In 45 years of service, not a single passenger death has been seen due to derailments, collision, or other type of malfunction. This is incredible considering Japan’s record of earthquakes. The only derailment that has happened was from an earthquake and this only managed to cause a few injuries.

The train able to travel at 186 miles per hour is the N700 Nozomi. With this train the trip from Tokyo to Osaka can be made in 2 hours and 25 minutes. Before 1964, this trip took 6 hours and 40 minutes by train and with the addition of the first Bullet Train line this was reduced to 4 hours.

The next advancement in high speed train technology to be utilized by the Shinkansen will be maglev. Japan has stated that by 2025 it will have a maglev train route between Tokyo and Nagoya. Considering these trains can travel at 310 mph, they are able to make the 227 mile trip in 40 minutes. High speed trains had a significant impact on life in Japan because of how much more connected they made the country and the maglev trains will probably cause another noticeable change in interconnectedness.

There have been additional high speed trains put into place around the world since the Shinkansen was constructed. Unfortunately, the United States is not one of these, but in 2009 they made it known that the expertise of Japan would be a great help in implementing a high speed train system in the United States. Fortunately, the newest trains are going to be available for export and the rest of the world can enjoy the benefits this impressive technology has to offer.