What is the Shinkansen?
Q: What is the Shinkansen?
A: The Shinkansen is a group of high-speed rail lines in Japan, upon which the famous "Bullet Trains" run. It is the world's first high-speed rail.
Q: Who runs the Shinkansen?
A: The Shinkansen are run by the many JR companies. In the past, Japan Railway was called Japanese National Railways and it is now one group of private companies.
Q: What other services does JR provide?
A: JR also runs commuter trains and inter-city trains around Tokyo.
Q: Where did the name 'Shinkansen' come from?
A: The name 'Shinkansen' comes from two Japanese words - 'Shin', meaning new, and 'Kansen', meaning main line or trunk line. Together they form 'Shinkansen', which literally translates to mean 'new main line'.
Q: How fast do Bullet Trains travel on the Shinkansen?
A: Bullet Trains can travel at speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph).
Q: When was the Shinkansen introduced?
A: The first section of track opened in 1964 for service between Tokyo and Osaka, making it one of the earliest high-speed railways in operation worldwide.
