What is the standard track gauge used by Japan’s Shinkansen lines?

Japan’s Shinkansen lines use the standard track gauge of 1,435 millimetres.

This choice was significant because many older Japanese railways were built to a narrower 1,067-millimetre gauge. Building dedicated Shinkansen routes in standard gauge allowed the trains to use wider, more stable track and helped support high-speed operation.

The Shinkansen network is therefore physically distinct from much of Japan’s conventional railway system. Some trains can continue onto conventional lines, but the main high-speed routes are built and operated as dedicated standard-gauge railways.

Gauge is not the same as loading gauge, train width, or maximum speed. It simply describes the distance between the inner faces of the two rails. The 1,435-millimetre gauge is also widely used by high-speed railways in Europe, China, South Korea, and Taiwan.