Shinkansen Bullet Train Extension Throughout Japan – Meaning, Benefits, Actions

Osaka - Tuesday, March 8, 2011




With completion of the extensions, Shinkansen bullet train is to go through across from north to south Japan on March 12 (excluding Hokkaido and Okinawa islands). This allows us to travel more than 2000km from Aomori in the north end of the mainland to Kagoshima in the south end in of Kyushu in southern Japan by train only in about 8 hours. This project has been ongoing for many years and is expected to boost tourism and economy of regions and towns along the Shinkansen, while competition between railway and aviation industries would become fierce.



1. How has the Shinkansen bullet train been until today?



The Shinkansen service first started between Tokyo and Osaka of 552km in 1964. The service was then extended between Osaka and Hakata (capital of Kyushu in southern Japan) of 644km. More extension followed from Tokyo towards northern Japan and towards Japan Sea Regions of Johetsu and Hokuriku to name a few.



At first there were Kodama, which stops at every station and Hikari, which is express. It used to take 3 hours from Tokyo to Osaka by Hikari but with the availability of Nozomi, super express, since 1993 it now takes only 2-1/2 hours from Tokyo to Osaka.



2. What is the Shinkansen bullet train route extension project?



It is to extend to make the route truly extending across the nation from north to south. The recent northward extension to Aomori of 714km was complete and the service started on March 5, 2011. And the southward extension in Kyushu from Hakata (northern Kyushu) to Kagoshima (southern Kyushu) of 2167km is to complete to start its service on March 12, 2001.



The two extensions are one of the hottest news among the many past extensions. The ticket to ride on the first extended Shinkansen sold out in less than 5 minutes.



More extensions are ongoing and being planned across to cover major cities and regions nationwide, excluding Okinawa.



3. What are the benefits of the extension for travelers?



1) Quicker and easier travelling



It is the fact that people can travel from South to North Japan without changing transport, much quicker than it used to take. For example, the author travelled from Osaka to Kagoshima last year which took total of 4 hours, changing trains. She went from Osaka to Hakata by Shinkansen (Nozomi) which took 1-1/2 hours, changed to JR (Japan Railway) limited express and rode for over 1 hour to a station in Kumamoto, then changed again and rode Shinkansen (Hikari) to Kagoshima for 40 minutes, meaning total of 3-1/2 hours. This is far quicker than before Shinkansen services became available but changing trains multiple times is inconvenient. However, it would only take 3 hours without changing trains after March 12. The similar benefit applies for the northward extension.



2) More options



The fact that by Shinkansen people can travel nationwide on trains means more options for travelers. Due to burden of changing trains and long hours of travelling, most travelers would choose to travel by air if they are to travel from Osaka or Tokyo to Kyushu other than Hakata, or Tohoku other than Sendai. In reality people travelling from Osaka would always choose to travel by air if they need to go to Tohoku.



However, with the Shinkansen extension, it would be realistic for people to travel nationwide by Shinkansen as well as by airplane. Therefore, they would be able to choose the optimum option according to the available time and cost, and preferences.



4. What would the extension mean for related industries?




It means more competition between railway and aviation industries. The two industries have been competing between Tokyo and Osaka and between Osaka and Hakata and therefore there have been two types of travelers, especially in business; one preferring Shinkansen and the other preferring planes.



With the Shinkansen route extension the scope of competition would extend to nationwide, when the third player of cars became another option for holiday travelers and the competition has been increasing. This is because the Japanese government implemented a system in which one time fee of 1000 yen allowed car drivers to use motorway nationwide at weekends and holiday seasons since last year when the fee varied according to the distance and it could be as much as almost 10,000 yen.



5. What has the cities/regions been doing to benefit from the Shinkansen extension?






1) From Tourism



To benefit from the Shinkansen extension, Aomori has renewed the area around the new Shinkansen station, and has been proactively developing, announcing and executing campaigns to attract tourists. In addition, restaurants and shops in and around the station have been creating new products and services



Three prefectures in Kyushu, Fukuoka (in which Hakata belongs), Kumamoto and Kagoshima, have been planning and executing something more dynamic and strategic. Not only do they plan to attract tourists within Japan but also from neighbor Asian countries by collaborating to develop strategic campaign and joint-announcing to tourist agencies in Asian countries such as South Korea and China. This kind of campaign was not feasible before the Shinkansen extension when it was such a burden in terms of time and effort to visit all three prefectures.



2) From population increase and city development



With the Shinkansen extension in Kyushu, it would take just over 1-1/2 hours to travel from Hakata to Kagoshima. This time is quite commutable in Japan and therefore it is quite possible that the extension have a big influence on population shift and city development. In fact, multiple flats including modern, luxury ones are being built near the new Shinkansen stations.