High Speed Train

The concept of a “bullet train”
originated in 1941, but the project
was shelved with the onset of World
War II. In 1959, construction started
in earnest with an $80 million loan
provided by the World Bank.
     The first Shinkansen service, the
New Tokaido Line,  was inaugurated
between Tokyo and Osaka on
October 1, 1964. It was extended to
Okayama City in 1972 and then to
Hakata, Kyushu, in 1975. Since then,
other Shinkansen have been
deployed in routes to Morioka
(Iwate Prefecture) and Niigata City,
located on the Sea of Japan.
     With 16 cars, the train runs the
length of about 4 football fields and
can carry up to 1,350 passengers. At
full speed (ca. 140 miles/hour), the
train needs about 2 miles to come to a
complete stop. Since its inauguration
in 1964, it is estimated that some 3
billion passengers have made the trip
without a single fatal incident.