66-530: La Gazelle is the name of a long-distance passenger train service operated by the Congo–Ocean Railway . The train was introduced in 2012. The train runs between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire and stops at 9 intermediate stations along the route. As of January 2014 the journey was scheduled to take either 14 or 16 hours depending on whether the service was overnight or during the day. The train uses Korean manufactured passenger railway cars which include
132-558: A 25 kV AC overhead power supply (20 kV AC on Mini-shinkansen lines), to overcome the limitations of the 1,500 V direct current used on the existing electrified narrow-gauge system. Power is distributed along the train's axles to reduce the heavy axle loads under single power cars. The AC frequency of the power supply for the Tokaido Shinkansen is 60 Hz. Shinkansen trains are electric multiple units (EMUs), offering fast acceleration, deceleration and reduced damage to
198-431: A dining car or restaurant car to allow passengers to have a meal during the course of their journey. Trains travelling overnight may also have sleeping cars . Currently, much of travel on these distances of over 500 miles (800 km) is done by air in many countries but in others long-distance travel by rail is a popular or the only cheap way to travel long distances. One notable and growing long-distance train category
264-616: A restaurant and bar car and has its own engine which supplies the cars with electricity for air conditioning and power outlets . Passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self propelled passenger trains are known as multiple units or railcars . Passenger trains stop at stations or depots , where passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on
330-522: A 387.5 km (241 mi) section of the Tōhoku Shinkansen ). Test runs have reached 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record 603 km/h (375 mph) for SCMaglev trains in April 2015. The original Tokaido Shinkansen, connecting Tokyo , Nagoya , and Osaka , three of Japan's largest cities, is one of the world's busiest high-speed rail lines. In
396-519: A bullet and its high speed. The Shinkansen name was first formally used in 1940 for a proposed standard gauge passenger and freight line between Tokyo and Shimonoseki that would have used steam and electric locomotives with a top speed of 200 km/h (120 mph). Over the next three years, the Ministry of Railways drew up more ambitious plans to extend the line to Beijing (through a tunnel to Korea ) and even Singapore , and build connections to
462-437: A concern for residents living close to tunnel portals. The slab track consists of rails, fasteners and track slabs with a cement asphalt mortar. On the roadbed and in tunnels, circular upstands, measuring 400–520 mm (16–20 inches) in diameter and 200 mm (7.9 inches) high, are located at 5-metre intervals. The prefabricated upstands are made of either reinforced concrete or pre-stressed reinforced concrete; they prevent
528-544: A dispute between JR East and JR Central about the use of the two platforms which were added to the Tokaido line's half of Tokyo station. Before JNR's privatization, they were conceived as being shared with the Tohoku line, and their construction used funds allocated to the Tohoku line's extension to Tokyo; however, the extension was finished after privatization, by which time the platforms were owned by JR Central. Therefore, there
594-572: A fixed schedule and have priority over freight trains . Passenger trains may be made up of a number of passenger cars hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be made up of self-propelled railcars . Car design and the general safety of passenger trains have dramatically evolved over time, making travel by rail remarkably safe. Some passenger trains, both long-distance and short-distance, use bi-level (double-decker) cars to carry more passengers per train. Passenger trains hauled by locomotives are more expensive to operate than multiple units, but have
660-505: A high ride quality and less electrical equipment. ) In Japan, significant engineering desirability exists for the electric multiple unit configuration. A greater proportion of motored axles permits higher acceleration, so the Shinkansen does not lose as much time if stopping frequently. Shinkansen lines have more stops in proportion to their lengths than high-speed lines elsewhere in the world. The main Shinkansen lines are: In practice,
726-602: A higher passenger capacity. Many prestigious passenger train services have been bestowed a special name , some of which have become famous in literature and fiction. The first occasion on which a railway locomotive pulled a train carrying passengers was in the United Kingdom in 1804, at Penydarren Ironworks in Wales , when 70 employees of the ironworks were transported 9 miles by an engine designed by Richard Trevithick . The first passenger train in regular service
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#1732772347427792-600: A low-interest loan of US$ 80 million from the World Bank . Initial estimates, however, were understated and the actual cost was about 380 billion yen. As the budget shortfall became clear in 1963, Sogo resigned to take responsibility. A test facility for rolling stock, called the Kamonomiya Model Section, opened in Odawara in 1962. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen began service on 1 October 1964, in time for
858-463: A maximum speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), and 10.3 km (6.4 mi) of spur lines with Shinkansen services. The network links most major cities on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu , and connects to Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido . An extension to Sapporo is under construction and scheduled to open in March 2031. The maximum operating speed is 320 km/h (200 mph) (on
924-666: A minimum curve radius of 4,000 m (13,123 ft) (2,500 m (8,202 ft) on the oldest Tōkaidō Shinkansen). The Shinkansen uses 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) standard gauge in contrast to the 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) narrow gauge of most other lines in Japan. Continuous welded rail and swingnose crossing points are employed, eliminating gaps at turnouts and crossings. Long rails are used, joined by expansion joints to minimize gauge fluctuation due to thermal elongation and shrinkage. A combination of ballasted and slab track
990-682: A passenger committed suicide on board a Shinkansen train by setting himself on fire, killing another passenger and seriously injuring seven other people. There have been two derailments of Shinkansen trains in passenger service. The first one occurred during the Chūetsu earthquake on 23 October 2004 . Eight of ten cars of the Toki No. 325 train on the Jōetsu Shinkansen derailed near Nagaoka Station in Nagaoka, Niigata . There were no casualties among
1056-422: A range of advanced technology compared with conventional rail, achieving not only high speed but also a high standard of safety and comfort. Its success has influenced other railways in the world, demonstrating the importance and advantages of high-speed rail . Shinkansen routes never intersect with slower, narrow-gauge conventional lines (except mini-shinkansen , which runs along these older lines). Consequently,
1122-400: A standard-gauge rail has a curve with a maximum speed of 145 km/h (90 mph), the same curve on narrow-gauge rail will have a maximum allowable speed of 130 km/h (81 mph). Consequently, Japan had a greater need for new high-speed lines than countries where the existing standard gauge or broad gauge rail system had more upgrade potential. Among the key people credited with
1188-1114: A train consisting of a single passenger car (carriage, coach) with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g. the Great Western Railway , used the term " railmotor ". If the railcar is able to pull a full train, it is more likely to be called a " motor coach " or a "motor car". The term "railcar" is sometimes also used as an alternative name for the small types of multiple unit that consist of more than one coach. Rapid transit trains are trains that operate in urban areas on exclusive rights-of-way in that pedestrians and road vehicles may not access them. Light rails are electrically powered urban passenger trains that run along an exclusive rights-of-way at ground level, raised structures, tunnels, or in streets. Light rail systems generally use lighter equipment that operate at slower speeds to allow for more flexibility in integrating systems into urban environments. Trams (also known as streetcars in North America) are
1254-677: A trainset in order to perform high-speed tests. This train gave designers the confidence that they could safely build an even faster standard gauge train. Thus the first Shinkansen, the 0 series, was built on the success of the Romancecar. In the 1950s, the Japanese national attitude was that as was happening in the United States, railways would soon be outdated and replaced by air travel and highways. However, Shinji Sogō , President of Japanese National Railways , insisted strongly on
1320-411: A type of passenger train that runs a tramway track on or alongside public urban streets, often including segments of right-of-way for passengers and vehicles. Heritage trains are often operated by volunteers, often railfans , as a tourist attraction or as a museum railway. Usually, the trains are formed from historic vehicles retired from national commercial operation that have retained or assumed
1386-655: Is high-speed rail, which generally runs at speeds above 200 km/h (120 mph) and often operates on a dedicated track that is surveyed and prepared to accommodate high speeds. The first successful example of a high-speed passenger rail system was Japan's Shinkansen , colloquially known as the "bullet train", which commenced operation in October 1964. Other examples include Italy's LeFrecce , France's TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, literally "high speed train"), Germany's ICE (Inter-City Express), and Spain's AVE (Alta Velocidad Española). In most cases, high-speed rail travel
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#17327723474271452-722: Is no through service between those lines. All northbound services from Tokyo travel along the Tohoku Shinkansen until at least Ōmiya before splitting off towards Sendai or Takasaki. Two further lines, known as Mini-shinkansen , have also been constructed by re-gauging and upgrading existing sections of line: There are two standard-gauge lines not technically classified as Shinkansen lines but run Shinkansen trains as they use tracks leading to Shinkansen storage/maintenance yards: The following lines are under construction. These lines except Chūō Shinkansen , called Seibi Shinkansen [ ja ] or planned Shinkansen , are
1518-440: Is time- and cost-competitive with air travel when distances do not exceed 500 to 600 km (310 to 370 mi), as airport check-in and boarding procedures can add at least two hours to the overall transit time. Also, rail operating costs over these distances may be lower when the amount of jet fuel consumed by an airliner during takeoff and climbout is taken into consideration. Air travel becomes more cost-competitive as
1584-498: Is used today in English-language announcements and signage. Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high-speed travel. Because of the mountainous terrain, the existing network consisted of 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) narrow-gauge lines, which generally took indirect routes and could not be adapted to higher speeds due to technical limitations of narrow-gauge rail. For example, if
1650-431: Is used, with slab track exclusively employed on concrete bed sections such as viaducts and tunnels. Slab track is significantly more cost-effective in tunnel sections, since the lower track height reduces the cross-sectional area of the tunnel, reducing construction costs up to 30%. However, the smaller diameter of Shinkansen tunnels, compared to some other high-speed lines, has resulted in the issue of tunnel boom becoming
1716-679: The 0 series , ran at speeds of up to 210 km/h (130 mph), later increased to 220 km/h (137 mph). The last of these trains, with their classic bullet-nosed appearance, were retired on 30 November 2008. A driving car from one of the 0 series trains was donated by JR West to the National Railway Museum in York , United Kingdom in 2001. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen's rapid success prompted an extension westward to Okayama , Hiroshima and Fukuoka (the San'yō Shinkansen ), which
1782-761: The Narita Sky Access Line which opened in 2010, and the Keiyo Line reused space originally set aside for the Narita Shinkansen terminus at Tokyo Station . Although the Sky Access Line uses standard-gauge track, it was not built to Shinkansen specifications and there are no plans to convert it into a full Shinkansen line. Many Shinkansen lines were proposed during the boom of the early 1970s but have yet to be constructed and have subsequently been shelved indefinitely. In addition,
1848-602: The Trans-Siberian Railway and other trunk lines in Asia. These plans were abandoned in 1943 as Japan's position in World War II worsened. However, some construction did commence on the line; several tunnels on the present-day Shinkansen date to the war-era project. Following the end of World War II, high-speed rail was forgotten for several years while traffic of passengers and freight steadily increased on
1914-697: The Tōhoku Shinkansen ; only the Shanghai maglev train , China Railway High-speed networks, and the Indonesian Jakarta-Bandung High-speed railway have commercial services that operate faster. Since 1970, development has also been underway for the Chūō Shinkansen , a planned maglev line from Tokyo to Osaka. On 21 April 2015, a seven-car L0 series maglev trainset set a world speed record of 603 km/h (375 mph). To enable high-speed operation, Shinkansen uses
1980-720: The United States began in the 1830s and became popular in the 1850s and '60s. The first electric passenger train was exhibited at the Berlin Industrial Exposition 1879 . The first successful commercial electric passenger train, the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway , ran a year later in Lichterfelde . Long-distance trains travel between many cities or regions of a country, and sometimes cross several countries. They often have
2046-431: The first Tokyo Olympics . The conventional Limited Express service took six hours and 40 minutes from Tokyo to Osaka, but the Shinkansen made the trip in just four hours, shortened to three hours and ten minutes by 1965. It enabled day trips between Tokyo and Osaka, the two largest metropolises in Japan, significantly changed the style of business and life of the Japanese people, and increased new traffic demand. The service
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2112-569: The locomotive (also known as power car) configuration with the Renfe Class 102 and continues with it for the Talgo AVRIL because it is not possible to use powered bogies as part of Talgo's bogie design, which uses a modified Jacobs bogie with a single axle instead of two and allows the wheels to rotate independently of each other, on the ICE 2, TGV and KTX it is because it easily allows for
2178-654: The 154 passengers. Another derailment happened on 2 March 2013 on the Akita Shinkansen when the Komachi No. 25 train derailed in blizzard conditions in Daisen, Akita . No passengers were injured. In the event of an earthquake, an earthquake detection system can bring the train to a stop very quickly; newer trainsets are lighter and have stronger braking systems, allowing for quicker stopping. New anti-derailment devices were installed on tracks after analysis of
2244-571: The Basic Plan specified that the Jōetsu Shinkansen should start from Shinjuku , not Tokyo Station , which would have required building an additional 30 km (19 mi) of track between Shinjuku and Ōmiya. While no construction work was ever started, land along the proposed track, including an underground section leading to Shinjuku Station, remains reserved. If capacity on the Tokyo–Ōmiya section proves insufficient at some point, construction of
2310-523: The L0 series could be a passenger train. The Shinkansen is very reliable thanks to several factors, including its near-total separation from slower traffic. There are separate laws governing interfering with or otherwise obstructing Shinkansen trains, tracks, or its operation. In 2016, JR Central reported that the Shinkansen's average delay from schedule per train was 24 seconds. This includes delays due to uncontrollable causes, such as natural disasters. Over
2376-609: The Shinjuku–Ōmiya link may be reconsidered. In December 2009, then transport minister Seiji Maehara proposed a bullet train link to Haneda Airport , using an existing spur that connects the Tōkaidō Shinkansen to a train depot. JR Central called the plan "unrealistic" due to tight train schedules on the existing line, but reports said that Maehara wished to continue discussions on the idea. The succeeding minister has not indicated whether this proposal remains supported. While
2442-554: The Shinkansen projects designated in the Basic Plan of the Shinkansen Railway [ ja ] decided by the government. The Narita Shinkansen project to connect Tokyo to Narita International Airport , initiated in the 1970s but halted in 1983 after landowner protests, has been officially cancelled and removed from the Basic Plan governing Shinkansen construction. Parts of its planned right-of-way were used by
2508-500: The Shinkansen's 60-plus year history, carrying over 10 billion passengers, there have been no passenger fatalities due to train accidents such as derailments or collisions, despite frequent earthquakes and typhoons. Injuries and a single fatality have been caused by doors closing on passengers or their belongings; attendants are employed at platforms to prevent such accidents. There have, however, been suicides by passengers jumping both from and in front of moving trains. On 30 June 2015,
2574-529: The Tokaido, San'yō, and Kyushu lines form a contiguous west/southbound line from Tokyo, as train services run between the Tokaido and San'yō lines and between the San'yō and Kyushu lines, though the lines are operated by different companies. The Tokaido Shinkansen tracks are not physically connected to the lines of the Tohoku Shinkansen at Tokyo Station, as they use different electrification standards, signaling systems, and earthquake mitigation devices. There also exists
2640-744: The capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond long-distance travel, some sections around the largest metropolitan areas are used as a commuter rail network. It is owned by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency and operated by five Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tokaido Shinkansen (515.4 km; 320.3 mi) in 1964, the network has expanded to consist of 2,951.3 km (1,833.9 mi) of lines with maximum speeds of 260–320 km/h (160–200 mph), 283.5 km (176.2 mi) of Mini-shinkansen lines with
2706-399: The character, appearance, and operating practices of railways in their time. Sometimes lines that operate in isolation also provide transport facilities for local people. Much of the equipment used on these trains' systems is original or at least aims to replicate both the look and the operating practices of historic/former railways companies. Passenger rail is one of the modes of travel with
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2772-599: The construction of the first Shinkansen are Hideo Shima , the Chief Engineer, and Shinji Sogō , the first President of Japanese National Railways (JNR) who managed to persuade politicians to back the plan. Other significant people responsible for its technical development were Tadanao Miki, Tadashi Matsudaira, and Hajime Kawanabe based at the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), part of JNR. They were responsible for much of
2838-532: The conventional Tōkaidō Main Line along with the reconstruction of Japanese industry and economy. By the mid-1950s the Tōkaidō Line was operating at full capacity, and the Ministry of Railways decided to revisit the Shinkansen project. In 1957, Odakyu Electric Railway introduced its 3000 series SE Romancecar train, setting a world speed record of 145 km/h (90 mph) for a narrow gauge train when JNR leased
2904-535: The conventional loading gauge for 1,067mm lines still applies on mini-Shinkansen lines. The Shinkansen has used EMUs from the outset, with the 0 Series Shinkansen having all axles powered. Other railway manufacturers were traditionally reluctant or unable to use distributed traction configurations ( Talgo , the German ICE 2 and the French (and subsequently South Korean) TGV (and KTX-I and KTX-Sancheon ) use
2970-810: The conventional rail infrastructure to support trains that can operate safely at higher speeds. Many cities and their surrounding areas are served by commuter trains (also known as suburban trains), which serve commuters who live outside of the city they work in, or vice versa. More specifically, in the United States commuter rail service is defined as, "short-haul rail passenger transportation in metropolitan and suburban areas usually having reduced fare, multiple ride, and commuter tickets and morning and evening peak period operations". Trains are very efficient for transporting large numbers of people at once, compared to road transport. While automobiles may be delayed by traffic congestion , trains operate on dedicated rights-of-way which allow them to bypass such congestion. With
3036-735: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic ), rail projects in the vicinity of Haneda Airport, including the Haneda Airport Access Line and the Tokyo Rinkai Subway Line , continue to undergo planning. Originally intended to carry passenger trains by day and freight trains by night, the Shinkansen lines carried exclusively passengers for the first five and a half decades of their operation. Lght freight has been carried on some passenger services since 2019, and there are plans to expand this with freight-only trains in
3102-411: The furthest points of the journey. This practice allows less populous communities to be served in the most cost-effective way, at the expense of a longer journey time for those wishing to travel to the terminus station. Higher-speed rail services operate at top speeds that are higher than conventional inter-city trains but below high-speed rail services. These services are provided after improvements to
3168-904: The future. The system shuts down between midnight and 06:00 every day for maintenance. Japan's few remaining overnight passenger trains run on the older, narrow-gauge network that the Shinkansen parallels. There are three principal service types on the Shinkansen: Trains are up to sixteen cars long. With each car measuring 25 m (82 ft) in length, the longest trains are 400 m ( 1 ⁄ 4 mile) end to end. Stations are similarly long to accommodate these trains. Some of Japan's high-speed maglev trains are considered Shinkansen, while other slower maglev trains (such as Linimo , serving local communities in and nearby Nagoya , Aichi Prefecture ) are intended as alternatives to conventional urban rapid transit systems. These trains were and are used only for experimental runs, though
3234-461: The high cost of building the Shinkansen network. By the early 1980s, the company was practically insolvent, leading to its privatization in 1987. 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 introduced by JR West ). Since 2014, Shinkansen trains run regularly at speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph) on
3300-458: The highest annual passenger ridership (a maximum of 386 million in 2007) of any high-speed rail network until 2011, when the Chinese high-speed railway network surpassed it at 370 million passengers annually, reaching over 2.9 billion annual passengers in 2023. Shinkansen ( 新幹線 ) in Japanese means 'new trunk line' or 'new main line', but this word is used to describe both the railway lines
3366-567: The lowest carbon dioxide emissions. Rail travel emits much less carbon dioxide per mile than air travel (2–27%) or car travel (2–24%). Shinkansen The Shinkansen ( Japanese : 新幹線 , [ɕiŋkaꜜɰ̃seɴ] , lit. ' new trunk line ' ) , colloquially known in English as the bullet train , is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan . It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo ,
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#17327723474273432-455: The more common 4-abreast (2+2) seating usually found elsewhere. On occasions, this wider loading gauge was also used to allow 6-abreast seating (3+3) on certain trains, such as the E1 and E4 series sets. This, combined with a lack of power cars, allows for a higher passenger capacity within a shorter train length. However, since mini-Shinkansen lines are effectively track-regauged conventional lines,
3498-444: The one-year period preceding March 2017, it carried 159 million passengers, and since its opening more than six decades ago, it has transported more than 6.4 billion total passengers. At peak times, the line carries up to 16 trains per hour in each direction with 16 cars each (1,323-seat capacity and occasionally additional standing passengers) with a minimum headway of three minutes between trains. The Shinkansen network of Japan had
3564-599: The plan may become more feasible after the opening the Chūō Shinkansen (sometimes referred to as a bypass to the Tokaido Shinkansen) frees up capacity, construction is already underway for other rail improvements between Haneda and Tokyo station expected to be completed prior to the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics , so any potential Shinkansen service would likely offer only marginal benefit. Despite these plans ultimately not being realized (owing in part due to
3630-458: The possibility of high-speed rail , and the Shinkansen project was implemented. Government approval came in December 1958, and construction of the first segment of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka started in April 1959. The cost of constructing the Shinkansen was at first estimated at nearly 200 billion yen, which was raised in the form of a government loan, railway bonds and
3696-522: The same trackage (though not simultaneously), as well as producing a more comfortable ride for passengers. "Inter-city" is a general term for any rail service that uses trains with limited stops to provide fast long-distance travel. Inter-city services can be divided into three major groups: The distinction between the three types of inter-city rail service may be unclear; trains can run as InterCity services between major cities, then revert to an express (or even regional) train service to reach communities at
3762-635: The shinkansen is not affected by slower local or freight trains (except for Hokkaido Shinkansen while traveling through the Seikan Tunnel ), and has the capacity to operate many high-speed trains punctually. In addition, shinkansen routes (excluding mini-shinkansen) are completely grade separated from roads and highways, meaning railway crossings are almost eliminated. Tracks are strictly off-limits with penalties against trespassing strictly regulated by law. The routes use tunnels and viaducts to go through and over obstacles rather than around them, with
3828-407: The technical development of the first line, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen . All three had worked on aircraft design during World War II . The popular English name bullet train is a literal translation of the Japanese term dangan ressha ( 弾丸列車 ) , a nickname given to the project while it was initially discussed in the 1930s. The name stuck because of the original 0 Series Shinkansen 's resemblance to
3894-508: The track because of the use of lighter vehicles compared to locomotives or power cars. The coaches are air-sealed to ensure stable air pressure when entering tunnels at high speed. Shinkansen trains (excluding mini-Shinkansen) are also built to a larger loading gauge compared to conventional-speed rolling stock. This larger loading gauge permits wider coaches, allowing for 5-abreast seating (2+3) in Standard Class coaches, compared to
3960-708: The track slab from moving latitudinally or longitudinally. One track slab weighs approximately 5 tons and is 2,220–2,340 mm (87–92 inches) wide, 4,900–4,950 mm (193–195 inches) long and 160–200 mm (6.3–7.9 inches) thick. The Shinkansen employs an ATC (Automatic Train Control) system, eliminating the need for trackside signals. It uses a comprehensive system of Automatic Train Protection . Centralized traffic control manages all train operations, and all tasks relating to train movement, track, station and schedule are networked and computerized. Shinkansen uses
4026-420: The trains run on and the trains themselves. In English, the trains are also known as the bullet train. The term bullet train ( 弾丸列車 , dangan ressha ) originates from 1939, and was the initial name given to the Shinkansen project in its earliest planning stages. Furthermore, the name super express ( 超特急 , chō-tokkyū ) , used exclusively until 1972 for Hikari trains on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen ,
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#17327723474274092-729: The travel distance increases because the fuel accounts for less of the overall operating cost of the airliner. Some high-speed rail systems employ tilting technology to improve stability in curves. Examples of tilting trains are the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), the Pendolino , the N700 Series Shinkansen , Amtrak 's Acela and the Spanish Talgo . Tilting is a dynamic form of superelevation , allowing both low- and high-speed traffic to use
4158-399: The use of bilevel cars , which are tall enough to have two levels of seating, commuter rail services can haul as many as 150 commuters per train car, and over 1,000 per train: much more than the capacity of automobiles and buses. In British and Australian usage, a "railcar" is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term is usually used in reference to
4224-675: Was a horse drawn train on the Swansea and Mumbles Railway which opened in 1807. In 1808, Trevithick ran a passenger-carrying exhibition train called Catch Me Who Can on a small loop of track in London. The exhibition, which ran for two weeks, charged passengers for rides. The first steam train carrying passengers on a public railway was hauled by Locomotion No. 1 on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 , traveling at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. Travel by passenger trains in
4290-684: Was an immediate success, reaching the 100 million passenger mark in less than three years on 13 July 1967, and one billion passengers in 1976. Sixteen-car trains were introduced for Expo '70 in Osaka. With an average of 23,000 passengers per hour in each direction in 1992, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen was the world's busiest high-speed rail line. As of 2014, the train's 50th anniversary, daily passenger traffic rose to 391,000 which, spread over its 18-hour schedule, represented an average of just under 22,000 passengers per hour. The first Shinkansen trains,
4356-410: Was completed in 1975. 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 JNR slid into debt throughout the late 1970s, largely because of
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