty of ...

, started attempting to persuade politicians to back the project. Realizing the high expenses of the project early on due to the use of new, unfamiliar technologies and the high concentration of tunnels and viaducts, Sogō settled for less government funding than what was needed. The Diet approved the plan in December 1958, agreeing to fund out of the required over a five-year construction period. Then-finance minister

Eisaku Satō was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1972. He is the third-longest serving Prime Minister, and ranks second in longest uninterrupted service as Prime Minister. Satō entered the National Diet in 1949 as a membe ...

recommended that the rest of the funds should be taken from non-governmental sources so that political changes would not cause funding issues. Construction of the line began on 20 April 1959 under Sogō and chief engineer

Hideo Shima was a Japanese engineer and the driving force behind the building of the first bullet train (Shinkansen). Shima was born in Osaka in 1901, and educated at the Tokyo Imperial University, where he studied Mechanical Engineering. His father was p ...

. In 1960, Shima and Sogō were sent to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

to borrow money from the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. Although the original request was for US$200 million, they came back with only $80 million, enough to fund 15% of the project, and could not use the loan for "experimental technology". Severe cost overruns during construction forced both of them to resign. The opening was timed to coincide with the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

in Tokyo, which had already brought international attention to the country. Originally, the line was called the ''New Tokaido Line'' in English. Just like the original railway line, it is named after the Tokaido road that has been used for centuries. Initially, there were two services: the faster '' Hikari'' (also called the ''Super Express'') made the journey between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka in four hours, while the slower ''Kodama'' (or the ''limited express'') made more stops and took five hours to travel the same route. A test run was conducted August 25, 1964, simulating a ''Hikari'' service. The run, which was deemed "very successful" by then-JNR president Reisuke Ishida, was also broadcast on television by

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

. On October 1 that same year, the line was officially opened, with the first train, ''Hikari 1'', traveling from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka with a top speed of . In November 1965, both services were sped up by an hour to achieve their current times of 3 hours for the ''Hikari'' and 4 hours for the ''Kodama''. The 1970s were a difficult time for the JNR as local lines built up deficit. Profits from the Tokaido Shinkansen were used to offset the lines which were running at a loss which resulted in a lack of development and faster service over a 15-year period. Labour issues during that time steered away any attention from JNR executives, further complicating the possibility for research initiatives. Despite the deep financial situation throughout the 1970s, the loan from the World Bank made in 1959 was paid back in 1981. In 1988, one year after the privatization of JNR, the new operating company,

JR Central is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical r ...

, initiated a project to increase operating speeds through infrastructure improvement and a new train design. This resulted in the debut of the 300 Series and the ''Nozomi'', the line's fastest service which took two and a half hours to traverse the route with a top speed of , on March 14, 1992. New platforms for Shinkansen services at

Shinagawa Station is a major railway station in the Takanawa and Konan districts of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), and the private railway operator Keikyu. The Tokaido Shinkan ...

opened in October 2003, accompanied by a major timetable change which increased the number of daily ''Nozomi'' services, which was now larger than the number of ''Hikari'' trains. Initially, certain ''Nozomi'' and ''Hikari'' services did not stop at the station, with some skipping either Shinagawa or Shin-Yokohama, and the plurality of services stopping at both. From March 2008 onward, all services stop at both stations. Another station was planned to open in 2012 to serve Rittō, a city between Maibara and Kyoto. Construction started in May 2006, but the project was cancelled the next year due to political opposition from the government of the surrounding

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the north ...

and the

Supreme Court of Japan The , located in Hayabusachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law. It has the power of judicial review, which allows it t ...

ruling the bond that the city had issued to fund construction was illegal and had to be cancelled. The next speedup, which raised the top speed to its current through the use of improved braking technology, was announced in 2014 and introduced on March 14, 2015, the 23rd anniversary of the last speed raise. Initially, just one service per hour would run at this new speed. After the replacement of the older, slower 700 series with the

N700 series The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train with tilting capability developed jointly by JR Central and JR West for use on the Tokaido and San'yō Shinkansen lines since 2007, and also operated by JR Kyushu on the Kyushu Shinkansen line. N7 ...

in March 2020, a new timetable taking advantage of the speed increase with more services was planned. However, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

further delayed these plans as service was temporarily cut.

Stations and service patterns

Legend:

Rolling stock

* N700A series 16-car sets, since 1 July 2007 (owned by JR Central and JR West, modified from original N700 series sets) * N700A series 16-car sets, since 8 February 2013 (owned by JR Central and JR West) * N700S series 16-car sets, since 1 July 2020 (owned by JR Central) The last services operated by 700 series sets took place on March 1, 2020, after which all Tokaido Shinkansen services are scheduled to be operated by N700A series or N700S series sets. N700S series sets were then introduced on Tokaido Shinkansen services from July 1, 2020. File:Series-N700A-F20.jpg, N700A series in September 2021 File:JR Central Shinkansen N700 Series passes Tamachi, Tokyo, Japan 17 03 20 (49669009511).jpg, N700S series in March 2020

Former rolling stock

* 0 series 12/16-car sets, October 1, 1964, to September 18, 1999 (owned by JR Central and JR West) * 100 series 16-car sets, October 1, 1985, to September 2003 (owned by JR Central and JR West) * 300 series 16-car sets, March 1992 to March 16, 2012 (owned by JR Central and JR West) * 500 series 16-car sets, November 1997 to February 2010 (owned by JR West) * 700 series 16-car sets, March 1999 to March 2020 (owned by JR Central and JR West) File:Shinkansen type 0 Hikari 19890506a.jpg, 0 series at Odawara Station in May 1989 File:Shinkansen100.jpg, 100 series in January 2003 File:JR Central Shinkansen 300.jpg, 300 series in January 2008 File:Shinkansen 500 series W2 formation.jpg, 500 series at Odawara Station in June 2008 File:JR Central Shinkansen 700.jpg, 700 series in January 2008

Non-revenue-earning types

* 923 (Set T4) File:Type923-T4.jpg, JR Central's Class 923 "

Doctor Yellow is the nickname for the high-speed test trains that are used on the Japanese Shinkansen ("Bullet Train") dedicated express passenger train routes. The trains have special equipment on board to monitor the condition of the track and overhead wire ...

" set T4 on the Tokaido Shinkansen, September 2021

Timeline

Classes and onboard services

All Tokaido Shinkansen trains feature two classes. Green Cars (First Class) offer 2+2 configured seating in all reserved carriages. Ordinary Car features 2+3 configured seating in both reserved and unreserved carriages. On all Shinkansen services vending machines with a limited offering of snacks and drinks are available in certain carriages and a trolley service, offering a more extensive but still limited selection, passes through each car a number of times on each journey. It is common practice in Japan to purchase food prior to boarding trains. Almost all stations sell

Bento A is the Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. Outside Japan, it is common in other East and Southeast Asian culinary styles, especially within Chinese, Korean, Singaporean cuisines and more, ...

Boxes (complete meals conveniently boxed) for consumption onboard trains. As of 2020, reservations are required to take large pieces of luggage on Tokaido Shinkansen trains.

Japan Rail Pass

The

Japan Rail Pass The , also called the JR Pass, is a rail pass for overseas visitors sold by the Japan Railways Group, and is valid for travel on all major forms of transportation provided by the JR Group in Japan, with a few exceptions. The Rail Pass is designed ...

is an option for foreign visitors to Japan. Passes are valid on Kodama and Hikari trains. Hikari trains are identical to Nozomi services other than for their stopping patterns (both operate at the same speed on the mainline - Hikari trains stop at additional stations en-route extending journey times).

Ridership

From 1964 to 2012, the Tokaido Shinkansen line alone carried some 5.3 billion passengers. Ridership increased from 61,000 per day in 1964 to 391,000 per day in 2012. By 2016, the route was carrying 452,000 passengers per day on 365 daily services making it one of the busiest high speed lines in the world.

Future developments

It was announced in June 2010 that a new shinkansen station in Samukawa, Kanagawa Prefecture was under consideration by JR Central. If constructed, the station would open after the new maglev service begins operations.

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

has long lobbied JR Central for the construction of a station at Shizuoka Airport, which the line passes directly beneath. The railway has so far refused, citing the close distance to the neighbouring Shin-Fuji and Shizuoka stations. If constructed, travel time from the center of Tokyo to the airport would be comparable to that for Tokyo Narita Airport, enabling it to act as a third hub airport for the capital. As the station would be built underneath an active airport, it is expected to open after the new maglev line.

References

Sources

External links

JR Central websiteTokaido Shinkansen (1964) - Japanese National Railways's Official DocumentaryTokaido Shinkansen Footage 1976
- Human Studies Film Archives of

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokaido Shinkansen Lines of Central Japan Railway Company High-speed railway lines in Japan Railway lines opened in 1964 Standard gauge railways in Japan 1964 establishments in Japan Transport in Osaka Transport in Tokyo