50th Anniversary of Japan's Shinkansen

Above, modern shinkansens at Tokyo Station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This week marks 50 years since Japan conducted its first test run of the shinkansen (or bullet train).

The New York Times posted an article on the anniversary:

Fifty years ago this week, Japan conducted the first full-length test run of the Shinkansen, or what became known in English as the bullet train. A 12-car train ran from Tokyo to Osaka and back at an average speed of just over 80 miles per hour and a peak speed of 135 m.p.h. (217 kilometers per hour). 

In an earlier test run, the train had hit a peak speed of 150 m.p.h., but the president of Japan’s national railroad said it would be held to 130 m.p.h. in regular service for at least the first six months.

The article also contains a vintage photo of the ribbon-cutting ceremony held on October 1, 1964 of the bullet train that ran from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka.

To read he full article, go here.