Bullet Train Timeline

By emalunay05
  • World's first bullet train, the Shinkansen, was born

    World's first bullet train, the Shinkansen, was born

    Hideo Shima, chief of the Japanese Railway, was the first to design and push the creation of the bullet train. The inauguration celebrated the first day it went into service, it ran from Tokyo to Osaka.

  • One hundred million passengers

    Just a couple of years after the release of the Shinkansen, business skyrocketed and it became the busiest line in the world.
  • Germany develops Transrapid

    Germany develops Transrapid

    German engineers took inspiration from Japan and began to use maglev technology with electromagnetic suspension named Transrapid.
  • The Sanyo Shinkasen went into service

    The Sanyo Shinkasen went into service

    The newly added train ran from Japan's two largest cities, Fukuoka and Osaka in just five hours.

  • Italy's first bullet train, the Direttissima

    Italy was the first European country to adopt the bullet train, then France, and then Germany. These countries decided to integrate and connect their railways later in time for efficiency.

  • Development of Maglev

    Many engineers and scholars back then theorized the idea of magnetic elevation or maglev. However, Eric Laithwaite from England was the first to open a maglev train in Birmingham.
  • Germany's first high speed rail line

    Germany's first high speed rail line

    The ICE trains were finally inaugurated and began a new, efficient way of travel to other surrounding countries.
  • The Nozomi (hope) Trains was built

    The Nozomi (hope) Trains was built

    The Nozomi train is a train that travels as the fastest train in the Tokaido & Sanyo Shinkansen Lines and originally carried a 300 Series.

  • 700 Series Train Type

    The first Shinkansen started with 100 Series in 1985, but with the development of technology, the 700 Series went into service, beginning faster and smoother transport.

  • Shanghai Maglev Line

    The first commercially operated high-speed maglev train line opened in Shanghai, China. It runs over thousands of miles across the entire country in just hours.

  • Japan vs. China

    Many debates spurred between Japan and China, including the funds for developing their maglev companies. China claims that their tech is more efficient and cheaper to make, and now they have the fastest trains in the world.

  • Hayabusa is the fastest in Japan

    Reaching a speed of 320 kilometers per hour, the Hayabusa is Japan's fastest service train record.

  • Wenzhou train collision

    Tragedy strikes when Chinese Yong-Tai-Wen railway signals fail and cause a head-on collision, leading to 40 deaths. This began controversy of whether China’s cheaper manufacturing has another cost.
  • China's Fuxing Bullet Train held world record speed

    China's Fuxing Bullet Train held world record speed

    China beat Japan's Shinkansen by 30 kilometers per hour with an ungraded EMU system. Carriers over 400 km/h are in progress to be released.
  • China holds the longest railway in the world

    China holds the longest railway in the world

    The Shanghai Metro is the longest railway covering 803 kilometers and servicing over 2.3 billion trips. China also has the most metro systems in history.