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Shinkansen (新幹線, shinkansen) refers to Japan's high-speed rail system, which is also the first in the world, as well as the trains that run on it. In English it is also referred to as the bullet train.
The Tōkaidō Shinkansen (東海道新幹線), between Tokyo and Osaka, was the first line to open, back in 1964 as Japan celebrated its first modern peacetime Olympics. Due to its success, the Shinkansen network began to expand to this day. There are now 8 Shinkansen lines spanning the length of Japan. The latest line to open was the Nishi Kyūshū Shinkansen (西九州新幹線) to the city of Nagasaki. 3 extensions to existing lines are under construction, and prefectures are campaigning for at least 3 more lines to be built.
Shinkansen trains run on fixed tracks, but the Chūō Shinkansen (中央新幹線), from Tokyo to Nagoya in central Japan, will use trains that float using magnets instead. This line, still under construction, is based on technology which has been under development for decades, called SCMaglev. Previously, a test SCMaglev train achieved the world speed record of 603km/h.
There has only been one deadly accident on the Shinkansen so far. In 1995, a student was caught in the door of a 0 Series Shinkansen train departing Mishima station and dragged along the platform until the student died, in what became known as the Mishima Station incident (三島駅事故).
In the past, Shinkansen trains have also derailed due to earthquakes, such as the 2022 Fukushima earthquake and 2004 Chuetsu earthquake, but there have been no fatalities before or since this incident. Shinkansen technology continues to be refined by Japan's railway companies, and has been exported to Taiwan as Taiwan High-Speed Rail, and will be exported to Texas (USA) among other countries.
