Kyushu Shinkansen
800 Series ShinkansenTsubame at Shin-Minamata Station in November 2004
Overview
Native name	九州新幹線
Owner	JRTT
Locale	Kyushu (Fukuoka,Saga,Nagasaki,Kumamoto, andKagoshima 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
System	Shinkansen
Services	Mizuho,Sakura,Tsubame
Operator(s)	JR Kyushu
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; 3 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	Overhead line, 25 kV 60 Hz AC
Operating speed	260 km/h (162 mph)
Route map

TheKyushu Shinkansen (九州新幹線,Kyūshū Shinkansen) is a JapaneseShinkansen high-speedrailway network. It is an extension of theSan'yō Shinkansen fromHonshu connecting the city ofFukuoka (Hakata Station) in the north of Japan'sKyushu Island to the city ofKagoshima (Kagoshima-Chuo Station) in the south. The line runs parallel to the existingKagoshima Main Line and is operated byKyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu).

Thesouthernmost 127 km (79 mi) section of the track was constructed first, opening on 13 March 2004. The dual-track offered a significant improvement in transit time over the equivalent single-track section of theKagoshima Main Line, despite the need for passengers to change to aRelay Tsubamenarrow gauge train at Shin-Yatsushiro, and the remainder of the journey toHakata Station. The northernmost 130 km (81 mi) section opened on 12 March 2011, enabling through-services to Shin-Osaka (and with an interchange, to Tokyo). However, opening ceremonies were cancelled due to the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.^[1]

TheNishi Kyushu Shinkansen route toNagasaki (fromTakeo-Onsen toNagasaki) opened on 23 September 2022.^[2][3] Across-platform interchange to a relay service called 'Relay Kamome' at Takeo-Onsen station offers a connection to Hakata.^[4][5][6]

Construction of the Kagoshima route (鹿児島ルート) began in 1991, and the first segment between Kagoshima andShin-Yatsushiro opened on 13 March 2004. This initial section cut travel times between the two cities from 2 hours and 10 minutes to 35 minutes and reduced the time between Hakata and Kagoshima from 4 hours to 2 hours. When the entire line was completed, the travel time from Hakata to Kagoshima was further reduced to about an hour and 20 minutes. As of 2012, the maximum line speed is 260 km/h (160 mph) between Hakata and Kagoshima.^[7] Like allShinkansen lines, the Kyushu Shinkansen is standard gauge.^{[citation needed]}

The line'sSakura andMizuho services often operate through toShin-Ōsaka Station via theSan'yō Shinkansen. All-stop trains are namedTsubame ("Swallow"), the name of the former Hakata-Kagoshimalimited express service, and are solely truncated to the Kyushu Shinkansen.

In September 2011, six months after the line's completion, JR Kyushu reported a year-over-year increase in ridership of 64% to the southern part of Kyushu (between Kumamoto and Kagoshima), easily surpassing the 40% increase projected by the company. By the first anniversary, ridership had increased, mainly from tourists from Kansai and Chugoku.^[8] In northern Kyushu, where there is fierce competition with conventional JR rapid service, the privateNishi-Nippon Railroad, and expressway buses, Shinkansen ridership increased by only 38% (compared to the now-discontinued conventional expressRelay Tsubame), falling short of estimates.^[9]

A Shinkansen line from Fukuoka to Nagasaki, initially known as theNagasaki Shinkansen (長崎新幹線), was laid out in the 1973 Basic Plan. Renamed as theNagasaki Route (長崎ルート), then changed to theNishi Kyushu Route (西九州ルート,Nishi Kyūshū rūto) in 1995, the segment betweenTakeo-Onsen andNagasaki,Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, opened for service on 23 September 2022.^[10][11]

According to the Shinkansen Basic Plan laid out in 1973, two other routes would accompany the Kagoshima and West Kyushu (Nagasaki) routes: theEast Kyushu Shinkansen, from Hakata to Kagoshima-Chūō viaŌita andMiyazaki, paralleling theNippō Main Line; and theTrans-Kyushu Shinkansen, linkingKumamoto and Ōita, and connecting with the also-plannedShikoku Shinkansen toMatsuyama,Takamatsu andOsaka. These plans have been shelved indefinitely and are unlikely to be reconsidered until the Shinkansen lines that are already under construction are completed.

• Tsubame trains stop at all stations. ForMizuho andSakura, all trains stop at stations marked "●", while some trains stop at those marked "▲". All trains stop at Hakata, Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chūō.

Legend:

Services not leaving the Kyushu Shinkansen are operated by 6-car800 Series trains, with a maximum speed of 260 km/h (160 mph).^[7] The trains were developed byHitachi, and based on the 700 series trains already in service on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen line.

8-carN700-7000 and N700-8000 series trains are used on through-running services between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō. The first set (S1) was delivered to Hakata Depot in October 2008.^[13]

Three services operate on the line, in order of speed:Mizuho,Sakura, andTsubame. TheMizuho makes two return trips between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō during the morning hours, and two return trips during the evening, with an end-to-end journey time of 3 hours 45 minutes.Sakura services run once per hour throughout the day between Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chūō making additional stops, with an end-to-end travel time of 4 hours 10 minutes. There are also one to twoSakura services every hour between Hakata and either Kumamoto or Kagoshima-Chūō.Tsubame trains operate the all-stations shuttle service between Hakata and Kumamoto once to twice per hour, with some services operating to/from Kagoshima-Chūō.^[14]Mizuho trains can be used by foreign passengers traveling with aJapan Rail Pass only upon payment of a supplement.

Services are operated by 6-carN700S series trains with a service type namedKamome.^[15]

On the evening of 14 April 2016, the entire length of the Kagoshima Route was shut down after the first oftwo powerful earthquakes struck Kumamoto prefecture. There was extensive damage along the route, including cracks in elevated support structures at 25 locations^[16] and collapsed sound insulation walls in nearly 80 locations.^[17]

An800 series train wasderailed nearKumamoto Station after the first tremor, while the train wasdeadheading. On 18 April, JR Kyushu began attempts to return the derailed train to the tracks.^[16]

On 27 April 2016, the line reopened with reduced speed and service frequency.^[18]

On the morning of 8 November 2021, a 69-year old man fromFukuoka attempted to set aSakura Shinkansen service on fire.^[19] The train, Sakura #401, was travelling between Kumamoto and Shin-Yatsuhiro stations at the time of the attempted arson. No casualties were reported. According to the perpetrator, the motive of the incident was to replicate theOctober 2021 Tokyo attack.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toKyūshū Shinkansen.

• Official website(in Japanese)

• High-speed railway lines in Japan
• Lines of Kyushu Railway Company
• Railway lines opened in 2004
• Standard-gauge railways in Japan
• 2004 establishments in Japan

• CS1 uses Japanese-language script (ja)
• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• CS1 maint: location missing publisher
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from February 2020
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from October 2022
• Commons category link is locally defined
• Official website not in Wikidata
• Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja)