| Kyūshū Shinkansen 九州新幹線 |
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800 Series Shinkansen Tsubame at Shin-Minamata Station |
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| Overview | |||
| Type | Shinkansen | ||
| Locale | Kyushu | ||
| Termini | Hakata Kagoshima-Chūō |
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| Stations | 12 | ||
| Operation | |||
| Opened | 2004 | ||
| Owner | JR Kyushu | ||
| Operator(s) | JR Kyushu JR West |
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| Depot(s) | Kumamoto Sendai |
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| Rolling stock | 800 series N700-7000/8000 series |
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| Technical | |||
| Line length | 256.8 km (159.6 mi) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Electrification | 25 kV AC, 60 Hz overhead catenary | ||
| Operating speed | 260 km/h (160 mph) | ||
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The Kyūshū Shinkansen (九州新幹線) is a Japanese high-speed railway line between the Japanese cities of Fukuoka and Kagoshima in Kyushu, running parallel to the existing Kagoshima Main Line and operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). The southern 127 km opened on 13 March 2004. The northern 130 km section opened on 12 March 2011, although opening ceremonies were canceled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[1] The construction of a spur from Takeo-Onsen to Isahaya, approximately 45.7 km in length, began in 2008. A further 21 km from Isahaya to Nagasaki is awaiting approval.[2]
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Construction of the Kagoshima Route (鹿児島ルート) began in 1991, and the first segment between Kagoshima and Yatsushiro opened on 13 March 2004. This initial section cut travel times between the two cities from 130 minutes to 35 minutes, and reduced the time between Hakata and Kagoshima from 4 hours to just 2 hours. When the entire line was completed, the travel time from Hakata to Kagoshima was further reduced to about an hour and 20 minutes. Like the original Shinkansen lines, the Kyushu Shinkansen is standard gauge.
The line's Sakura and Mizuho services operate through to Shin-Osaka Station via the Sanyō Shinkansen.
In September 2011, six months after the line's completion, JR Kyushu reported a year-over-year increase in ridership of 64 percent to the southern part of Kyushu (between Kumamoto and Kagoshima), easily surpassing the 40 percent increase projected by the company. However, in northern Kyushu, where there is fierce competition with conventional JR rapid service, the private Nishi-Nippon Railroad, and expressway buses, Shinkansen ridership increased by only 38 percent (compared to the now-discontinued conventional express Relay Tsubame), falling short of estimates.[3]
A Shinkansen line from Fukuoka to Nagasaki, initially known as the Nagasaki Shinkansen (長崎新幹線), was laid out in the 1973 Basic Plan. Renamed as the Nagasaki Route (長崎ルート), then changed to the West Kyushu Route (西九州ルート Nishi Kyūshū rūto) in 1995, the planning of the line has been slowed down by concerns over the necessity of duplicating the existing narrow-gauge Nagasaki Main Line and Sasebo Line between Shin-Tosu and Takeo-Onsen, and local opposition over the final section in Nagasaki city.[4]
As of 2011[update], the current plan is to continue using the existing track from Shin-Tosu to Takeo-Onsen and build new narrow gauge Super Tokkyū track from Takeo-Onsen to Nagasaki, with trains operating at a maximum speed of 200 km/h.[5] This is expected to allow a travel time of around 1 hour 24 minutes between the two cities, versus 1 hour 45 minutes currently. If Gauge Change Trains are operated, the time will be cut to 1 hour 19 minutes, and if the entire route is converted to Shinkansen track, travel time will be just 41 minutes.[6]
Construction of the first 45.7 km segment between Takeo-Onsen and Isahaya began on 28 April 2008. Debate over the final section between Isahaya and Nagasaki continued for several years, before construction was finally approved by the government in December 2011.[4][7] The tentative completion date is 2018.[8])[9]
According to the Shinkansen Basic Plan laid out in 1973, the Kagoshima and West Kyushu (Nagasaki) routes would be accompanied by two other routes: the East Kyushu Shinkansen, also from Hakata to Kagoshima-chūō, but passing through Ōita and Miyazaki, paralleling the Nippō Main Line; and the Trans-Kyushu Shinkansen, linking Kumamoto and Ōita, and connecting with the also-planned Shikoku Shinkansen to Matsuyama, Takamatsu and Osaka. These plans have been shelved indefinitely, and are unlikely to be reconsidered until the completion of Shinkansen lines already under construction.
All trains stop at stations marked "●", while some trains stop at those marked "△".
| Station | Japanese | Distance (km) | Distance from Shin-Ōsaka (km) | Mizuho | Sakura | Transfers | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kagoshima Route | ||||||||
| Currently operational | ||||||||
| Hakata | 博多 | 0.0 | 553.7 | ● | ● | Kūkō Line (Fukuoka City Subway) Fukuhoku Yutaka Line, Hakata-Minami Line, Kagoshima Main Line Sanyō Shinkansen (through service) |
Hakata-ku, Fukuoka | Fukuoka |
| Shin-Tosu[* 1] | 新鳥栖 | 26.3 | 580.0 | △ | Nagasaki Main Line | Tosu | Saga | |
| Kurume | 久留米 | 32.0 | 585.7 | △ | Kagoshima Main Line, Kyūdai Main Line | Kurume | Fukuoka | |
| Chikugo-Funagoya | 筑後船小屋 | 47.9 | 601.6 | △ | Kagoshima Main Line | Chikugo | ||
| Shin-Ōmuta[* 1] | 新大牟田 | 59.7 | 613.4 | △ | Ōmuta | |||
| Shin-Tamana[* 1] | 新玉名 | 76.3 | 630.0 | △ | Tamana | Kumamoto | ||
| Kumamoto | 熊本 | 98.2 | 651.9 | ● | ● | Hōhi Main Line, Kagoshima Main Line Kumamoto City Tram (Kumamoto-Ekimae) |
Kumamoto | |
| Shin-Yatsushiro[* 1] | 新八代 | 130.0 | 683.7 | △ | Kagoshima Main Line | Yatsushiro | ||
| Shin-Minamata[* 1] | 新水俣 | 172.8 | 726.5 | △ | Hisatsu Orange Railway Line | Minamata | ||
| Izumi | 出水 | 188.8 | 742.5 | △ | Hisatsu Orange Railway Line | Izumi | Kagoshima | |
| Sendai | 川内 | 221.5 | 775.2 | ● | Hisatsu Orange Railway Line Kagoshima Main Line |
Satsumasendai | ||
| Kagoshima-Chūō | 鹿児島中央 | 256.8 | 810.5 | ● | ● | Ibusuki Makurazaki Line, Kagoshima Main Line Kagoshima City Tram (Kagoshima-Chūō-Ekimae) |
Kagoshima | |
| Nishi-Kyūshū Route (Nagasaki Route) | ||||||||
| On hold | ||||||||
| Shin-Tosu | 新鳥栖 | Tosu | Saga | |||||
| Saga | 佐賀 | Karatsu Line, Nagasaki Main Line, Sasebo Line | Saga | |||||
| Under construction, scheduled for completion c. 2018 | ||||||||
| Takeo-Onsen | 武雄温泉 | Sasebo Line | Takeo | Saga | ||||
| Ureshino-Onsen[* 2] | 嬉野温泉 | Ureshino | ||||||
| Shin-Ōmura[* 2] | 新大村 | Ōmura | Nagasaki | |||||
| Isahaya | 諫早 | Nagasaki Main Line, Ōmura Line Shimabara Railway Line |
Isahaya | |||||
| Planned | ||||||||
| Nagasaki | 長崎 | Nagasaki Main Line, Ōmura Line Nagasaki Electric Tramway (Nagasaki-Ekimae) |
Nagasaki | Nagasaki | ||||
Services are operated by 6-car 800 Series sets, with a maximum speed of 260 kilometres per hour (160 mph). The trains were developed by Hitachi, and based on the 700 series trains already in service on the Tōkaidō/Sanyō Shinkansen line.
Individual trains are named Tsubame ("Swallow"), the name of the former Hakata-Kagoshima limited express service. 8-car N700-7000 and N700-8000 series trains are on order by the JR West and JR Kyushu for use on through-running services between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō from 2011. The first set (S1) was delivered to Hakata Depot in October 2008.[10]
Three services operate on the line, in order of speed: Mizuho, Sakura, and Tsubame. The Mizuho makes two return trips between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō during the morning hours, and two return trips during the evening, with an end-to-end journey time of 3 hours 45 minutes. Sakura services run once per hour throughout the day between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō making additional stops, with an end-to-end travel time of 4 hours 10 minutes. There are also one to two Sakura services every hour between Hakata and either Kumamoto or Kagoshima-Chūō. Tsubame trains operate the all-stations service between Hakata and Kumamoto 1-2 times per hour, with some services operating to/from Kagoshima-Chūō.[11]
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kyushu_Shinkansen Kyushu Shinkansen] at Wikimedia Commons
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