Japan is where regular, high-speed railways were born. The country's Shinkansen ('Bullet Train') network has been developed over more than 35 years, and covers all main trunk routes.
The network presently links most major cities on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, and Hakodate on northern island of Hokkaido, with an extension to Sapporo under construction and scheduled to commence in March 2031.
The nickname bullet train is sometimes used in English for these high-speed trains.