Sanyō Shinkansen

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Sanyō Shinkansen

N700 Series Shinkansen between Okayama and Aioi, April 2009
Overview
Type Shinkansen
Locale Japan
Termini Shin-Ōsaka
Hakata
Stations 19
Operation
Opening 15 March 1972
Owner JR West
Operator(s) JR Central
JR Kyushu
JR West
Depot(s) Osaka, Okayama, Hiroshima, Hakata
Rolling stock 500 series
700 series
N700 series
Technical
Line length 553.7 kilometres (344.1 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification 25 kV AC, 60 Hz, overhead catenary
Operating speed 300 km/h (185 mph)
Route map

The Sanyō Shinkansen (山陽新幹線 San'yō Shinkansen) is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Ōsaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), it is a westward continuation of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and also serves other major cities in between on Honshu and Kyushu islands such as Kobe, Himeji, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Kitakyushu. The Kyushu Shinkansen continues south of Hakata to Kagoshima. The Sanyō Shinkansen connects Hakata with Osaka in two-and-a-half hours, with trains operating at a maximum operating speed of 300 km/h (185 mph), with the following exceptions: east-bound trains have a maximum speed between Himeji and Shin-Kobe of 275 km/h and west-bound trains have a maximum limit of 285 km/h from Shin-Ōsaka to Shin-Kobe and 275 km/h from Shin-Kobe to Nishi-Akashi.[1] Some Nozomi trains operate continuously on Sanyō and Tōkaidō Shinkansen lines, connecting Tokyo and Hakata in five hours.

Trains

Train sets operating on the line include:

Stations

All stations on the Sanyō Shinkansen are owned and operated by JR West, with the exception of Shin-Ōsaka which is run by Central Japan Railway Company (JR central).

Station Japanese Distance (km)
from Tokyo		 Transfers Location
Through service to Tokyo on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen
Shin-Ōsaka 新大阪 515.4 Tōkaidō Shinkansen (through service), JR Kyoto Line, Midosuji Line, Osaka Higashi Line (2012) Yodogawa-ku, Osaka
Shin-Kobe 新神戸 548.0 Hokushin Line, Seishin-Yamate Line Chūō-ku, Kobe
Nishi-Akashi 西明石 570.2 Sanyō Main Line Akashi, Hyōgo
Himeji 姫路 601.3 Sanyō Main Line, Bantan Line, Kishin Line, Sanyo Electric Railway Main Line Himeji, Hyōgo
Aioi 相生 621.3 Sanyō Main Line, Ako Line Aioi, Hyōgo
Okayama 岡山 676.3 Sanyō Main Line, Uno Line, Hakubi Line, Tsuyama Line, Kibi Line, Okayama Electric Tramway Higashiyama Main Line Okayama, Okayama
Shin-Kurashiki 新倉敷 702.1 Sanyō Main Line Kurashiki, Okayama
Fukuyama 福山 733.1 Sanyō Main Line, Fukuen Line Fukuyama, Hiroshima
Shin-Onomichi 新尾道 750.5   Onomichi, Hiroshima
Mihara 三原 761.0 Sanyō Main Line, Kure Line Mihara, Hiroshima
Higashi-Hiroshima 東広島 791.9   Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima
Hiroshima 広島 821.2 Sanyō Main Line, Geibi Line, Kabe Line, Kure Line, Hiroshima Electric Railway Main Line Minami-ku, Hiroshima
Shin-Iwakuni 新岩国 865.4 Nishikigawa Seiryu Line (Misho Station) Iwakuni, Yamaguchi
Tokuyama 徳山 903.5 Sanyō Main Line, Gantoku Line Shunan, Yamaguchi
Shin-Yamaguchi (formerly Ogori) 新山口 944.6 Sanyō Main Line, Yamaguchi Line, Ube Line Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi
Asa 厚狭 968.7 Sanyō Main Line, Mine Line Sanyō-Onoda, Yamaguchi
Shin-Shimonoseki 新下関 992.5 Sanyō Main Line Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi
Kokura 小倉 1013.2 Kagoshima Main Line, Nippo Main Line, Hita-Hikosan Line, Kitakyushu Monorail Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyūshū
Hakata 博多 1069.1 Kyushu Shinkansen (through service), Hakata-Minami Line, Kagoshima Main Line, Sasaguri Line, Fukuoka Subway Airport Line Hakata-ku, Fukuoka
Through service to Kagoshima-Chūō on the Kyushu Shinkansen

History

700 series Hikari Rail Star train

Construction of the Sanyō Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Okayama was authorized on September 9, 1965 and commenced on March 16, 1967. Construction between Okayama and Hakata commenced on February 10, 1970. The Shin-Ōsaka to Okayama segment opened on March 15, 1972; the remainder of the line opened on March 10, 1975. The first Hikari trains, using 0 series trains, made the Shin-Ōsaka to Hakata run in 3 hours 44 minutes. This was shortened to 2 hours 59 minutes in 1986 with an increase in maximum speed to 220 km/h. 100 series trains, introduced in 1989, boosted maximum speed to 230 km/h and reduced travel time to 2 hours 49 minutes.

Tokyo to Hakata Nozomi services began on March 18, 1993, using 300 series trains. The Shin-Ōsaka to Hakata run was reduced to 2 hours 32 minutes, at a maximum speed of 270 km/h. On March 22, 1997, the 500 series entered service on Nozomi services between Shin-Ōsaka and Hakata, reducing that run to 2 hours 17 minutes at a maximum speed of 300 km/h.

The 700 series was introduced on Tokyo-Hakata Nozomi services on March 13, 1999, coinciding with the opening of Asa Station, and on March 11, 2000, 700 series trains were introduced on Hikari Rail Star services.

Ogori Station was renamed Shin-Yamaguchi Station on October 1, 2003.

The N700 series was launched on Nozomi services on July 1, 2007, with a top speed of 300 km/h (compared to 285 km/h for the 700 series).

From the start of the revised timetable on March 12, 2011, new Mizuho and Sakura inter-running services commenced between Shin-Ōsaka and Kagoshima on the Kyushu Shinkansen using new N700-7000 and N700-8000 series 8-car trainsets. This boosted JR West's market share in the Osaka-Kagoshima passenger market from 13 percent in March 2011 to 35 percent in March 2012. JR West began offering discounted advance purchase fares on this route in July 2013 in an effort to compete for market share with new low-cost airlines such as Peach.[2]

Ridership

In fiscal 2005, the Sanyo Shinkansen line ridership was 58 million passengers/year, or about 159,000 daily.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "300km/hのトップランナー" [300 km/h Top Runners]. Japan Railfan Magazine (Japan: Kōyūsha Co., Ltd.) 52 (612): p.14. April 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Budget airlines challenge Shinkansen". Bloomberg. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013. 
  3. ↑ http://www.westjr.co.jp/english/english/company/con02/library/annual/2005/c06.html

External links

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