Editing Transport in Japan (section)

== Railway ==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2009}}
{{Main|Rail transport in Japan}}{{see also|List of railway companies in Japan|List of defunct railway companies in Japan|List of aerial lifts in Japan}}
[[File:Series-E235-0 9.jpg|thumb|[[Yamanote Line]], Tokyo]]
[[File:Kumamoto Type0803-COCORO.jpg|thumb|A [[tram]] in [[Kumamoto, Kumamoto|Kumamoto]]]]

In Japan, railways are a major means of passenger transport, especially for mass and high-speed transport between major cities and for commuter transport in [[metropolitan area]]s. Seven [[Japan Railways Group]] companies, state-owned until 1987, cover most parts of Japan. There also are railway services operated by private rail companies, regional governments, and companies funded by both regional governments and private companies.

Total railways of {{Convert|27,182|km|mi|abbr=on}} include several [[track gauge]]s, the most common of which is {{RailGauge|1067mm}} narrow gauge, with {{Convert|22,301|km|mi|abbr=on}} of track of which {{Convert|15,222|km|mi|abbr=on}} is electrified.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/|title=East Asia/Southeast Asia: Japan|work=The World Factbook|date=21 July 2022|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=5 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105105736/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Fukuoka]], [[Kobe]], [[Kyoto]], [[Nagoya]], [[Osaka]], [[Sapporo]], [[Sendai]], [[Tokyo]], and [[Yokohama]] have [[rapid transit|subway]] systems.

Most Japanese people traveled on foot until the later part of the 19th century. The first railway was built between [[Tokyo]]'s [[Shimbashi Station]] and [[Yokohama]]'s former [[Yokohama Station]] (now [[Sakuragichō Station]]) in 1872.<ref name="Yokohama">{{cite news | url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/08/14/national/ever-evolving-yokohama-station-marks-100th-year/#.VooKVIQ3WHo | title=Ever-evolving Yokohama Station marks 100th year | work=[[The Japan Times]] | date=14 August 2015 | agency=[[Kyodo News]] | access-date=4 January 2016 | archive-date=22 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122223118/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/08/14/national/ever-evolving-yokohama-station-marks-100th-year/#.VooKVIQ3WHo | url-status=live }}</ref> Many more railways developed soon afterward.

Modern Japan is home to one of the world's most developed transport networks. Mass transport is well developed in Japan, but the road system lags and is inadequate for the number of cars owned in Japan. This is often attributed to the fact that road construction is difficult in Japan because of its very high population density, and the limited amount of available usable land for road construction.

===Shinkansen (bullet train)===
{{main|Shinkansen}}
[[File:Shinkansen map 202405 en.png|thumb|309x309px|Map of Shinkansen lines except [[Hakata-Minami Line]] and [[Gala-Yuzawa Line]]]]
The [[Shinkansen]], or "bullet trains", as they are known colloquially, are the [[high-speed rail]] trains that run across Japan.<ref name="Bullet50">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11133241/Bullet-train-at-50-rise-and-fall-of-the-worlds-fastest-train.html |title=Bullet train at 50: rise and fall of the world's fastest train |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=1 October 2014 |access-date=4 January 2016 |last=Ryall |first=Julian |location=Tokyo |archive-date=18 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118082308/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11133241/Bullet-train-at-50-rise-and-fall-of-the-worlds-fastest-train.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The {{Convert|2387|km|mi|round=5|abbr=on}} of 8 Shinkansen lines run on completely separate lines from their commuting train counterparts, with a few exceptions. Shinkansen takes up a large portion of the long-distance travel in Japan, with the whole system carrying over 10 billion passengers in its lifetime. 1,114,000 journeys are made daily, with the fastest train being the JR East [[E5 Series Shinkansen|E5]] and [[E6 series (train)|E6 series]] trains, which operate at a maximum speed of {{Convert|320|km/h|mph|round=5|abbr=on}}. Shinkansen trains are known to be very safe, with no accident-related deaths or injuries from passengers in their 50-plus year history.<ref name="BulletWorld">{{cite news | url=https://gizmodo.com/how-japans-bullet-train-is-taking-over-the-world-1749338443 | title=How Japan's Bullet Train Is Taking Over the World | work=[[Gizmodo]] | date=28 December 2015 | access-date=4 January 2016 | author=Lufkin, Bryan | archive-date=2 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102022432/http://gizmodo.com/how-japans-bullet-train-is-taking-over-the-world-1749338443 | url-status=live }}</ref> Shinkansen trains are also known to be very punctual, following suit with all other Japanese transport; in 2003, the average delay per train on the [[Tokaido Shinkansen]] was a mere 6 seconds.<ref>[[The Japan Times]]: [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20041002a1.html "Tokaido Shinkansen Line fetes 40 years" (2 October 2004)] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120629090901/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20041002a1.html |date=29 June 2012 }}. Retrieved on 27 April 2009.</ref> Japan has been trying to sell its Shinkansen technology overseas, and has struck deals to help build systems in [[India]], [[Thailand]], and the [[United States]].<ref name="BulletWorld" />

The first Shinkansen line opened between Tokyo and Osaka in 1964, and trains can now make the journey in 2 hours and 25 minutes.<ref name="Bullet50" /> Additional Shinkansen lines connect Tokyo to [[Aomori]], [[Niigata, Niigata|Niigata]], [[Kanazawa]], and [[Hakodate, Hokkaido|Hakodate]] and Osaka to Fukuoka and [[Kagoshima]], with new lines under construction to [[Tsuruga, Fukui|Tsuruga]] and [[Sapporo]]. A separate line heads out to [[Nagasaki]], albeit through a separate relay service.

Japan has been developing [[maglev]] technology trains, and broke the world maglev speed record in April 2015 with a train traveling at the speed of {{Convert|603|km/h|mph|round=5|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/21/japans-maglev-train-notches-up-new-world-speed-record-in-test-run | title=Japan's maglev train breaks world speed record with 600&nbsp;km/h test run | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=21 April 2015 | access-date=4 January 2016 | author=McCurry, Justin | location=Tokyo | archive-date=18 June 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618083538/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/21/japans-maglev-train-notches-up-new-world-speed-record-in-test-run | url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Chūō Shinkansen]], a commercial maglev service, is currently under construction from Tokyo to Nagoya and Osaka, and when completed in 2045 will cover the distance in 67 minutes, half the time of the current Shinkansen.