The San'yō Shinkansen ( 山陽新幹線 ) is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka , the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), it is a westward continuation of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and also serves other major cities in between on Honshu and Kyushu islands such as Kobe , Himeji , Okayama , Hiroshima , and Kitakyushu . The Kyushu Shinkansen continues south of Hakata to Kagoshima . The San'yō Shinkansen connects Hakata with Osaka in two and a half hours, with trains operating at a maximum operating speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) for most of the journey. Some Nozomi trains operate continuously on San'yō and Tōkaidō Shinkansen lines, connecting Tokyo and Hakata in five hours.
17-590: The Jōhana Line ( 城端線 , Jōhana-sen ) is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Toyama Prefecture , Japan. It connects Takaoka with Johana . The line was opened in 1897 by the Chūetsu Railway ( 中越鉄道 ) as the Chūetsu Line ( 中越線 ) between Fushiki (on the present-day Himi Line ) and Jōhana via Takaoka . The line was nationalised on 1 September 1920. The Chūetsu Line
34-912: A number of private commuter rail operators around Osaka, the "Big 4" being Hankyu Railway / Hanshin Railway (Hankyu bought Hanshin in April 2005), Keihan Railway , Kintetsu , and Nankai Railway . JR-West's market share in the region is roughly equal to that of the Big 4 put together, largely due to its comprehensive network and high-speed commuter trains (Special Rapid Service trains on the Kobe and Kyoto lines operate at up to 130 km/h). Those in italics are announcement names. A number of other lines account for more than half of JR-West's track mileage. These lines mainly handle business and leisure travel between smaller cities and rural areas in western Japan. They account for about 20% of
51-629: A short commuter line with Shinkansen trains in Fukuoka . The "Urban Network" is JR-West's name for its commuter rail lines in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. These lines together comprise 610 km of track, have 245 stations and account for about 43% of JR-West's passenger revenues. Urban Network stations are equipped to handle ICOCA fare cards. Train control on these lines is highly automated, and during peak hours trains run as often as every two minutes. JR-West's Urban Network competes with
68-509: Is 300 km/h (185 mph) between Hakata and Himeji, 275 km/h (170 mph) between Himeji and Shin-Kobe and 300 km/h (185 mph) between Shin-Kobe and Shin-Ōsaka. Construction of the San'yō Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Okayama was authorized on 9 September 1965, and commenced on March 16, 1967. Construction between Okayama and Hakata commenced on 10 February 1970. The Shin-Ōsaka to Okayama segment opened on March 15, 1972;
85-559: Is now listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nagoya Stock Exchange , Osaka Securities Exchange and Fukuoka Stock Exchange . Sany%C5%8D Shinkansen As of March 2020, the following types are used on San'yō Shinkansen services. Download coordinates as: All stations on the San'yō Shinkansen are owned and operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the exception of Shin-Osaka station, which
102-709: Is run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). Kodama trains stop at all stations; other services have varying stopping patterns. All trains stop at Shin-Osaka, Shin-Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kokura, and Hakata. Nozomi or Mizuho trains cannot be used by foreign tourists traveling with a Japan Rail Pass . Legend: [REDACTED] Nanakuma Line (N18) As of 2012, the maximum line speed is, West-bound 285 km/h (175 mph) between Shin-Ōsaka and Shin-Kobe, 275 km/h (170 mph) between Shin-Kobe and Nishi-Akashi, and 300 km/h (185 mph) between Nishi-Akashi and Hakata. East-bound it
119-521: The Hikari services operating solely on the San'yō Shinkansen (mostly Rail Star services) were discontinued as it was deemed redundant. In an announcement by JR Central, JR West, and JR Kyushu made on 17 October 2023, the companies stated that all onboard smoking rooms on the Tokaido, San'yo, and Kyushu Shinkansen trains would be abolished by Q2 2024. In addition, all smoking rooms located on station platforms on
136-653: The Kyushu Shinkansen using new N700-7000 and N700-8000 series 8-car trainsets. This boosted JR West's market share in the Osaka-Kagoshima passenger market from 13% in March 2011 to 35% in March 2012. JR West began offering discounted advance purchase fares on this route in July 2013 in an effort to compete for market share with new low-cost airlines such as Peach . With the launch of Mizuho and Sakura services, nearly all of
153-697: The TOPIX Large70 index, and is also one of only three Japan Railways Group constituents of the Nikkei 225 index: the others are JR East and JR Central . It was also listed in the Nagoya and Fukuoka stock exchanges until late 2020. JR-West's highest-grossing line is the Sanyo Shinkansen high-speed rail line between Osaka and Fukuoka . The Sanyo Shinkansen alone accounts for about 40% of JR-West's passenger revenues. The company also operates Hakata Minami Line ,
170-500: The company's passenger revenues. JR-West subsidiaries include the following. JR-West was incorporated as a business corporation ( kabushiki kaisha ) on April 1, 1987, as part of the breakup of the state-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR). Initially, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of the JNR Settlement Corporation (JNRSC), a special company created to hold the assets of the former JNR while they were shuffled among
187-642: The extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa Station . West Japan Railway Company The West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as JR West ( JR西日本 , Jeiāru Nishi-Nihon ) , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu . It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka . It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange , is a constituent of
SECTION 10
#1732876472843204-529: The new JR companies. For the first four years of its existence, JR-West leased its highest-revenue line, the Sanyō Shinkansen , from the separate Shinkansen Holding Corporation. JR-West purchased the line in October 1991 at a cost of 974.1 billion JPY (about US$ 7.2 billion) in long-term debt. JNRSC sold 68.3% of JR-West in an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 1996. After JNRSC
221-590: The remainder of the line opened on March 10, 1975. The first Hikari trains, using 0 series trains, made the Shin-Ōsaka to Hakata run in 3 hours 44 minutes. This was shortened to 2 hours 59 minutes in 1986 with an increase in maximum speed to 220 km/h (140 mph). 100 series trains, introduced in 1989, boosted maximum speed to 230 km/h (140 mph) and reduced travel time to 2 hours 49 minutes. Tokyo to Hakata Nozomi services began on 18 March 1993, using 300 series trains. The Shin-Ōsaka to Hakata run
238-562: Was dissolved in October 1998, its shares of JR-West were transferred to the government-owned Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation (JRCC), which merged into the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT) as part of a bureaucratic reform package in October 2003. JRTT offered all of its shares in JR-West to the public in an international IPO in 2004, ending the era of government ownership of JR-West. JR-West
255-519: Was reduced to 2 hours 32 minutes, at a maximum speed of 270 km/h (170 mph). On 22 March 1997, the 500 series entered service on Nozomi services between Shin-Ōsaka and Hakata, reducing that run to 2 hours 17 minutes at a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). The 700 series was introduced on Tokyo-Hakata Nozomi services on 13 March 1999, coinciding with the opening of Asa Station , and on 11 March 2000, 700 series trains were introduced on Hikari Rail Star services. Ogori Station
272-422: Was renamed Shin-Yamaguchi Station on 1 October 2003. The N700 series was launched on Nozomi services on 1 July 2007, with a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) (Just Like the 500 series compared to 285 km/h or 177 mph for the 700 series). From the start of the revised timetable on 12 March 2011, new Mizuho and Sakura inter-running services commenced between Shin-Ōsaka and Kagoshima on
289-562: Was renamed the Jōhana Line from 1 August 1942 following the incorporation of the Fushiki to Takaoka section into the Himi Line . CTC signalling was commissioned over the entire line in 1983. From 1 April 1987, with the privatization of JNR , the Jōhana Line came under the control of West Japan Railway Company (JR West). On 14 March 2015, Shin-Takaoka station opened on the line to coincide with
#842157