Kyushu Shinkansen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kyushu Shinkansen
800 Series Shinkansen Tsubame at Shin-Minamata Station in November 2004
Overview
Native name	九州新幹線
Owner	JRTT
Locale	Kyushu (Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki[partial], Kumamoto, and Kagoshima Prefectures)
Termini	Hakata Kagoshima-Chūō Nagasaki(Western Kyushu Route)
Stations	12 (Kagoshima Route) 5 (Nagasaki Route)
Color on map	Red (#FF0000)
Service
Type	High-speed rail (Shinkansen)
System	Shinkansen
Services	Mizuho, Sakura, Tsubame
Operator(s)
Depot(s)	Kumamoto Sendai Omura (Western Kyushu Route)
Rolling stock	800 series N700-7000/8000 series
History
Opened	13 March 2004; 21 years ago (2004-03-13) (Kagoshima-Chuo to Shin-Yatsuhiro) 12 March 2011; 14 years ago (2011-03-12) (The entire Kagoshima Route) 23 September 2022; 2 years ago (2022-09-23) (Nagasaki to Takeo Onsen) Unknown (The Entire Nagasaki Route)
Technical
Line length	256.8 km (159.6 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius	4,000 m (2.5 mi; 13,000 ft)
Electrification	25 kV 60 Hz AC (overhead line)
Operating speed	260 km/h (162 mph)

The Kyushu Shinkansen (which means "Kyushu New Trunk Line") is a super-fast train network in Japan. It's part of the famous Shinkansen high-speed rail system. This line connects the city of Fukuoka (at Hakata Station) in the north of Japan's Kyushu Island to the city of Kagoshima (at Kagoshima-Chuo Station) in the south. It's like an extension of another Shinkansen line called the San'yō Shinkansen from Japan's main island, Honshu. The Kyushu Shinkansen is run by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu).

The first part of the line, about 127 kilometers long, opened on March 13, 2004. This made travel much faster between cities. The rest of the Kagoshima Route, about 130 kilometers long, opened on March 12, 2011. This allowed trains to travel all the way from Kyushu to Shin-Osaka. Another route, the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, opened on September 23, 2022, connecting Takeo-Onsen to Nagasaki.

Kagoshima Route: Connecting North and South

Construction of the Kagoshima Route began in 1991. The first section, between Kagoshima and Shin-Yatsushiro, opened on March 13, 2004. This new line dramatically cut travel times. For example, a trip that used to take over two hours now took only 35 minutes. When the entire line was finished, the journey from Hakata to Kagoshima became super quick, taking about one hour and 20 minutes. The trains on this line can reach speeds of up to 260 kilometers per hour (about 160 miles per hour). Like all Shinkansen lines, the Kyushu Shinkansen uses a standard track width.

Train Services on the Kagoshima Route

There are three main types of train services on the Kagoshima Route:

• Mizuho: These are the fastest trains. They make very few stops and connect Shin-Osaka to Kagoshima-Chūō quickly.
• Sakura: These trains make more stops than Mizuho trains. They also connect Shin-Osaka to Kagoshima-Chūō, but some Sakura trains only run between Hakata and Kumamoto or Kagoshima-Chūō.
• Tsubame: These trains stop at every station along the Kyushu Shinkansen. They usually run between Hakata and Kumamoto, but some go all the way to Kagoshima-Chūō. The name "Tsubame" means "Swallow."

After the line was fully completed, more people started using it, especially tourists. This showed how important high-speed trains are for connecting different parts of Japan.

Nishi Kyushu (Nagasaki) Route

A Shinkansen line connecting Fukuoka to Nagasaki was planned a long time ago, in 1973. It was first called the Nagasaki Shinkansen. Later, it was renamed the Nishi Kyushu Route. A part of this route, the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, opened on September 23, 2022. This section runs between Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki. Passengers can transfer at Takeo-Onsen station to a special "Relay Kamome" service to continue their journey to Hakata.

Train Services on the Nishi Kyushu Route

Trains on the Nishi Kyushu Route are called Kamome services. They use modern 6-car N700S series trains.

Other Planned Routes

There were plans for two other Shinkansen routes in Kyushu:

• East Kyushu Shinkansen: This line would go from Hakata to Kagoshima-Chūō, passing through Ōita and Miyazaki.
• Trans-Kyushu Shinkansen: This route would link Kumamoto and Ōita. It was also planned to connect with another future Shinkansen line to Shikoku Island, reaching cities like Matsuyama, Takamatsu, and Osaka.

However, these plans are currently on hold. They might not be considered again until the Shinkansen lines that are already being built are finished.

Stations on the Kagoshima Route

The Tsubame trains stop at all stations. For Mizuho and Sakura trains, some stations are always stopped at, while others are only stopped at by certain trains. All trains stop at Hakata, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima-Chūō.

Legend:

Train Models

Kagoshima Route Trains

Trains that only run on the Kyushu Shinkansen are 6-car 800 Series trains. These trains can go up to 260 km/h. They were designed by Hitachi.

For services that go all the way from Shin-Osaka to Kagoshima-Chūō, 8-car N700-7000 and N700-8000 series trains are used. These trains allow for smooth travel between the San'yō Shinkansen and the Kyushu Shinkansen.

Important Events

2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes

On April 14, 2016, strong earthquakes hit Kumamoto prefecture. Because of this, the entire Kagoshima Route had to be closed. The earthquakes caused damage to the elevated tracks and sound walls in many places. One of the 800 series trains was also derailed near Kumamoto Station during the earthquake. Luckily, no passengers were on board at the time. The railway company worked hard to fix the damage. The line was able to reopen on April 27, 2016, with trains running at slower speeds and less often at first.

2021 Train Incident

On November 8, 2021, an incident occurred on a Sakura Shinkansen train traveling between Kumamoto and Shin-Yatsushiro stations. No one was hurt during this event.

See also

In Spanish: Kyūshū Shinkansen para niños