Is the bullet train driverless?

JR East has announced that it will introduce driverless Shinkansen in Japan by the mid-2030s. JR Tokai could launch self-driving bullet trains even earlier, by 2028.



As of early 2026, Japan's Shinkansen (bullet train) is not yet fully driverless in commercial operation, but the transition is well underway. Major operators like JR East and JR Central have successfully completed trials for "Grade of Automation 3" (GoA3), where the train drives itself while a driver remains in the cockpit for emergencies. JR East aims to launch its first driverless services on the Joetsu Shinkansen line by 2028 or 2029, with a goal for full "GoA4" (unattended) operation by the mid-2030s. This move is largely driven by Japan's aging population and projected labor shortages. In 2026, while you will still see a driver at the front of the train, much of the journey is already managed by sophisticated Automatic Train Control (ATC) systems that handle speed and braking. The upcoming 2028-2029 rollout will mark the first time high-speed rail at 170+ mph moves into the realm of true autonomous commercial transit.

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The driverless Shinkansen tests have so far taken place on the northernmost section of the Joetsu Shinkansen Line, which is not used by commercial traffic. This 5km-long section runs from Niigata station to the stock depot at Higashi-Niigata.

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While full driverless autonomy is certainly technically possible, and is applied on various routes worldwide, it still accounts for only a tiny percentage of trains running today. New trains are still being designed and built with fully equipped driver cabins.

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It was originally built and operated by the government-owned Japanese National Railways and has been part of the private Japan Railways Group since 1987. The first section of the original line, a 320-mile (515-km) stretch between Tokyo and Osaka, was opened in 1964.

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Japan: L0 Series Maglev (374 mph) Although not yet in regular service, this Japanese train, which is currently being developed and tested by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), holds the land speed record for rail vehicles, clocking in at 374 mph.

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The shinkansen train uses superconducting maglev (short for magnetic levitation) to achieve these incredible speeds. As the train leaves the station, it's rolling on wheels. But as it speeds up, the wheels retract, and the power of magnets allows the vehicle to hover four inches above the ground.

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There's no rail friction to speak of, meaning these trains can hit speeds of hundreds of miles per hour. Yet high speed is just one major benefit of maglev trains. Because the trains rarely (if ever) touch the track, there's far less noise and vibration than typical, earth-shaking trains.

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While full driverless autonomy is certainly technically possible, and is applied on various routes worldwide, it still accounts for only a tiny percentage of trains running today. New trains are still being designed and built with fully equipped driver cabins.

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Safety precaution. And convenience. You want someone in front who is able to swiftly make decisions on the possibility that the track control does something wrong. It seldom does, and if it does it's not certain that it's the train driver who is actually able to do something about it, that spots it in time.

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Speeding bullets: Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains introduced the world to modern high speed rail travel. Most Shinkansen currently operate at a maximum of 300 kph (186 mph), but some hit 320 kph (200 mph). The long noses are designed to reduce sonic booms in tunnels.

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Japanese train stations are non-smoking areas, except for specific closed spaces called Kitsuenjo ??? smoking area. Smoking is not allowed on trains. There are some rare exceptions on the fastest trains (like the Shinkansen), that are sometimes equipped with smoking cars.

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All shinkansen are equipped with multiple toilets, which are sometimes separated by gender. The toilets are Western-style except on some older train sets.

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The magnets employed are superconducting, which means that when they are cooled to less than 450 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, they can generate magnetic fields up to 10 times stronger than ordinary electromagnets, enough to suspend and propel a train.

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A high-speed train runs very smoothly on a railway line which fastening with high-quality rail fasteners, starting with uniform acceleration and uniform deceleration, so when in the train, we can hardly feel bumpy not just like a common train.

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Aeroplane, easily. The fastest train in actual service is the Shanghai Maglev with a top speed of 430 km/h. Most other “bullet trains” only do 250 km/h. Jet airliners travel at over 800 km/h.

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Amtrak's Acela, which reaches 150 mph (240 km/h) over 49.9 mi (80.3 km) of track and Brightline, which runs at 125 mph (201 km/h) in a dedicated ROW between Orlando and Cocoa, are the US's only high-speed rail services.

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