Alexandru Arba
Research expert covering Japan
Railway industry in Japan - statistics & facts
Japan opened its first railroad in 1872 between Shinbashi in Tokyo and Yokohama. Since then, the railway industry has had a great impact on people’s life and the development of the country's economy. The Japanese railway system transports billions of passengers and million tons of cargo annually. The types of trains in use are manifold, including rapid transit, like metros and monorails, or the renown Shinkansen, which is one of the longest high-speed railway systems globally.
The total network has six more lines beside the Tokaido. The latest line opening was the Nishi-Kyushu Route of the Kyushu Shinkansen in September 2022. Oncoming additions to the high-speed railway network will be an extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen by March 2024 and an extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo by March 2031.
The suppliers of the respective Shinkansen trains are domestic rolling stock manufacturers - Nippon Sharyo, Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, The Kinki Sharyo, or Japan Transport Engineering Company. Some of their high-speed models also serve on regional express railways. Hence, these lines carry the name Shinkansen although they formally do not count as such because their top operating speeds stay below 200 kilometers per hour.
A train like a bullet: the Shinkansen
In 1964, the first Shinkansen commenced operations, significantly decreasing the travel time to three hours and ten minutes between the countries’ two most populous regions Kanto (Tokyo and surroundings) and Kansai (Osaka and surroundings). Nowadays, the fastest Shinkansen on the Tokaido route merely needs two hours and 21 minutes and runs almost as precisely as the clockwork.The total network has six more lines beside the Tokaido. The latest line opening was the Nishi-Kyushu Route of the Kyushu Shinkansen in September 2022. Oncoming additions to the high-speed railway network will be an extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen by March 2024 and an extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo by March 2031.
The suppliers of the respective Shinkansen trains are domestic rolling stock manufacturers - Nippon Sharyo, Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, The Kinki Sharyo, or Japan Transport Engineering Company. Some of their high-speed models also serve on regional express railways. Hence, these lines carry the name Shinkansen although they formally do not count as such because their top operating speeds stay below 200 kilometers per hour.
