For travellers 1 Frequent Shinkansen and limited express trains run every 30 or 60 minites. When moving between major cities, you do not have to care so much about timetable. 2 Punctual More than 99 percent of Shinkansen train runs within one minutes delay. When train delays more than 30 minutes, it is often reported in TV news. 3 Dense network Railway (JR) covers most cities in Japan. Around Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, subway network develops in city, and many private rail lines connects city center and suburbs. 4 Fast Maximum speed of Shinkansen train is 300 km/h (Sanyo Shinkansen, Shin Osaka to Hakata), and many Shinkansen average speed is more than 200 km/h, faster than air transit when moving in Honshu main Island. 5 Safe There has been no fertality accident in Shinkansen train in its 40 years operation. 6 Clean There is no graffiti and broken window in Japanese train. 7 Expensive Train fare in Japan is perhaps the most expensive in the world, except if you use budget ticket, Japan Rail Pass or Seishun 18 kippu. 8 Crowded Congestion of train in Tokyo is notorious, especially morning from 7:30 to 9:30, and night from 17:00 till 24:00. There are about 3000 to 4000 passengers in one train set (usually 10 cars), at deep night many are drunken. For rail enthusiasts 1 Strongly oriented to passenger traffic rather than freight 2 Dominated by EMU train sets 3 Small train size (20 meter length) and narrow rail gauge (1067mm) 4 Managed by private rail companies |