Sixty years after the world's first high-speed train launched, rail enthusiast Paul Carter rides the bullet train along what's been dubbed t

How the bullet train transformed Japan

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2024-11-30 04:00:03

Sixty years after the world's first high-speed train launched, rail enthusiast Paul Carter rides the bullet train along what's been dubbed the "New Golden Route".

Standing on platform 19 at Tokyo Station, a bustling cathedral to modern rail travel, it's hard to believe that it was 60 years ago this year that the first Shinkansen train departed from here, bound for the port city of Osaka.

Instantly recognisable for its striking, sloping nose and sweeping aerodynamic curves, the Shinkansen was the world's first high-speed train and quickly became known around the world by its English-language moniker: the bullet train.

That high-speed line between Tokyo and Osaka – the Tokaido Shinkansen – became known by travellers as "The Golden Route", whisking passengers between two of Japan's great cities as it passed by the splendour of Mount Fuji and the ancient capital of Kyoto in less than two and a half hours.

Amidst the crowds of people boarding and alighting Shinkansen trains (which are known for their to-the-minute precision), I met with Naoyuki Ueno, a former Shinkansen driver who is now a senior executive at Central Japan Railway Company. He told me that since the train's introduction, it has carried a staggering 6.8 billion passengers across Japan.