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San'yō Shinkansen

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The San'yō Shinkansen ( 山陽新幹線 ) is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka , the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), it is a westward continuation of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and also serves other major cities in between on Honshu and Kyushu islands such as Kobe , Himeji , Okayama , Hiroshima , and Kitakyushu . The Kyushu Shinkansen continues south of Hakata to Kagoshima . The San'yō Shinkansen connects Hakata with Osaka in two and a half hours, with trains operating at a maximum operating speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) for most of the journey. Some Nozomi trains operate continuously on San'yō and Tōkaidō Shinkansen lines, connecting Tokyo and Hakata in five hours.

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27-780: As of March 2020, the following types are used on San'yō Shinkansen services. Download coordinates as: All stations on the San'yō Shinkansen are owned and operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the exception of Shin-Osaka station, which is run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). Kodama trains stop at all stations; other services have varying stopping patterns. All trains stop at Shin-Osaka, Shin-Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kokura, and Hakata. Nozomi or Mizuho trains cannot be used by foreign tourists traveling with

54-535: A Japan Rail Pass . Legend: [REDACTED] Nanakuma Line (N18) As of 2012, the maximum line speed is, West-bound 285 km/h (175 mph) between Shin-Ōsaka and Shin-Kobe, 275 km/h (170 mph) between Shin-Kobe and Nishi-Akashi, and 300 km/h (185 mph) between Nishi-Akashi and Hakata. East-bound it is 300 km/h (185 mph) between Hakata and Himeji, 275 km/h (170 mph) between Himeji and Shin-Kobe and 300 km/h (185 mph) between Shin-Kobe and Shin-Ōsaka. Construction of

81-481: A maximum speed of 270 km/h (170 mph). On 22 March 1997, the 500 series entered service on Nozomi services between Shin-Ōsaka and Hakata, reducing that run to 2 hours 17 minutes at a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). The 700 series was introduced on Tokyo-Hakata Nozomi services on 13 March 1999, coinciding with the opening of Asa Station , and on 11 March 2000, 700 series trains were introduced on Hikari Rail Star services. Ogori Station

108-536: Is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train with tilting capability operated by JR Central and JR West on the Tokaido and San'yō Shinkansen lines since 2020, and JR Kyushu on the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen line since 2022. In June 2016, JR Central announced plans to build a new prototype "N700S" 16-car trainset (with "S" standing for "Supreme") for evaluating new technology and features on

135-676: Is highly automated, and during peak hours trains run as often as every two minutes. JR-West's Urban Network competes with a number of private commuter rail operators around Osaka, the "Big 4" being Hankyu Railway / Hanshin Railway (Hankyu bought Hanshin in April 2005), Keihan Railway , Kintetsu , and Nankai Railway . JR-West's market share in the region is roughly equal to that of the Big 4 put together, largely due to its comprehensive network and high-speed commuter trains (Special Rapid Service trains on

162-842: Is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu . It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka . It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange , is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and is also one of only three Japan Railways Group constituents of the Nikkei 225 index: the others are JR East and JR Central . It was also listed in the Nagoya and Fukuoka stock exchanges until late 2020. JR-West's highest-grossing line

189-793: Is the Sanyo Shinkansen high-speed rail line between Osaka and Fukuoka . The Sanyo Shinkansen alone accounts for about 40% of JR-West's passenger revenues. The company also operates Hakata Minami Line , a short commuter line with Shinkansen trains in Fukuoka . The "Urban Network" is JR-West's name for its commuter rail lines in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. These lines together comprise 610 km of track, have 245 stations and account for about 43% of JR-West's passenger revenues. Urban Network stations are equipped to handle ICOCA fare cards. Train control on these lines

216-529: The Hikari services operating solely on the San'yō Shinkansen (mostly Rail Star services) were discontinued as it was deemed redundant. In an announcement by JR Central, JR West, and JR Kyushu made on 17 October 2023, the companies stated that all onboard smoking rooms on the Tokaido, San'yo, and Kyushu Shinkansen trains would be abolished by Q2 2024. In addition, all smoking rooms located on station platforms on

243-769: The Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT) as part of a bureaucratic reform package in October 2003. JRTT offered all of its shares in JR-West to the public in an international IPO in 2004, ending the era of government ownership of JR-West. JR-West is now listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nagoya Stock Exchange , Osaka Securities Exchange and Fukuoka Stock Exchange . N700S Series Shinkansen The N700S series ( N700S系 , Enu nana-hyaku esu-kei )

270-675: The Kyushu Shinkansen using new N700-7000 and N700-8000 series 8-car trainsets. This boosted JR West's market share in the Osaka-Kagoshima passenger market from 13% in March 2011 to 35% in March 2012. JR West began offering discounted advance purchase fares on this route in July 2013 in an effort to compete for market share with new low-cost airlines such as Peach . With the launch of Mizuho and Sakura services, nearly all of

297-538: The Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen , four 6-car N700S series trainsets were ordered by JR Kyushu . Nicknamed " Kamome ", these entered service in September 2022. On March 15, 2023, Taiwan High Speed Rail announced it will purchase 12 new 12-car trains based on N700S to supplement its older THSR 700T sets. These will be manufactured by an alliance of Hitachi and Toshiba . The first N700S sets replaced 700 series trains, and added more rolling stock needed to realize

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324-464: The Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen . The design of the variant was done by Eiji Mitooka , who had previously designed several trains for JR Kyushu. He could not make any modifications to the exterior shape or equipment. He sought to make the ride "more fun and relaxing" through the inclusion of colors and shapes to the train's design. He presented JR Kyushu with four livery concepts, with a red and white one being chosen. Headlights were given black outlines and

351-537: The Sanyō Shinkansen , from the separate Shinkansen Holding Corporation. JR-West purchased the line in October 1991 at a cost of 974.1 billion JPY (about US$ 7.2 billion) in long-term debt. JNRSC sold 68.3% of JR-West in an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 1996. After JNRSC was dissolved in October 1998, its shares of JR-West were transferred to the government-owned Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation (JRCC), which merged into

378-466: The Kobe and Kyoto lines operate at up to 130 km/h). Those in italics are announcement names. A number of other lines account for more than half of JR-West's track mileage. These lines mainly handle business and leisure travel between smaller cities and rural areas in western Japan. They account for about 20% of the company's passenger revenues. JR-West subsidiaries include the following. JR-West

405-479: The San'yō Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Okayama was authorized on 9 September 1965, and commenced on March 16, 1967. Construction between Okayama and Hakata commenced on 10 February 1970. The Shin-Ōsaka to Okayama segment opened on March 15, 1972; the remainder of the line opened on March 10, 1975. The first Hikari trains, using 0 series trains, made the Shin-Ōsaka to Hakata run in 3 hours 44 minutes. This

432-626: The Sanyo Shinkansen would also be abolished. In July 2024 JR West announced that the 500 Series trains would be phased out, and trains on the San'yō Shinkansen standardized to the N700 Series . Four of the existing 500 Series trainsets are expected to be retired by 2026, with the last two retired by 2027. In fiscal 2005, the Sanyo Shinkansen line ridership was 58 million passengers/year, or about 159,000 daily. West Japan Railway Company The West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as JR West ( JR西日本 , Jeiāru Nishi-Nihon ) ,

459-583: The Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines from March 2018. Developed from the earlier N700 Series design, the N700S trains incorporate a number of new features. Refinements to the ATC and braking systems enable shorter braking distances in emergencies such as earthquakes. The traction system uses silicon carbide components, and uses 7% less power than the N700A series. Toshiba SCiB LTO batteries are installed so that

486-433: The center of the nose was painted black in order to have the front of the train resemble a face. The interior is also decorated with illustrations made by Mitooka. These 6-car sets are completely mono-class without Green Car (first class) accommodation. In regular service, cars 1-3 are reserved seat cars, and cars 4-6 are non-reserved seat cars. Seats on cars 1-3 are arranged in four wide (2+2) abreast configuration instead of

513-568: The first to be introduced, and include the pre-series J0 set used for testing between 2018 and 2020. The 16-car J sets are formed as follows. As of 28 January 2023 , the JR Central N700S series 'J' set fleet is as follows. These are 16-car N700S series sets owned by JR West and classified as N700S-3000 series sets. The 16-car H sets are formed as follows. These are 6-car N700S series sets owned by JR Kyushu and classified as N700S-8000 series sets. Four sets provide service on

540-553: The increased amount of services on the Tokaido Shinkansen planned from 2020. The N700S series is expected to gradually replace N700 series sets on the Sanyo, Tokaido, and Kyushu Shinkansen lines. A 6-car variant started operations on the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen on 23 September 2022. The train is also planned to run on the proposed Texas Central Railway high-speed line connecting Dallas and Houston. The J sets were

567-654: The train can operate at low speed in the event of a disruption to overhead power, as well as keep toilets in operation. Optimized underfloor equipment layout allows the same standard design to be used to easily produce 12, 8 and 6-car trainsets in addition to the Tokaido Shinkansen 16-car trainsets. This optimization was intended to make the train more flexible for possible export. Green cars use active suspension to further improve ride quality, and ordinary-class cars have AC power outlets for each seat. Other features include larger luggage storage, closed-circuit television and "softer, more relaxing" interior lighting. In 2021,

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594-658: The train was awarded the Laurel Prize by the Japan Railfan Club. In an announcement by JR Central, JR West, and JR Kyushu made on 17 October 2023, the companies stated that all onboard smoking rooms on the Tokaido, San'yo, and Kyushu Shinkansen lines would be abolished by Q2 2024. A 16-car prototype set (J0), assembled at the Nippon Sharyo Toyokawa plant, was unveiled at JR Central's Hamamatsu depot on 10 March 2018. From 20 March, this set

621-460: Was delivered to JR Central in April 2020, with trains entering revenue service on 1 July 2020. JR Central announced in May 2022 that it would add 19 trainsets (304 vehicles) to their current N700S fleet at a cost of 114 billion yen ($ 897m). The first two of these trainsets are scheduled to enter service in 2023, with seven trainsets delivered in 2024 and 2025, and three more delivered in 2026. For

648-529: Was incorporated as a business corporation ( kabushiki kaisha ) on April 1, 1987, as part of the breakup of the state-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR). Initially, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of the JNR Settlement Corporation (JNRSC), a special company created to hold the assets of the former JNR while they were shuffled among the new JR companies. For the first four years of its existence, JR-West leased its highest-revenue line,

675-422: Was renamed Shin-Yamaguchi Station on 1 October 2003. The N700 series was launched on Nozomi services on 1 July 2007, with a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) (Just Like the 500 series compared to 285 km/h or 177 mph for the 700 series). From the start of the revised timetable on 12 March 2011, new Mizuho and Sakura inter-running services commenced between Shin-Ōsaka and Kagoshima on

702-408: Was shortened to 2 hours 59 minutes in 1986 with an increase in maximum speed to 220 km/h (140 mph). 100 series trains, introduced in 1989, boosted maximum speed to 230 km/h (140 mph) and reduced travel time to 2 hours 49 minutes. Tokyo to Hakata Nozomi services began on 18 March 1993, using 300 series trains. The Shin-Ōsaka to Hakata run was reduced to 2 hours 32 minutes, at

729-548: Was used for testing and evaluation. High-speed trials at the design speed of 360 km/h (224 mph) were conducted during 2019 on the Tokaido Shinkansen , reaching a maximum speed of 363 km/h (226 mph). This is 28 km/h (17 mph) faster than the fastest speed ever achieved by the N700A, and may indicate plans to raise the maximum operating speed on the line. The first full-production J set (J1)

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