High-speed trains in Japan. Shinkansen is a fast and convenient form of transport

Asia and Europe are complete opposites. It is very difficult for a European to understand how an Asian builds his life, what he thinks about, what rules he obeys. But still eastern countries attract tourists with their beauty and originality, in addition, many Asian countries can boast of a high standard of living and new technologies introduced into the life of ordinary residents. Japan is especially interesting in this regard. Those who have had the pleasure of traveling around the Country rising sun, Japanese trains will never be able to forget, covering many kilometers in literally a matter of minutes.

Japan is a country of high technology and patriarchal traditions

Japan is located in East Asia and occupies almost seven thousand islands. This geographical feature affects the entire way of life of the locals. The country's population of 127 million lives in big cities. Only less than five percent of all Japanese can afford to live outside the metropolis, and this division is very arbitrary. After all, in Japan it is difficult to find an area that would not be used for the benefit of the state. The Japanese are trying to build up every millimeter of land with various buildings; in the end, only coastal strips subject to periodic flooding.

But the Japanese have learned to deal with this problem; for many years now they have been moving deeper into the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, creating artificial islands. The severe shortage of free land forced Japan to develop a high-tech program for the settlement of water areas, which has shown itself very well over the past decades.

The peculiarities of Japanese life force the population to constantly move around the country. Every day, several thousand people travel from the suburbs to work at their offices located in Tokyo or Osaka. The Japanese high-speed train helps you avoid rush hour traffic and save time.

Shinkansen - high speed rail

For Russians, traveling by rail can hardly be called comfortable and fast. The average resident of our country, when going on vacation, tries to choose air transport. But in the Land of the Rising Sun, Japanese trains break all records for popularity and demand. This is a very special type of transport that can cover a distance of 600 kilometers in just a couple of hours.

High high speed trains and the railway in Japan are called "Shinkansen". Literally this name can be translated as “new main line”. Indeed, during the construction of this highway, the Japanese used a lot of new technologies and for the first time moved away from traditional look railway, adopted in those days.

Now the Shinkansen connects almost all the cities of Japan; the length of the line is more than 27 thousand kilometers. Moreover, 75 percent of the railway track belongs to the large company in Japan - Japan Railwais Group.

Japanese bullet train: first launch

The need for new railway lines arose in Japan before the eighteenth Summer Olympics. The fact is that until that time the railway track was a narrow-gauge railway. This fact did not meet international standards and significantly slowed down the development of the industry. Therefore, in 1964, the first Shinkansen line was launched, connecting Tokyo and Osaka. The length of the railway was just over 500 kilometers.

It is unknown what the future of Japanese high-speed trains will be, but one thing is certain now - they will be the fastest and most comfortable in the world. Otherwise, in Japan they simply don’t know how.

High speed network railways in Japan - exactly what I dreamed of seeing with my own eyes. These bullet trains are fired from Japanese train platforms every three minutes. Their average speed on the route is 270 km/h, the maximum is not worth mentioning - new records are broken too often.

Below the cut is a very short post about the main competitor to air travel and the most punctual passenger transport on the planet - the Shinkansen.

The long-awaited acquaintance with " Japanese miracle” took place at Odawara Station, where our journey through Japan begins. Hikari No. 503 promised to take us to Kyoto in just an hour and a half.
1.

Shinkansen, literally translated from Japanese as “new main line”, is the general name for high-speed railways connecting the most important cities in Japan. This road was called the “New Line” because Japanese builders for the first time, when laying the Shinkansen, moved away from the practice of narrow gauge railways - the standard gauge became 1435 mm. Before that, everything was Japanese railway network was narrow-gauge (track width - 1067 mm).

2.

The first section of the Shinkansen Tokyo-Osaka (“Tokaido Shinkansen”), 515 km long, was opened in 1964, on the eve of the opening of the XVIII Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The first trains reached speeds of 220-230 km/h.

The high-speed network is controlled by the Japan Railways Group. JR Group is the backbone of Japan's railway network (controls 20,135 of the 27,268 km of roads, which is ~74% of all main lines). Her share is large share intercity and suburban railway communication. Initially, the Shinkansen lines carried freight and Passenger Transportation day and night. Now they serve only passengers, and from midnight to 6 a.m. traffic is stopped for maintenance and repair work. There are very few night trains left in Japan, and they all still run on the old railway, which runs parallel to the bullet train tracks and connects the country's major cities.

Today there are three categories of high-speed trains in use in Japan: nozomi, hikari and kodama. Nozomi Express is the fastest. The 500 series trains operating on these lines appearance, and especially the elongated bow section, 15 m long, creating the necessary aerodynamics, resemble spaceships. Their appearance on Japanese railways completely changed the standards for high-speed roads. In some areas, the “nozomi” reaches speeds of up to 300 km/h and stops only in large populated areas. “Hikari”, the second fastest, makes stops at intermediate stations, and “kodomi” - at all stations. However, the speed of the “kodomi” exceeds 200 km/h, although when passing through some areas and settlements Shinkansen speed is limited to 110 km/h.

3.

Despite the high speeds, the Shinkansen in Japan has proven itself to be an extremely reliable mode of transport: over the years of operation, starting in 1964, not a single accident has been recorded. fatal(excluding suicides). The “punctuality” of Japanese high-speed trains is also exceptionally high: the average annual delay is less than a minute, and even at peak loads it is no more than 3-4 minutes. Having become a convenient and affordable mode of transport, the Shinkansen is in many cases today the most optimal way to travel around Japan. At the same time, the traffic interval during morning and evening rush hours is 5-6 minutes!

4.

Now high-speed trains are the same symbol modern Japan, as well as high-quality electronics, reliable and durable cars.

5.

High-speed trains here are much more popular than air travel within the country, since to travel on the Shinkansen there is no need to waste time on the road to the airport, check-in, etc. Shinkansen saves time in everything!
6.

These high-speed trains are also called bullet trains.
7.

A little higher, I already noted that these trains compete with airplanes only in time savings. Comfort and price are about the same! Yes, riding Shinkansen trains is not cheap - a short trip can cost a decent amount. What should a tourist do?

The most economical way to travel around Japan is the Japan Rail Pass. Such a travel ticket is simply necessary for an independent traveler.

The Japan Rail Pass allows unlimited travel on JR roads, buses and ferries (not valid on the Nozomi Super Express). This ticket is valid for 7, 14 or 21 days and can be purchased only outside Japan.

8.

The JR Pass can only be purchased by foreigners, and only before arriving in Japan. Prices for the regular JR Pass Ordinary “adult” JR Pass are $237,438 and $562 for 7, 14 and 21 days, respectively. Naturally, the criminal JR Pass Green 1st Class will be more expensive - about $150.

So if you are planning to travel around Japan a lot, I advise you to purchase such a pass in advance.

9.

10.

No one goes beyond the yellow line on the platform.
11.

12.

N700 trains reach speeds of up to 300 km/h, and the tilt capability allows them to maintain speeds of 270 km/h on curves with a radius of up to 2,500 m, where speeds were previously allowed at 255 km/h. Another feature of the N700 is that it accelerates faster than other Shinkansen trains, with an acceleration of 0.722 m/s², allowing it to reach a speed of 270 km/h in just 3 minutes.
13.

Magnetoplane trains are currently being tested in full force in Japan. In April 2015, a magnetic levitation maglev train broke its own speed record, reaching 603 km/h during tests near Fuji. JR Central, which owns the trains, aims to have them on the Tokyo-Nagoya route by 2027. The distance of 280 kilometers is planned to be covered in just 40 minutes.

14.

15.

I didn't take any photos inside the train. I will only note very comfortable seats, personal sockets and sealed smoking capsule rooms. A country for people!
16.

N700. Each such train has 16 carriages and 1323 comfortable passenger seats.
17.

And here is another video about the N700 series Shinkansen flying over:

If you want to know everything about Shinkansen trains, then you should come to Varlamov.

Japanese railway miracle "Shinkansen"

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Exactly 50 years ago, in October 1964, the world's first high-speed train, the Shinkansen (aka bullet-train), was launched in Japan, capable of reaching speeds of up to 210 km/h and forever becoming one of the symbols of the “new” Japan and its growing economic power. The first line connected the two largest Japanese cities - Tokyo and Osaka, reducing the minimum travel time between them from 7.5 to 4 hours.

I express my deep gratitude for the opportunity to visit different parts of Japan. Representative office of the National Tourism Office of Japan in Vladivostok and S7 Airlines.

More materials from the trip:

In the vicinity of Hakone there are also many thermal springs - it is not for nothing that this town not far from Tokyo has been one of the most popular resorts in Japan since time immemorial. Today, there are more than a dozen hot springs in the region, feeding the baths of many hotels and ryokans in Hakone. About everything in order under the cut.

Finally, the time has come to write reports on the results of the trip to beautiful Japan. The first point of my trip, of course, was the huge metropolis and capital of Japan - Tokyo. Below the cut I suggest you look at pictures about my two days in the most modern metropolis in the world.

On April 28, the route network of S7 Airlines was supplemented with a new direction - a direct regular flight connected Vladivostok and the Japanese city of Osaka. I was among the first passengers on this flight.

Flights to Osaka now operate weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays. The plane departs from Knevichi airport at 13:30, and arrives in Osaka at 14:40 local time, that is, two hours in the air - and you are in Japan. The plane departs back to Vladivostok from Osaka Kansai Airport at 15:45, and arrives at its destination at 19:05. Flights on the new flight are carried out on Airbus A320 aircraft equipped with economy and business class cabins. Below the cut is a little about the airport and the new flight of the green grasshopper plane of S7 airlines.

Japan for residents Far East for obvious reasons, it has always been one of the most popular foreign destinations for business and leisure travel. This year, due to the significant simplification of the visa regime, interest in this country should grow significantly. Well, it's time for me to visit too.

Yes, it turns out there is still a Far Easterner who has never been to Japan :))

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Exactly 50 years ago, in October 1964, the world's first high-speed train, the Shinkansen (aka bullet-train), was launched in Japan, capable of reaching speeds of up to 210 km/h and forever becoming one of the symbols of the “new” Japan and its growing economic power. The first line connected the two largest Japanese cities - Tokyo and Osaka, reducing the minimum travel time between them from 7.5 to 4 hours.

2. Literally translated from Japanese, the word “Shinkansen” means “new highway”. Before the advent of high-speed trains, railways in Japan were narrow gauge (1067 mm), and had many bends due to the local terrain. On such roads the ability to reach high speeds was too limited. New lines were specially designed for the Shinkansen, already with a standard track width of 1435 mm.

Why Japan initially deviated from the international standard is still not entirely clear. It is believed that this was the decision of a certain Mr. Okubo, who was the person in charge at the time the construction of the first railway in Japan began. Of course, narrow gauge was cheaper, and the trains themselves were smaller and more economical to produce. However, at the same time this also meant less carrying capacity and low speed. Therefore, the feasibility of this decision for the Japanese remains a big question. At the beginning of the 20th century, projects were proposed to rebuild the line according to international standards, and although there were many who supported this idea, it was decided instead to spend funds on building new directions. Thus, the narrow gauge spread throughout Japan, which still causes a lot of inconvenience.

Broad gauge supporters managed to bring their projects to life on the railway laid by the Japanese in the early 30s. in colonized Southern Manchuria. In 1934, the legendary Asia Express was launched between the cities of Dalian and Changchun (700 km), an indicative symbol of the Japanese imperialist power of that time. Capable of reaching speeds of over 130 km/h, it was far superior to China's railway system at the time, and was even much faster than the fastest express train in Japan itself. And on a global scale, Asia-Express had impressive characteristics. For example, the world's first air-conditioned carriages were equipped there. The dining car was equipped with refrigerators, and there was also a special carriage - an observation deck with windows along the entire perimeter, furnished with leather chairs and bookshelves.

3. This example probably became the final argument in favor of broad gauge and gave rise to the first high-speed railway projects in Japan. In 1940, the Japanese government approved a project of incredible scale. Even then, the project envisaged the creation of a train capable of reaching speeds of up to 200 km/h, but the Japanese government did not intend to limit itself to laying lines only on Japanese territory. It was planned to build an underwater tunnel to the Korean Peninsula and extend the tracks all the way to Beijing. Construction had already partially begun, but the outbreak of the war and the subsequent deterioration of Japan's military and political positions put an end to imperial ambitions. In 1943, the project was curtailed; the same year was the last for Asia-Express. However, some sections of the Shinkansen lines in operation today were built in the pre-war years.

They started talking about the construction of the Shinkansen again 10 years after the war. Rapid economic growth has created great demand for freight and passenger transportation throughout the country. However, the idea to revive the project turned out to be completely unpopular and was sharply criticized. At that time, there was a strong opinion that road and air transport would soon replace railway transport, as happened, for example, in the USA and some European countries. The project was again in jeopardy.

In 1958, between Tokyo and Osaka, on a still narrow gauge, the direct ancestor of the Shinkansen, the Kodama business express, was launched. With a maximum speed of 110 km/h, it covered the distance between cities in 6.5 hours, making one-day business trips possible. In Japan, where business culture is based on face-to-face meetings, this was a very convenient solution. However, he did not serve very long. The incredible popularity of the Kodama left no one in any doubt about the need for high-speed lines, and less than a year later the government finally approved the Shinkansen construction project.

Kodama Business Express, 1958-1964:

4. It is widely believed that the launch of the Shinkansen was planned for the opening of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but the Japanese deny this. Construction of the Shinkansen lines began in March 1959, more than a month before Tokyo was chosen to host the games. However, the Olympics came in handy. The initially announced budget for the construction of the Shinkansen was obviously too small and everyone knew about it, but announcing real numbers was too risky. A loan provided by the World Bank for sufficient low percentage, did not cover even half of the expenses. The real cost, which ultimately exceeded the declared one by almost 2.5 times, was covered by “begging” money from the state, supposedly in order to be in time for the opening of the Olympics!

In the early morning of October 1, 1964, the ceremony of the first launch of the Shinkansen took place at Tokyo Station from a specially built platform number 19. The platform was lavishly decorated with red and white ribbons and the traditional Japanese paper ball “kusudama”. The moving train tore the ribbons, the balloon opened and 50 snow-white doves flew out of it. Then there was music, fireworks and general rejoicing of thousands of Japanese who were not too lazy to attend such a significant event at 5 am. That evening, photographs of the Shinkansen appeared on the front pages of all major publications in the country under loud headlines announcing the start of new era in the history of Japan, and, why be modest, of the whole world.

Launching ceremony for the first Shinkansen. Tokyo, 1964

5. The feeling of national pride in the Shinkansen did not bypass any Japanese, and the emperor himself, they say, composed either a song or an ode about it.

In 1975, the queen of the country, the birthplace of the railway, visited Japan. We are, of course, talking about England. The royal couple arrived on a friendly visit to the emperor, and one of the first items on the entertainment program was a trip on the “miracle train” to Kyoto. For Japan, this was a great opportunity to brag, but the cunning Japanese trade unions could not miss such a rare chance. Literally immediately upon the queen’s arrival, the workers staged the first strike in the history of the Japanese railway. In a word, all Shinkansen drivers, of which there were 1,100 people, refused to give the queen a ride until the union’s demands were met. Naturally, the bosses, driven into a corner, quickly complied with the demands, but the queen only managed to take a ride on the Shinkansen on her way back. The series of failures did not end there. On the day the Queen was due to board the train, there was heavy rainfall and the train was late by a full 2 ​​minutes. In general, whether it was possible to make an impression on Elizabeth II or not is unknown, but they say that she was not at all offended by the strike, but accepted everything with humor. She said that she herself is no stranger to strikes.

6. Contrary to skeptical expectations, the Shinkansen train turned out to be incredibly successful and quickly recouped its construction costs. Just 8 years later the second line was opened. By 1981, the loan debt to the World Bank was completely covered. Moreover, today the Shinkansen train accounts for up to 80% of Japan Railways' profits. At the moment, there are 8 Shinkansen lines with a total length of almost 3,000 km and they continue to be built.

7. Of course, over the 50 years of its existence, the Shinkansen has gone through a considerable evolutionary path, although not always cloudless.

In the 80s 575 residents of the city of Nagoya, whose houses were located along the tracks, filed a lawsuit against the management of the Shinkansen, complaining of noise and strong vibrations. Immediately after this, technologies began to be introduced to reduce noise and vibration levels and improve the quality of the railway track. A rule was also introduced to slow down when driving through densely populated areas.

8. Today, Shinkansen are practically silent; the tracks often pass in close proximity to buildings, without causing much discomfort. Energy saving technologies have become another step in development. And all because Japan, in which 99.7% of oil is imported (not from Russia), turned out to be very sensitive to repeated oil shocks. Thus, under the pressure of both external and internal factors in the person of the extremely demanding Japanese, the Shinkansen was rapidly improving. However, the very first model of the train remained unchanged until 1982, and even after the appearance of new models, it remained in operation until 2008.

In 1987, Japanese National Railways was privatized, replacing the state monopoly with 5 new independent companies. Healthy competition has given a new impetus to the development of technology and quality of service.

9. So-called “green cars” appeared on trains, comparable in level to business class on airplanes. Actually, airlines were and still remain the main competitors of the Shinkansen. These cars have become a kind of indicator of the economic situation in the country. In times of prosperity, many companies bought their employees seats in “green cars” for business trips, but when the economy declined, they were usually empty.

Now the interior of the car looks like this:

10. Tickets are available with or without a seat. In carriages without a seat, you may have to sit in the middle, but it’s cheaper 😉

11. Toilet:

12. There is a train diagram hanging at the station, so it’s immediately clear which car you need:

13. Everyone stands in neat queues for boarding. There are lines drawn on the platform for queues for each car:

Traditional station bento lunch:

16. 90s and the end of the bubble economy became the most unstable in the history of Shinkansen development. In addition, in 1995, an earthquake occurred in the Osaka area, and although the trains themselves were not damaged, the rails were significantly bent. It took about 3 months to recover. But there were also positive moments, such as the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, which created demand for new destinations!

17. Despite the slowdown economic growth, throughout this time, new, more advanced models of trains invariably continued to appear. Various safety systems began to be developed, primarily for protection during earthquakes. Now, in the event of an earthquake, an automatic warning system is triggered, which slows down trains a split second before the shock. Thus, even during the devastating earthquake in 2011, not a single accident occurred with Shinkansen trains; they all stopped safely in automatic mode. By the way, the danger of earthquakes is one of the main reasons why trains run slower than they technically could.

Modern Shinkansen trains:

19. Cars on Shinkansen trains cannot be disconnected. That's why they don't have a tail, but they always have two heads! And trains can connect with each other (smack):

20. By the way, red is cooler and faster, so it usually drags green along with it. The latest model came out just a couple of months ago, in March 2014.

There is another very special train. It's called "Doctor Yellow". They say that seeing him is a very good omen. This is a special doctor who examines and checks the tracks and other related equipment for serviceability several times a month. During the day, it travels at the same speed as other trains, so as not to interfere. And at night he slowly and carefully examines all sections of the path.

21. Since the 2000s. Japanese Shinkansen technologies began to be actively exported abroad. Currently, in the Asian region, China, Taiwan and South Korea. All of these countries, except Korea, have high-speed railways based on Japanese technology (Korea borrowed technology from the French TGV). Not only technologies are exported, but also decommissioned Japanese trains themselves.

22. Modern Shinkansen trains in Japan reach a maximum speed of 270 km/h, to next year it is planned to increase to 285 km/h, although test speeds reach more than 440 km/h. Travel time between Tokyo and Osaka is now less than 2.5 hours. The trains are equipped with everything necessary for a comfortable journey - clean toilets, smoking rooms, sockets at each seat, sometimes even vending machines with drinks.

23. The Tokaido Line (Tokyo-Osaka) is the busiest high-speed rail line in the world and carries more than 150 million passengers per year. Trains from Tokyo depart every 10 minutes.

24. Despite the rather high cost, the Shinkansken train does not lose popularity due to its accuracy, speed, comfort, high level service, and most importantly, safety. Over 50 years of service, not a single incident has been recorded that resulted in death or severe injuries from the high speed train. No other country in the world can boast of such safety indicators for high-speed rail transport. Statistics claim that Sapsan killed more than 20 people in just the first year of its service.

25. Although the Japanese Shinkansen train remains one of the most advanced vehicles in the world, work on its improvement does not stop. In Yamanashi Prefecture there is a special research center where new technologies are created and tested, in particular JR-Maglev - Japanese system high-speed maglev trains. It was there in December 2003 that a test train of three cars of the MLX01 modification set an absolute speed record for railway transport - 581 km/h.

High-speed trains are an amazing and very convenient means of traveling around Japan. In our daily movements, the main means of transportation was railway transport, and I cannot help but dwell on the topic of Shinkansen (新幹線, Shinkansen), devoting a separate article to it. At first, as usual, I gasp and admire what I saw and felt, and then I move on to the story. You say, what nonsense, she rode the train and is happy. Yes it is!

The Shinkansen is the first train of its class, it is comfortable to move, and you don’t feel any shaking or vibration while moving on it. The feeling is similar to that of being on an airplane, it’s like you’re flying, but it’s like you’re standing still. I found a photo on the Internet that when the Shinkansen moves, a 500 yen coin does not fall, I am 100% sure that this is not a montage. Because movement of 300 kilometers per hour is not felt inside the train. High-speed trains

But when two handsome Shinkansen meet at this very speed, you can feel the force with which the train is thrown to the side. This is what kind of force (what? attraction?) must be so that the train does not fly off the rails. I'm not a technician, I don't know how to say it correctly :).

The speed is felt only when you look out the window at the lightning-fast changing landscape, and how quickly the drops dry on the glass, the rain still did not stop.

Traveling on trains of this class is expensive; a trip for a Japanese from Tokyo to Osaka will cost 19,300 yen, at the exchange rate - 177 dollars, and this is only one way. Therefore, what a blessing that for foreign tourists they came up with such a miracle as JR PASS, our ticket was valid for 7 days and bought it for $230 (if I’m not confused). We definitely paid for it several times when we moved towards Osaka. Because there we only had time to travel between cities.

The ticket voucher can only be purchased outside of Japan and only for foreigners with tourist visa, that is, you need to worry about it in advance, I wrote in more detail. Then, already in Japan, the voucher is exchanged for a travel ticket.

Shinkansen is translated from Japanese as a new highway. That’s right, they began to develop a new type of highway back in 1940, and even then they planned to run trains on a new, standard-width track that could reach speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour. In Japan, the main length of the railway (22,231 km) is made up of so-called narrow-gauge railways, the width of which is 1067 mm. For the Shinkansen, a highway with a standard European gauge of 1435 mm was required.

During the war, work on the construction of a new highway was suspended, and since 1943 it was completely stopped. In the post-war period, due to the gradual restoration of the country's industry and economy, the insufficiency of available transport was felt more and more acutely. The Japanese government was in no hurry to develop railway transport, as under the influence of American ideology it was inclined to the position that railways would be replaced by highways and air travel.

But passenger traffic was growing, more and more cargo was required to be transported to different parts of the country, and the existing railways and train fleet could not cope with this flow. In 1957, they started talking about reviving the new highway project, and much of the credit for this goes to the fourth president of the Japanese National Highways, Shinji Sogu.

To obtain state support Shinji Sog developed a plan that ensured the participation and impossibility of abandonment of the project by the Japanese government.

• Despite great resistance, he insisted on building a standard 1435 mm gauge, arguing that this would improve the quality of roads.
• He also stated that maximum speed trains will be 200 km/h (and not the mind-blowing 300), so as not to focus attention on this issue.
• I convinced everyone that this was not new construction or a new highway, but an improvement of the existing one.
• He stated the required budget, which was significantly lower than the required one, and to pay for part of the project, a loan in the amount of $80 million was received from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Shinji Sog consciously went through these “tricks”, realizing that if he had declared the real cost of the project, he would not have received either approval for the construction of a new expressway or money. As soon as the money was allocated, Shinji Sog, possessing exclusive presidential powers, began to divert funds from other JNR projects for the construction of the expressway.

Of course, the declared funds were not enough exactly twice, but the main work was completed and the direction was set. The 1964 Olympic Games were looming on the horizon, to be held in Tokyo. The project had to be completed by this date. The project cost 400 billion yen. Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high-speed trains.

In 1963, taking full responsibility for the current situation, Shinji Sog resigned. But his achievements in the construction of high-speed trains in Japan are immortalized with a memorial tablet at Tokyo station.

A week, or rather 9 days, before the Summer Olympic Games, which took place from October 10 to 24, 1964, the first expressway between Tokyo and Osaka was opened, with a length of 515 km, with seventeen stations.

The Shinkansen is called the bullet train and it lives up to its name. The first Shinkansen developed a speed of 210-220 km/h, today the maximum speed of trains is 320 km/h, this is, of course, not the Chinese maglev, which reaches speeds of up to 500 km/h, but it is also a very impressive speed. In addition, the Japanese are working on their version of maglev, which reaches speeds of up to 603 km/h; this speed was first recorded on April 21, 2015 and is a world record.

The advent of expressways changed business life in Japan. The country's two largest metropolises, Tokyo and Osaka, are located “three hours” away. One-day business trips could now be made. On the Nozomi Shinkansen, which travels faster than usual, this journey will take 2.5 hours.

In addition to speed, I would like to note the ease of movement and stay on bullet trains. The seats are very comfortable, the distance between the seats both in the row itself and between the rows is such that it does not create inconvenience to neighbors. In the Shinkansen, unlike buses, planes, and other trains, it is very comfortable to go about your business, while you are going to work or a meeting in another city, you can prepare the necessary information, work using a computer, there is power in all rows. They often have breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the Shinkansen. Then they must take all the bags with them and throw them away when leaving the train at the station, where there are always several types of containers for sorting waste. And of course, the Shinkansen is very comfortable to sleep in.

If you are traveling with a large group, the seats in front can be turned so that people sit facing each other.

Some figures in the history of the development of high-speed trains in Japan:

1. Construction of the first section of the new expressway began in April 1959, and the first Shinkansen opened on October 1, 1964.
2. The length of high-speed rail lines increased from 515.4 km in 1964 to 2,764.6 km in 2015.
3. On July 13, 1967, the mark of 100 million passengers using the services of a high-speed train was recorded; in 1976 - 1 billion.
4. The maximum speed of the Shinkansen is 320 km/h; on the section of road between Tokyo and Aomori, speeds of up to 360 km/h are possible.
5. Japan's busiest railway line, Tokyo-Osaka, carries 151 million passengers a year.
6. The entire high-speed train line in Japan carries 353 million people a year.
7. During peak hours, the Shinkansen runs at three-minute intervals and has up to 13 trains with 16 cars in each direction. Each carriage has 1323 comfortable passenger seats.
8. The length of each car is 25 meters, with the exception of the head car. total length trains 400 meters
9. During the construction of the Tokyo-Osaka line, 3,000 bridges and 67 tunnels were built, with a length of 108 km.
10. When traveling over a distance of up to 800 kilometers, the Japanese prefer the Shinkansen over air travel. Because ticket prices are comparable, while traveling by train is more comfortable, and if you take into account the registration and boarding procedure, as well as the fact that airports are located far from cities, then it is certainly more convenient to arrive at the train departure time and get off at the desired stations are almost in the city center.

On March 26, 2016, the high-speed line connected the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. Construction of the road began in May 2005 in Aomori (northern Honshu Island) and 11 years later ended in Hakodate (northern Hokkaido Island). The railway track runs at a depth of 240 meters, 100 meters below the seabed. The unique Seikan Tunnel, which connects two islands, is the deepest tunnel in the world and the second longest. The length of Seikan is 53.85 km, its underwater part is 23.3 km.

The speed of the Shinkansen on this section of the road is 360 km/h. From Tokyo to Sapporo you can drive in 3 hours 57 minutes.

Shinkansen is so accurate and punctual that any deviation from the schedule is regarded as an emergency. In 2014, the average train delay was 54 seconds. In 2017, statistics should have changed in the worst side, since personally our train on which we were supposed to go to Matsumoto due to the October typhoon “Lan” was delayed for 3 hours because a fallen tree damaged the main line. But by the way, an hour later the trains went as usual and we boarded another train, not our own, and moved on.

Shinkansen is a safe form of transport , despite frequent earthquakes and typhoons, for its more than 50 summer story there was not a single fatality as a result of a collision or. Cases of suicide are not taken into account. Everyone remembers the sensational story in 2015, when a Shinkansen passenger traveling along the Tokyo-Osaka route committed an act of self-immolation on a train carrying 1000 passengers. As a result of this incident, 80 people were injured (minorly, mainly from smoke) and two cases of clinical death were announced.

In Japan, 6% of suicides occur on railway lines. On average, 2,000 people jump in front of a train every year due to the apparent ease of suicide. Railroad companies often sue relatives for damages caused by downtime. In turn, measures are being taken to reduce such cases: stations are equipped with blue illuminating LEDs, trains are painted bright green color(which, in principle, I haven’t seen often) - this should calm the jumpers. But the most effective thing is that barriers are installed at stations that do not allow you to approach the railway track, and only when the Shinkansen stops do the doors open to allow you to board the train.

At stations in the Kyoto and Osaka area, specifically on expressways, there are such barriers almost everywhere, so I assume that barriers are now being installed everywhere. Of course, it’s not so beautiful to watch the trains coming and going, but it’s safe for people.

A little more about safety.

Two high-speed train crashes have been officially recorded. The first occurred on October 23, 2004 in Chuetsu, in Niigata Prefecture, during a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 points. The Shinkansen passed close to the epicenter at a speed of 210 km/h and derailed. Emergency braking was performed within seventy seconds with a braking distance of 1.6 km. There were 155 passengers on the train, none of them were injured.

The second incident occurred on March 2, 2013, on the northern section of roads in Akita Prefecture. At this time, a record amount of snow fell. Due to heavy snowfall, the train was traveling at a minimum speed of 20 mph; upon hearing a loud, uncharacteristic sound, the driver began braking the train. Traffic in the area was immediately stopped. Considering that the train was located far from the tracks, the train passengers, of whom there were 130 people, had to wait for help and evacuation for six hours until the bus arrived. All this time, electricity and heating were turned on in the pastures. None of the passengers were injured. The crash occurred on Saturday; traffic on this section of the road was restored only on Monday.

The expressways of Japan along which the Shinkansen travel are completely separate from the regular highways along which regular trains travel. At each metro station you need to find signs indicating the direction to the exit to the Shinkansen platform. Ticket offices for these trains are also located separately. Having the JR Pass in hand, we tried several times to reserve a seat at such ticket offices, but the queues were always ten or more people long, and we, as usual, were in a hurry to catch the train. So we rushed to the train and sat down in the empty seats in the carriage. Considering that our movement took place mainly during the day, there were no special problems, that is, it is not at all necessary to reserve seats on a passing train. By the way, in the Shinkansen, inspectors often walk through the carriage and check passengers’ tickets.

The railways themselves for high-speed trains also run separately from regular ones, which allows the shinkensen to move without any delays. Shinkansens carry only passengers and do not transport cargo, operating hours are from six in the morning to midnight.

In addition to speed, cleanliness, comfort and convenience, it was striking that high-speed trains in Japan are so popular, despite the high cost of tickets. The bulk of the passengers are people, mostly men, in business suits. Therefore, the conclusion suggests itself that they are going to work, on a business trip, and so on to neighboring cities and regions. Children also meet school age already in smaller quantities. And on the line passing through Osaka, Kyoto there are many foreign tourists with huge backpacks. The Japanese prefer suitcases and business briefcases when traveling.

On the platforms, while waiting for the train, the Japanese line up and do not crowd in front of the intended door of the carriage. If the location of the doors (if there is no special fencing) and the car number are drawn on the platform on the floor, then it is in this place that the door will be located when the train stops, everything is accurate and punctual as usual.

I haven’t seen the terrible pictures that are on the Internet about the endless stream of passengers on the subway, but eyewitnesses say that this is really true. This happens on particularly busy lines during rush hour.

• Friends, Olga Tanaka in the comments to this article wrote a voluminous, live information, which I found very interesting. Olga lives in Japan and knows not only the pros, but also the cons of high-speed trains. To prevent her information from getting lost in the comments section, I, with the consent of the author, am moving it to the main part of the article, and my answer will be posted in the comments section.

Congratulations on your new interesting and rich article! Of course, having considerable experience of riding in shinkansen, I have some comments:

(1) Personally, I can’t sleep in the Shinkansen. The reason for this is the frequent movement of passengers. The Shinkansen carriage is not a reserved seat, much less a coupe, but rows of seats like in an Aeroexpress. When traveling alone, travel companions change quite often. And the Japanese also have a bad habit of taking with them not only what they need, but also what might be useful. Because of this, they always have a lot of baggage with them. They prefer to place this luggage at their feet. It's probably more reliable this way. Therefore, it is better to sit by the window: you won’t have to miss them. And there is one more thing - the station announcements in the carriages are given in Japanese and English, so they are quite long and loud. This also does not promote sleep. But, probably, this is a prevention of passing your station

(2) Happy is the one who did not take the Shinkansen to O-bon. If you've ever read notes about what it's like to travel on trains in China in China New Year, so this is practically it. Of course, there are no fake tickets or battles for seats on Japanese Shinkansen. However, frenzied crowds of people, luggage racks filled to capacity with things and passengers packed like sardines into a barrel, filling all the aisles and vestibules (yes, standing places!!!) Thanks to the efforts of my husband, I was always provided with an armored seat, and sedately watched the poor fellows who, having bought a standing ticket at the price of a seated one, traveled in terrible conditions. In general, I was outraged that the railway workers did not reduce the price of standing places, thereby enriching themselves disproportionately. But my husband objected that it was people’s own fault for not taking care of the ticket in advance. In addition, by allowing them to travel while standing, they have a chance to go to their home prefecture. Otherwise there would not have been such a chance at all.

(3) There are real “Japanese” shinkansen not only in Japan, but, for example, in Taiwan. They bought the technology from the Japanese. But the Chinese are only imitating the Japanese and they do not have the legal right to call their high-speed trains shinkansen.

(4) Personally, I love eating at the Shinkansen. At the station you buy their signature lunch in a box - bento. Always fresh and beautiful. The design of the cardboard box itself creates the perfect mood for travel. But you can already buy coffee and ice cream from the conductor right in the carriage. Ice cream, mostly of only one type - vanilla, expensive, but so tasty that you will lick your fingers.

In Russia, for subjective reasons, I really don’t like trains, but Japanese trains made me look at railway transport a little differently.

And now a little about bento (lunch packed in a special box). As Olga wrote above, bento is part of the Shinkansen journey.

Bento prepared for consumption during a train trip has a special name - ekiben. This is a single-serve lunch box. Boxes for ekiben can be ceramic, plastic, or wood. The bento comes with chopsticks and, if necessary, spoons. Lunch can be purchased at the train station or on the train itself.

The girls (I wonder what they are officially called) regularly push a cart around the carriage with bento, drinks, dry snacks, ice cream and various goodies and unobtrusively offer passengers to buy what they need. I didn’t see people in our carriage often purchasing goods from a train employee. This probably happens more during lunchtime.

But I noticed what many people eat on the train. Mainly for two reasons: when leaving the train, passengers are holding bags of garbage in their hands, which are thrown out at the station. And sometimes, when you sit down on a seat, you can inadvertently “get into trouble”; not very careful “eaters” leave scattered rice behind them.

The first railroad bento was sold at Utsunomiya Station on July 16, 1885. The bento consisted of two balls of rice and pickled radish, packaged in a bamboo box. But at least seven more railway stations are vying for the role of “first creator” of ekiben. Subsequently, ekiben became more and more popular and each prefecture tried to diversify the menu and bring local flavor to the dishes. Nowadays, there is also a continuing trend that ekibena ingredients consist of local products inherent to the area.

The golden age for ekiben was the 80s, when trains did not run so fast and the passenger, being long time on the way, I felt the need to refresh myself on the road. Today, the procedure for eating on a train is not widespread.

Illustration copyright Thinkstock

This year marks 50 years since the first Shinkansen bullet train left the train platform in Tokyo. talks about the project that became the basis for the development of rail transport throughout the world.

Nine days before the opening of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Emperor Hirohito attended the opening ceremony of the first high-speed train linking the Japanese capital with Osaka. The blue and white express train, resembling a bullet in its outline, rushed through railway tracks past the picturesque Mount Fuji at a speed of 210 km per hour, covering the distance between the two megacities in record time.

A special high-speed railway track was built for the train, digging 108 km of tunnels and building more than three thousand bridges. But this was not a one-time PR campaign on the eve of the Olympics.

The Tokaido Shinkansen (which means "new main line" in Japanese) has become not only the fastest railway in the world, but also the busiest.

Today, 16-car Shinkansen bullet trains fire from Tokyo Station platforms every three minutes. Their average speed on the route is 270 km/h. Each train has 1,323 comfortable passenger seats.

Since last year, trains on the Tohoku Shinkansen line, one of six high-speed rail lines built over the past 50 years, have reached speeds of up to 320 km/h in some sections despite Japan's mountainous landscape.

High-speed trains have almost completely replaced air passenger transport in Japan between largest cities countries. They are not only fast, regular and follow the traffic schedule down to the second. According to a government report on the state of Japanese land transport, the carbon dioxide emitted by such a train is only 16% of that of a car making the same journey.

These trains are kept perfectly clean. But more importantly, since the day Emperor Hirohito blessed the first train in 1964, there has not been a single fatal accident on Japanese expressways. In 50 years, two trains derailed - one during the 2004 earthquake, the second during heavy snow last year. But both times there were no casualties.

50 years ago, against the backdrop of the new Shinkansen bullet train, all other railways in the world suddenly seemed obsolete.

It was October 1964 - the height of Beatlemania. At that time, the fastest British locomotive could reach a speed of 160 km/h, and even then only on small modernized sections of the railway, built in the Victorian era.

Japanese bullet trains, so named because of the pointed nose that characterized the first O series, became the basis for the development of the French TGV, German ICE and Italian Pendolino. But all these trains were born only many years later.

Renaissance of Japan

Japan's global leadership in rail services was the result of the country's impressive economic and cultural revival in the first 20 years after its political and military defeat in 1945.

Then Emperor Hirohito - the same one who opened the Tokaido Shinkansen line and the Olympic Games in 1964 - said on the radio that as a result of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, “the military situation was not necessarily in Japan’s favor.” Then the Japanese heard his voice on the radio for the first time.

Less than 20 years later, guests of the Tokyo Olympics saw a completely different country - full of energy, with rich culture, modern architecture and magnificent highways. Japan was already famous for its high-end motorcycles and cameras, advanced cinema and many, many more achievements. So, in addition to the high-speed railway itself, the Japanese even then had something to show the world.

It is not surprising that Japan then became an extremely fashionable country. Leading musicians, from Ella Fitzgerald to the Beatles, flocked to Tokyo to tour. But all these remarkable achievements and cutting-edge developments fit harmoniously into the rich and extremely distinctive Japanese culture.

Advertisements showed high-speed trains zipping along the Tokaido Shinkansen line past cherry blossoms and snow-capped mountains. It was a fascinating combination of two worlds - the old imperial and the new democratic.

It is not surprising that the first expressway was not cheap for the Japanese. During construction, its cost doubled. Because of this, Japanese Railways President Shinji Sogo and his chief engineer Hideo Shima were forced to resign. They were not invited to Grand opening the railway they created.

This financially risky project began in 1959, when Hideo Shima was asked to design and build a new railway line, create a train and the necessary infrastructure.

Shima and his team came up with the idea of ​​a completely new train. It had to walk on elevated tracks like highways and laid over viaducts. It was necessary to smooth out the angles of inclination as much as possible and minimize the number of turns and bends of the railway track.

Old trains were prohibited from running on these tracks. Although this was impossible in any case - previous generations of Japanese trains used a narrower gauge. The Shinkansen adopted the European and American standard railway gauge of 1.4 m wide. This made it possible to achieve greater stability of the train at high speeds.

The Shinkansen was not the first train designed by Hideo Shima. This engineer was the designer of several previous generation Japanese steam locomotives. One of them set a speed record in 1954.

But the new generation of electric trains from the point of view of technical progress represented a tremendous leap forward. And although Hideo Shima was disgraced due to budget overruns, he still enjoyed great authority as a specialist and subsequently became the head of the Japanese National Space Development Agency.

In twenty years, Hideo Shima has made his way from steam locomotives to space technology. Today he is revered as the father of the Shinkansen and many other high-speed electric trains that run on highways in the most different countries peace.

Comfortable trip

Over the past 50 years, trains have become even faster. The total number of passengers they carried on the Tokaido Shinkansen alone reached 5.5 billion.

The most modern models With their extraordinarily long pointed noses, hidden wheels and shiny green or blue bodies, these E5 and E6 trains are stunning to look at. They resemble mechanical alien eels, and their ride quality just as impressive as the design.

When fired from stations, these bullet trains are capable of reaching a speed of 270 km/h in three minutes. On some sections of the road they rush at a speed of 320 km/h. At the same time, the cabin is quiet and no shocks or vibrations are felt.

These trains boast comfortable and perfectly clean toilets, as does almost all of Japan. Seats with reclining backs are located along the train. The conductors serve drinks and neat boxes of bento - Japanese breakfasts and snacks. All service personnel are impeccably dressed. Polite manners are valued and encouraged here.

Meanwhile, white-gloved drivers sitting in air-conditioned cabins ensure strict adherence to train schedules.

The unusually elongated noses of these trains help not only to develop speed, but also to reduce the noise level that the train produces - especially when it leaves the tunnel. So-called "tunnel noise" has been a source of dissatisfaction for many Japanese living near the Shinkansen, but it has been significantly reduced thanks to the aerodynamic design.

The Shinkansen rail network continues to grow. The latest generation of bullet trains are currently running between the southern islands of Honshu and Kyushu. In 2016, a sea tunnel will connect the Japanese with the northern island of Hokkaido, and in 2035 a line will be built to Sapporo.

By then, the first Chuo Shinkansen line should open, connecting Tokyo and Osaka. This is a fundamentally new railway based on the principle of magnetic levitation (Maglev). The trains, literally floating in the air, will travel (fly?) from Tokyo to Osaka in just over an hour, reaching a speed of approximately 500 km/h. This is more than twice as fast as the first Shinkansen trains.

Creating a railway system with trains running at speeds of 200mph at the same intervals as the London Underground is a remarkable achievement by any standard. They are also much cleaner and more reliable than the London Underground.

Whatever the ups and downs of the Japanese economy over the past 50 years, the Shinkansen has been business card new Japan - a country that conquered the world with its cameras, radios, music systems, cars, motorcycles, films, comics and fashion.

The mesmerizing sight of the Shinkansen bullet train rushing by at full speed against the backdrop of fields with cherry blossoms and picturesque Japanese mountains remains the same impressive sight as it was half a century ago.

About the author: Jonathan Glancy is a journalist and television producer. He has worked as an architecture and design correspondent for the Guardian and as design editor for the Independent. He writes articles for the Daily Telegraph and collaborates with the BBC on radio and television documentaries. His books include "History of Architecture", "Lost Buildings", "Biography of the Spitfire", "Nagaland and the Giants of Steam".