The Shinkansen
The Shinkansen (新幹線, literally “new trunk line”) is a high-speed railway system in Japan. The name refers to both the line and the rolling stock, which were originally, when the project was first conceived, called
dangan ressha
(弾丸列車) or “bullet trains”, even though this term has never been used officially. On English-language signs the trains are denoted as “super express”.
The Shinkansen was several years ahead of its European equivalents: In 1964, the first Shinkansen ran between Tokyo and Osaka, a distance of somewhat more than 500 kilometres, at a top speed of 210 km/h. Then as now this is one of the most-used high-speed rail links globally, and since its inception more than 6.4 billion passengers have been transported. At peak times, up to 16 trains per
hour
go in both directions. The entire Shinkansen network now encompasses 10 (partially contiguous) lines with a total length of over 3000 km, further lines are under construction.
The punctuality and safety of the Shinkansen are legendary – the average delay is 24 seconds (including delays caused by uncontrollable causes such as natural disasters), and up to now (2025) there were no fatalities caused by accidents such as derailments or collisions, in spite of frequent earthquakes or typhoons. (One fatal accident happened in 1995, when a student was caught by their finger in the door of a departing train, was dragged along and then fell to their death; in addition there were several suicides where people jumped from or in front of trains.)
From “Anselm's Notes on Dances”, by Anselm Lingnau
(Used by permission.)