Transport & space · 1964

Shinkansen high-speed rail

Japan's bullet train links Tokyo and Osaka at 210 km/h.

The Tokaido Shinkansen opened in October 1964 on dedicated standard-gauge track with electric multiple units. It has carried over 10 billion passengers without a passenger fatality from derailment or collision. High-speed rail now spans over 60,000 km worldwide, mostly in China.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 3

Electric power grid 1882
Electric motor 1834
Intercity railway 1830

Watch

This Train's A Bullet! (1964)British Pathé · YouTube

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Selected milestones in human travel speed Latest: 39.9k km/h (1969) Source: Wikipedia: Horse gait (gallop 40-48 km/h); Wikipedia: List of speed records in rail transport