Loading Page...

Is the Japanese 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.



People Also Ask

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.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

The maglev train line currently being built by Central Japan Railway will be remotely controlled and will not have any onboard drivers. But for safety reasons, crew members will be deployed on the high-speed train.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

The train used for the movie, the “Nippon Speed line” is fictional, although it bears some similarities to the real Shinkansen on the line between Tokyo and Kyoto.

MORE DETAILS

Maglev trains work on the principle of magnetic repulsion between the cars and the track. The word maglev is actually a combination of the words “magnetic” and “levitation.” The magnetic levitation, or floating of the train, is achieved through the use of an electrodynamic suspension system, or EDS.

MORE DETAILS

High speed trains run on electricity instead of diesel fuel. Because much of the world's electricity is still generated at fossil fuel burning power plants, high speed trains do contribute to carbon emissions, however the climate impact of one train is significantly less than that of many personal vehicles.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

All trains are fully automated and driverless, and, together with stations, are air conditioned with platform edge doors. Architecture firm Aedas designed the metro's 45 stations, two depots and operational control centers.

MORE DETAILS

All London Underground trains are currently either operated manually (when a train driver controls starting and stopping, the operation of doors and handling of emergencies) or in semi-automatic mode (when starting and stopping is automated, but a driver operates the doors and drives the train if needed).

MORE DETAILS

Is Paris Metro older than London? London is the great grandaddy of underground rail systems, opening the first line in the world in 1863. Paris, the young scamp, came along in 1900 – it was actually only the second subway in the world at this point.

MORE DETAILS

Shinkansen (???) in Japanese means 'new trunk line' or 'new main line', but this word is used to describe both the railway lines the trains run on and the trains themselves. In English, the trains are also known as the bullet train.

MORE DETAILS

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

MORE DETAILS