Shinkansen Shinkansen The , meaning "new trunkline," but colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, in order to aid economic growth and development. Beyond long-distance travel, some sections around the largest metropolitan areas are used as a commuter rail network. It is operated by five Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen () in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-Shinkansen lines with a maximum
H5 Series Shinkansen is the first JR Hokkaido train type to use the "H" prefix, following the method used by JR East (with an "E" prefix). The H5 series is directly based on the E5 series trains operated by JR East on the Tohoku Shinkansen since 2011, and has an identical maximum operating speed of , although this is limited to on the Hokkaido Shinkansen, and to on the dual gauge track extending through the undersea Seikan Tunnel connecting Hokkaido with mainland Honshu. All cars feature active suspension, and tilt by up to 1.5 degrees through curves, allowing the maximum speed of 320