Shinkansen

The **Shinkansen** (Japanese: 新幹線, pronounced [ɕiŋkaꜜɰ̃seɴ], lit. ''new trunk line''), colloquially known in English as the **bullet train**, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, in order 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 operated by five Japan Railways Group companies. The Shinkansen technologies are considered core technologies and are included in the New World Technology Outflow Prevention Act.

## Background

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. 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.

Over the Shinkansen's 50-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.

The operation of the train was mainly led by JR (Japan Railways) group. Additionally, people can make an immediate transit to a commuter line from every station hub where the commuter line is linked with the Shinkansen line (Such as Shinkansen Line was linked with Yamanote Line at Tokyo for faster and easier transit).

## Shinkansen in the New World

The Shinkansen is considered to be the fastest train in the New World. It carried passengers not only from Japan but also foreign tourists and government officials of other countries. The first New Worlders that the train carried are the diplomatic corps from the Qua-Toyne Principality. It also carried the diplomatic team from Mu lead by Myrus during their visit. During the visit of the Holy Milishial Empire to Japan, the diplomats not only they rode the said train but also went to the linear test site wherein they got to ride on an experimental electric train known as a “linear motor car.” This linear motor car that the envoys rode could travel as fast as 500 km/h. It was faster than the Alpha-3 Fighter and the magic train of the empire, and the fact that it traveled along metal rails using magnetism to float completely shocked them all. According to Kondo, researchers have recorded speeds of 600 km/h in experiments, and, provided the tracks were long enough, there would theoretically be no problems going all the way up to 700 km/h. These railway vehicles were faster than even the empire’s combat aircraft; none of the envoys knew how to react to that news.

The latest inclusion on the list of prominent persons that rode the Shinkansen is the Crown Prince of Gra Valkas Empire, Gra Cabal. At first, Cabal was hesitant to rode the train since his tour guide said that the distance from Namba City in Osaka Prefecture to Tokyo is about 500 km, he thought that it'll be like the trains from his homeland, but when his guide explained that they will arrive in Tokyo in just two hours, Cabal was hesitant to the idea that the Shinkansen can travel to speeds up to 300 kph. He said that there are also trains in the GVE mainland but the engineers never solved the vibration problem and first thought that further smoothing the rail tracks will solve the problem but they failed. This is Cabal's first taste of Japan's superior civilian technology.