Editing Shinkansen (section)

== Services ==
{{One source section|date=January 2023}}
[[File:JR-Central-Tokyo-STA Home14-15.jpg|thumb|Tokyo Station Tokaido Shinkansen platforms, September 2021]]
[[File:Shinkansen tickets.jpg|thumb|The Shinkansen fare system is integrated with Japan's low-speed intercity railway lines, with a surcharge required to ride the Shinkansen. Here, an ordinary ticket from [[Tokyo Station|Tokyo]] to [[Takamatsu Station (Kagawa)|Takamatsu]] is coupled with a Shinkansen express fare ticket from Tokyo to [[Okayama Station|Okayama]], allowing use of the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Okayama and use of local lines from Okayama to Takamatsu. For trips exclusively on one Shinkansen, the base fare and Shinkansen express fare may be combined into a single ticket.]]

Originally intended to carry passenger trains by day and freight trains by night, the Shinkansen lines carried exclusively passengers for the first five and a half decades of their operation. Light freight has been carried on some passenger services since 2019, and there are plans to expand this with freight-only trains in the future.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japanese high speed rail freight services expand |url=https://www.railwaygazette.com/high-speed/japanese-high-speed-rail-freight-services-expand/66634.article |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=Railway Gazette International |publisher=DVV Media International |date=5 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=荷物専用の臨時列車、上越新幹線を走る JR東が初めて実験：朝日新聞デジタル |url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASR805WFFR80ULFA022.html |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=朝日新聞デジタル |date=31 August 2023 |language=ja}}</ref>

The system shuts down between midnight and 06:00 every day for maintenance. Japan's few remaining overnight passenger trains run on the older, narrow-gauge network that the Shinkansen parallels.

There are three principal service types on the Shinkansen:

* '''Express services''' – these stop at only the very largest stations and, as a result, are the fastest Shinkansen services measured by average speed.
* '''Semi-express services''' – these stop at certain smaller stops alongside stopping at all the largest stations. These allow for faster connections from smaller stops to larger stations than would be otherwise possible with a local service.
* '''Local services''' – these stop at every station along the Shinkansen line. Consequently, local services are the slowest Shinkansen services measured by average speed. Frequently, these services only operate on a part of the line, instead of covering the entirety.

=== Tōkaidō, San'yō and Kyushu Shinkansen ===
* ''[[Nozomi (train)|Nozomi]]'' (express, Tokaido and San'yō)
* ''[[Hikari (train)|Hikari]]'' (semi-express, Tokaido and San'yō)
* ''[[Hikari Rail Star]]'' (semi-express, San'yō)
* ''[[Kodama (train)|Kodama]]'' (local, Tokaido and San'yō)
* ''[[Sakura (train)|Sakura]]'' (semi-express, San'yō and Kyushu)
* ''[[Mizuho (train)|Mizuho]]'' (express, San'yō and Kyushu)
* ''[[Tsubame (train)|Tsubame]]'' (local, Kyushu)

=== Tōhoku, Hokkaido, Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen ===
* ''[[Hayabusa (train)|Hayabusa]]'' (express, Tohoku & Hokkaido, using [[E5 series]]/[[H5 series]] trains)
* ''[[Hayate (train)|Hayate]]'' (local, Tohoku & Hokkaido. Express discontinued in 2019)
* ''[[Yamabiko]]'' (semi-express, Tohoku)
* ''[[Nasuno]]'' (local, Tohoku)
* ''[[Aoba (train)|Aoba]]'' (discontinued)
* ''[[Komachi (train)|Komachi]]'' (Akita)
* ''[[Tsubasa (train)|Tsubasa]]'' (Yamagata)

=== Jōetsu Shinkansen ===
* ''[[Toki (train)|Toki / Max Toki]]'' (semi-express, Jōetsu)
* ''[[Tanigawa (train)|Tanigawa / Max Tanigawa]]'' (local, Jōetsu)
* ''[[Asahi (train)|Asahi / Max Asahi]]'' (discontinued)

===Hokuriku Shinkansen===
* ''[[Kagayaki]]'' (express, Hokuriku)
* ''[[Hakutaka (train)|Hakutaka]]'' (semi-express, Hokuriku)
* ''[[Tsurugi (train)|Tsurugi]]'' (local, Hokuriku)
* ''[[Asama (train)|Asama]]'' (local, Hokuriku)

=== Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen ===
* ''[[Kamome (train)|Kamome]]''<ref name="kamome_selection" />