Editing Shinkansen (section)

== Etymology ==
{{Nihongo|''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 the trains run on and the trains themselves.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Shinkansen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322182255/https://www.lexico.com/definition/shinkansen |archive-date=22 March 2020 |title=Shinkansen |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 November 2014 |title=The Shinkansen Japan's High-Speed Rail Is Full of Miracles |url=https://www.japan.go.jp/tomodachi/2014/autumn2014/the_shinkansen_japans_high-speed_rail.html |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=The Government of Japan - JapanGov |language=en}}</ref> In English, the trains are also known as the bullet train. The term {{Nihongo|''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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Shinsaku Matsuyama |title=鉄道の「鉄」学: 車両と軌道を支える金属材料のお話 |publisher=Ohmsha |date=2015 |isbn=978-4-274-21763-0 |location=Tokyo |language=ja |trans-title=Iron for Iron Horses: The Story of the Metals Used in Rolling Stock and Railway Tracks}}</ref> Furthermore, the name {{Nihongo|''super express''|超特急|chō-tokkyū}}, used exclusively until 1972 for {{em|[[Hikari (train)|Hikari]]}} trains on the [[Tōkaidō Shinkansen]], is used today in English-language announcements and signage.