The Shinkansen is Japan’s high-speed rail system that connects cities with populations of 100,000 or more at speeds of 200 km/h or more. It began service in 1964, and currently eight lines crisscross Japan. The earliest Shinkansen line was the Tokaido Shinkansen, which connected Japan’s first and second largest cities, Tokyo and Osaka. It still travels east and west of Japan at a maximum speed of 285 km/h. It is a faster and more convenient means of transportation than flying, depending on the destination.
The main line in Japan, the Tokaido Shinkansen runs 300 trains a day. It is an incredible railroad with 12 trains per hour, that means one train departing every five minutes, in spite of being a high-speed railroad! Despite more than 130,000 trains per year, the average delay on this line is 24 seconds. In addition, in more than 50-year history of the Shinkansen, there has never been a passenger death caused by deficiencies on the operating side, such as inadequacies in the cars and rail’s facilities and equipment. That is the safest means of domestic transportation, with one departure every five minutes and no delays.
Today, we present a video of the Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Kyoto.
