What was the first commercial high-speed rail service in the world?

The Tokaido Shinkansen was the world’s first commercial high-speed rail service.

It began operating in Japan in 1964 between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. The railway introduced a new model of passenger transport: dedicated lines, purpose-built trains, frequent departures, high reliability, and sustained speeds far above those of ordinary railways at the time.

Japan’s achievement followed decades of planning and construction after the Second World War. Engineers had to solve problems involving track alignment, signalling, earthquake safety, rolling stock, and the movement of large numbers of passengers between major cities.

Later systems such as France’s TGV, Germany’s ICE, and Spain’s AVE became major high-speed networks, but they opened after the Japanese service. “Shinkansen” refers to the Japanese high-speed railway system, while Tokaido identifies the first route’s corridor between Tokyo and Osaka.