Shinkansen

=== Network expansion ===

=== Network expansion ===

The Tōkaidō Shinkansen's rapid success prompted an extension westward to [[Okayama]], [[Hiroshima]] and [[Fukuoka, Fukuoka|Fukuoka]] (the [[San'yō Shinkansen]]), which was completed in 1975.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Taniguchi |first=Mamoru |date=1993 |title=The Japanese Shinkansen |journal=[[Built Environment (journal)|Built environment]] |volume=19 |issue=3/4 |page=216 |jstor=23288577 }}</ref> Prime Minister [[Kakuei Tanaka]] was an ardent supporter of the Shinkansen, and his government proposed an extensive network paralleling most existing trunk lines. Two new lines, the [[Tōhoku Shinkansen]] and [[Jōetsu Shinkansen]], were built following this plan. Many other planned lines were delayed or scrapped entirely as [[Japanese National Railways|JNR]] slid into debt throughout the late 1970s, largely because of the high cost of building the Shinkansen network.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} By the early 1980s, the company was practically insolvent,{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} leading to its privatization in 1987.

The Tōkaidō Shinkansen's rapid success prompted an extension westward to [[Okayama]], [[Hiroshima]] and [[Fukuoka, Fukuoka|Fukuoka]] (the [[San'yō Shinkansen]]), which was completed in 1975.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Taniguchi |first=Mamoru |date=1993 |title=The Japanese Shinkansen |journal=[[Built Environment (journal)|Built environment]] |volume=19 |issue=3/4 |page=216 |jstor=23288577 }}</ref> Prime Minister [[Kakuei Tanaka]] was an ardent supporter of the Shinkansen, and his government proposed an extensive network paralleling most existing trunk lines. Two new lines, the [[Tōhoku Shinkansen]] and [[Jōetsu Shinkansen]], were built following this plan. Many other planned lines were delayed or scrapped entirely as [[Japanese National Railways|JNR]] slid into debt throughout the late 1970s, largely because of the high cost of building the Shinkansen network.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} By the 1987, the company was deeply in debt, leading to its privatization.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smil |first=Vaclav |date=2014 |title=Fifty Years of the Shinkansen |url=https://apjjf.org/2014/12/48/vaclav-smil/4227 |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal |volume=12 |issue=48, No. 1}}</ref>

Development of the Shinkansen by the privatised regional JR companies has continued, with new train models developed, each generally with its own distinctive appearance (such as the [[500 Series Shinkansen|500 series]] introduced by [[JR West]]). Since 2014, Shinkansen trains run regularly at speeds up to {{convert|320|km/h|mph|round=5|abbr=on}} on the [[Tōhoku Shinkansen]]; only the [[Shanghai maglev train]], [[China Railway High-speed]] networks, and the Indonesian [[High-speed rail in Indonesia|Jakarta-Bandung High-speed]] railway have commercial services that operate faster.<ref>{{cite web |date=18 May 2016 |title=The 10 fastest trains in the world |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-05-18/the-10-fastest-trains-in-the-world |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192616/https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-05-18/the-10-fastest-trains-in-the-world |archive-date=23 June 2022 |access-date=8 December 2019 |publisher=cntraveler.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 October 2023 |title=雅万高铁助力印尼民众加速奔向美好生活 |trans-title=Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway helps Indonesian people accelerate towards a better life |url=https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202310/content_6908475.htm |website=gov.cn |language=zh |access-date=27 January 2024 }}</ref>{{Update inline|date=January 2024|reason=Extensions in Kyushu and Hokuriku Shinkansen also need to be mentioned.}}

Development of the Shinkansen by the privatised regional JR companies has continued, with new train models developed, each generally with its own distinctive appearance (such as the [[500 Series Shinkansen|500 series]] introduced by [[JR West]]). Since 2014, Shinkansen trains run regularly at speeds up to {{convert|320|km/h|mph|round=5|abbr=on}} on the [[Tōhoku Shinkansen]]; only the [[Shanghai maglev train]], [[China Railway High-speed]] networks, and the Indonesian [[High-speed rail in Indonesia|Jakarta-Bandung High-speed]] railway have commercial services that operate faster.<ref>{{cite web |date=18 May 2016 |title=The 10 fastest trains in the world |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-05-18/the-10-fastest-trains-in-the-world |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192616/https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-05-18/the-10-fastest-trains-in-the-world |archive-date=23 June 2022 |access-date=8 December 2019 |publisher=cntraveler.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 October 2023 |title=雅万高铁助力印尼民众加速奔向美好生活 |trans-title=Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway helps Indonesian people accelerate towards a better life |url=https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202310/content_6908475.htm |website=gov.cn |language=zh |access-date=27 January 2024 }}</ref>{{Update inline|date=January 2024|reason=Extensions in Kyushu and Hokuriku Shinkansen also need to be mentioned.}}