This article outlines the history of railways in Japan and discusses the conditions leading to the bold decision to build a new type of line dedicated to high-speed passenger transport. Since opening of the high-speed Shinkansen line in 1964, speeds, frequency, and loadings have increased markedly, encouraging the development of similar systems in other countries. It is doubtful whether such schemes would have materialized without the Japanese lead. Railways have now emerged from decline and are seen as able to make a vital contribution to meeting the growth in transport demand expected in the future.
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R.A. Smith (2003) studied this question.