Kyushu Shinkansen

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It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available.

The Kyushu Shinkansen Tsubame at Shin-Minamata station

Kyushu Shinkansen map

The Kyushu Shinkansen (九州新幹線, Kyūshū Shinkansen^?) is a 249 km high-speed railway line between the Japanese cities of Fukuoka and Kagoshima, on Kyūshū Island, running parallel to the existing Kagoshima Main Line. It is currently being built by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR-Kyūshū), and scheduled for completion in 2013.

1 Operational life
2 Future plans
3 Stations
4 Trains
5 External links

[edit] Operational life

The segment between Kagoshima and Yatsushiro began operations on March 13, 2004. It cuts travel times between the two cities from 130 minutes to 35 minutes, and reduces the time between Hakata and Kagoshima from 4 hours to just 2 hours. When the entire line is complete, the travel time from Hakata to Kagoshima will be just over an hour.

Like the original Shinkansen lines, the Kyushu Shinkansen is standard gauge.

[edit] Future plans

The line will connect to the Sanyō Shinkansen at Hakata Station upon its final completion. It may use part or all of the Hakata Minami Line. A spur to Nagasaki from Shin-Tosu Station is in planning stages, with construction provisionally authorized for part of the line but with the exact route not yet fixed.

[edit] Stations

Station name	Japanese	Total distance	Service ²	Transfers	Location

Kagoshima Route
Under construction, scheduled to open in spring, 2011
Hakata	博多			Fukuoka City Subway: ■ Kūkō Line JR Kyūshū: Fukuhoku Yutaka Line, Hakata Minami Line, Kagoshima Main Line JR West: San'yō Shinkansen ³	Hakata, Fukuoka	Fukuoka
Shin-Tosu ¹	新鳥栖			JR Kyūshū: Nagasaki Main Line ⁴	Tosu	Saga
Kurume	久留米			JR Kyūshū: Kagoshima Main Line, Kyūdai Main Line	Kurume	Fukuoka
Funagoya	船小屋			JR Kyūshū: Kagoshima Main Line	Chikugo
Shin-Ōmuta ¹	新大牟田				Ōmuta
Shin-Tamana ¹	新玉名				Tamana	Kumamoto
Kumamoto	熊本			JR Kyūshū: Hōhi Main Line, Kagoshima Main Line Kumamoto City Tram: ■ Route 2; Tasaki Line and Trunk Line (Kumamoto-Ekimae)	Kumamoto
Shin-Yatsushiro	新八代				Yatsushiro
Currently operational
Shin-Yatsushiro	新八代	0 km	+	JR Kyūshū: Kagoshima Main Line	Yatsushiro	Kumamoto
Shin-Minamata	新水俣	42.8 km	-	Hisatsu Orange Railway: Hisatsu Orange Railway Line	Minamata	Kumamoto
Izumi	出水	58.8 km	-	Hisatsu Orange Railway: Hisatsu Orange Railway Line	Izumi	Kagoshima
Sendai	川内	91.5 km	*	Hisatsu Orange Railway: Hisatsu Orange Railway Line JR Kyūshū: Kagoshima Main Line	Satsumasendai
Kagoshima-Chūō	鹿児島中央	126.8 km	+	JR Kyūshū: Ibusuki Makurazaki Line, Kagoshima Main Line Kagoshima City Tram: ■ Route 2; Dai-Ni-Ki Line and Toso Line (Kagoshima-Chūō-Ekimae)	Kagoshima

Nishi-Kyūshū Route (Nagasaki Route)
Planned
Shin-Tosu ¹	新鳥栖				Tosu	Saga
Saga	佐賀			JR Kyūshū: Karatsu Line, Nagasaki Main Line, Sasebo Line	Saga
Takeo-Onsen	武雄温泉			JR Kyūshū: Sasebo Line	Takeo
Ureshino-Onsen ¹	嬉野温泉				Ureshino
Shin-Ōmura ¹	新大村				Ōmura	Nagasaki
Isahaya	諫早			JR Kyūshū: Nagasaki Main Line, Ōmura Line Shimabara Railway: Shimabara Railway Line	Isahaya
Nagasaki	長崎			JR Kyūshū: Nagasaki Main Line, Ōmura Line Nagasaki Electric Tramway: Route ■ 1, □ 2, and ■ 3; Main Line and Sakuramachi Branch Line (Nagasaki-Ekimae)	Nagasaki

¹: The name is tentative.

²: All the trains stop at stations signed "+". Most trains stop at "*". Most trains do not stop at "-".

³: A through service to/from Kyūshū Shinkansen is planned.

⁴: A new station will be constructed.

[edit] Trains

The line uses a new train set model, the 800 Series Shinkansen, with a maximum speed of 260 km/h (160 mph). The trains have been developed by Hitachi, which also manufactured the 500 and 700 series trains on the Tōkaidō-Sanyō line.

Individual trains are named Tsubame, or "Swallow," the name of the former Hakata-Kagoshima limited express service. While the line is being completed, the old Tsubame trains carry passengers to Shin-Yatsushiro, where they can transfer to the Shinkansen for the remainder of their journey. The old trains have been redubbed Relay Tsubame for this purpose.