Number of passengers carried via JR Shinkansen in Japan FY 2015-2023

Japan’s transportation system relies heavily on railroad transportation for passenger transport, both in and between urban areas. While travel in the largest cities is covered by metros and other types of rolling stock, inter-city travel often features the Shinkansen high-speed trains (colloquially called bullet trains). In the fiscal year 2023, Japan Railways' Shinkansen high-speed trains carried around 356 million passengers, increasing from 295 million passengers in the preceding fiscal year. Today operated by the Japan Railways Group, the Japanese bullet train has been renowned worldwide for its reliability regarding speed, punctuality, and safety since its inauguration in 1964. What are the busiest Shinkansen lines?Currently, there are seven companies governing the Shinkansen railroad system as it branches out in seven different regions of Japan. From North to South, they include the Hokkaido Shinkansen, the Tohoku Shinkansen, the Joetsu Shinkansen, the Tokaido Shinkansen, the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the San’yo Shinkansen, and the Kyushu Shinkansen. The busiest Shinkansen line is by far the Tokaido Shinkansen, which covers the route between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan’s two largest metropolitan areas. During peak traffic times, 10 or more trains depart in an hour on said route from Tokyo alone. Consumers prefer trains to planesThe mode of transport of choice for long-distance domestic travel is hotly contested between the aviation and the railroad industry. During the past decade, consumers preferred train travel over plane travel, but the margin is not overwhelmingly large. The choice of transport most likely depends on the destination. Travelers going on super-long-distance travel, such as to Okinawa, situated at the southern end of Japan, or to Hokkaido, the northernmost inhabited island, may want or must rely on flights to quickly reach the target destination. Otherwise, for destinations to or close to urban areas on Japan’s main island, Honshu, the use of Shinkansen seems to prevail, despite the lower prices offered by (ultra-budget) flight providers. Reasons that explain these consumer preferences might be the high traffic density on major Shinkansen lines that allow passengers to be flexible with their travel time. The high comfort experienced on Shinkansen and the punctuality of bullet train travel might be other reasons.

日本之交通体系对铁路运输依赖甚深，无论是城市内部还是城市间的旅客运输均然。在最大城市，地铁及其他类型的有轨交通工具覆盖了出行需求，而城际旅行则往往依赖于新干线高速列车（俗称子弹列车）。在2023财年，日本铁路公司的新干线高速列车运送了约3.56亿名乘客，较上一年度的2.95亿名乘客有所增长。今日由日本铁路集团运营的日本子弹列车自1964年启用以来，以其速度、准时性和安全性而享誉全球。那么，哪些新干线线路最为繁忙？目前，有七家公司负责日本新干线铁路系统的运营，其线路遍布日本七个不同区域。自北至南依次为：北海道新干线、东北新干线、上越新干线、东海道新干线、北陆新干线、山阳新干线和九州新干线。其中，最为繁忙的新干线线路无疑是东海道新干线，其连接东京与大阪，这两个日本最大的都市地区。在高峰时段，仅东京一路就有10趟或更多列车在此线路出发。消费者倾向于选择火车作为长途国内旅行的交通工具。在过去十年中，消费者更倾向于乘坐火车而非飞机旅行，但这一差距并不显著。运输方式的选择很可能取决于目的地。前往位于日本最南端、地处南端的冲绳或最北端有人居住的岛屿北海道的长途旅行者，可能需要或希望依靠飞机以快速抵达目标目的地。否则，对于位于日本本岛主要区域、接近或位于城市地区的目的地，尽管（超低预算）航空公司提供的票价更低，但乘坐新干线似乎更为普遍。解释这些消费者偏好的原因可能包括主要新干线线路的高交通密度，这使得乘客能够灵活安排旅行时间。在子弹列车上体验的高舒适度和列车旅行的准时性可能是其他原因。